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Last year, Quentin Tarantino and publisher Insight Editions launched an ambitious project to release a behind-the-scenes book for each film he has directed. The first volume, "The Making of Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," arrived last year, followed last month by "The Making of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds." In the new book, Tarantino shares a wealth of previously unknown stories from the production.
Among the biggest revelations is that Mélanie Laurent, who played Shosanna Dreyfus, nearly lost the role after a disastrous performance at the table read.
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Tarantino recalled, "Mélanie Laurent's table read was terrible. It wasn't good enough to be terrible. The most exciting day of preproduction is, for me, the table read. That is the closest I get to seeing the movie for the first time. Up until then, it's just been me reading the scenes to myself or with a friend... So having the entire cast together for a table read is incredibly exciting and meaningful to me. Well, Mélanie was terrible, so I fired her."
Several days later, Laurent called Tarantino and pleaded for another chance. She explained that she had been feeling ill during the table read and offered to fly back to Germany to try again. Won over by her determination, Tarantino agreed to reconsider on the condition that she rehearse with him for three days. During those sessions, Laurent restored his confidence and won back the role.
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Tarantino stressed in the book that he holds no grudge against Laurent and remains extremely fond of her. He said he revisited the incident only because the book was intended to document the film's entire journey, warts and all, and emphasized that there was no malice behind sharing the story.
He had far less sympathy for French star Isabelle Huppert, who was originally cast as the theater owner who takes Shosanna in but was fired after missing the table read. Tarantino recalled, "She didn't show up for the table read, so fuck it. I fired her. I mean, I love Isabelle Huppert — 'Heaven's Gate' and all that — but there were issues with her contract. It just kept stalling, and then she didn't come to the table read. So I thought, well, we'll cast Maggie Cheung instead." Cheung's scenes were ultimately cut as well, with Tarantino deciding they slowed the story's overall pace.
Tarantino continued, "That invariably happens. As far as I'm concerned, if you're cast and you're not sitting at that table, I don't owe you jack shit! You can be fired, especially if I get excited by what somebody else did in your absence."