Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The First Novel by Quentin Tarantino
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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer Jason Leigh
About this listen
Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited first work of fiction - at once hilarious, delicious and brutal - is the always surprising, sometimes shocking new novel based on his Academy Award-winning film.
The sunlit studio back lots and the dark watering holes of Hollywood are the setting for this audacious, hilarious, disturbing novel about life in the movie colony, circa 1969.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells the story of washed-up actor Rick Dalton. Once Rick had his own television series, a famous Western called Bounty Law. But 'it ain't been that time in a long time' and now Rick's only regular parts are as the heavy, ready to be bested by whichever young 'swingin' dick' the networks want to make a new star out of come pilot season. When a talent agent approaches Rick about starring in Italian Westerns ('Eye-talian Westerns?'), it only ignites a new crisis of confidence for the perpetually insecure actor.
And then there's Rick's stunt double, Cliff Booth, a war hero who killed more Japanese soldiers during the Second World War than any other American and who never thought he'd make it back home. If Rick's career has stalled, Cliff's has flamed out. Already living under a cloud of suspicion after the strange death of his wife at sea, Cliff makes the mistake of picking the wrong fight on set and is soon reduced to the status of Rick's full-time gofer.
Right next door to Rick's still glamourous Benedict Canyon home ('the house that Bounty Law built') some Hollywood dreams are coming true, and these dreams belong to Sharon Tate. Not only is she Mrs. Roman Polanski - married to the only true rock-star director - but Sharon is fast becoming a star in her own right, living life on the upswing in a tough town.
Only a few miles away, in the desert around Chatsworth, lives a different kind of dreamer. Charles Manson is an ex-con who has spellbound a group of hippie misfits living with him in squalor on an old 'movie ranch'. Little do his young followers know to what degree Charlie himself is an industry striver, more desperate for Columbia Records and Tapes' attentions than for the revolution he preaches.
These indelible characters - and many more: an acting child prodigy beaming with hope; a booze-drenched former A-lister who's lost it all - occupy a vanished world from not so long ago that is brought to brilliant life. Here is 1969, the music, the cars, the movies and TV shows. And here is Hollywood, both the fairy tale and the real thing, as given to us by a master storyteller who knows it like the back of his hand.
©2021 Quentin Tarantino (P)2021 Orion Publishing GroupListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Daft Monk
- 10-07-21
Best DVD extra ever!
It's not a great novel, or even a particularly good novel. But if you enjoyed the movie and want to go a little deeper into the story this is great fun.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Enrique Carnicero
- 24-02-23
Knowing the Hollywood we missed
Transported to the half real half imagined Hollywood we didn’t live.
I particularly loved the voice and performance, I couldn’t imagine a high profile actor like Jennifer Jason Leigh will read for me a novel, it was truly awesome.
Thanks!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Graham G Grant
- 25-07-21
Myths, monsters, and mayhem in 1960s Tinseltown
Rick Dalton is an actor who fears, with good reason, that his best days are behind him. He’s having to settle for spaghetti Westerns and telly shows. But once he’d been on the shortlist for the Steve McQueen role in The Great Escape. His stuntman best friend, Cliff Booth, is Rick’s stunt double; his effortlessly calm demeanour disguises a turbulent personal history. Tarantino’s novel, based on the movie, tells their intertwining stories against the backdrop of late ‘60s Hollywood: a party world peopled by the bright, young, and beautiful. Rick’s neighbours are director Roman Polanski and his actress wife Sharon Tate. The novel isn’t quite a novelisation. It contains some scenes that aren’t in the film, and some that are. There’s more space here for character development. At times, you sense it’s Tarantino talking as opposed to his characters, eg when Cliff rhapsodises about Kurosawa movies. But it doesn’t really matter; it’s good fun. It works best as a companion piece to the movie, though could be read on its own. It’s a series of tableaux, albeit interlinked, but not entirely linear. The chronology is a bit confusing. Again, it doesn’t seem to matter; it’s a funny read, or listen, with the odd poignant moment. Tarantino clearly feels late ‘60s Hollywood, just before the Tate murders, was an idyllic place. He loves everything about it and that comes across. As ever, his manic enthusiasm is contagious. The Spotify soundtrack to the movie is worth a listen: it contains genuine radio jingles that were popular at the time; also used in the movie. There’s an attention to detail in the film and the book - and on the soundtrack - that’s entirely absorbing, though if you don’t share Tarantino’s obsessions, best to give them all a wide berth… this book is really an add-on for fans of the movie, in the mould of the big novel/movie tie-ins that became popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s. For cinephiles, it’s wonderful stuff, with tantalising gossip about Hollywood greats; some of it might even be true… The narration works well - a dry, laconic semi-drawl that fits in well with the material. I sped it up after roughly the halfway or two-thirds mark, as I found it just a little too slow at ‘normal’ speed - and it worked just as well (for me) at around double-speed, or just under.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- phoenix34
- 16-08-21
So you want more?
If you enjoyed the movie and can’t get enough of the characters and world Tarantino created like me then this book is an absolute treat. Sure, at points Quentin is just listing actors, films or years as appropriate, and sure the vocal fry is turned up to 11 (with the effing and jeffing) but I loved every second of it. Yes I am a nerd.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-10-22
Probably a glimpse into the directors cut from QT
Took a bit of time to get into this one, went away and came back and stuck it out. Whilst i have nothing against JJL and she does seem the sort of calibre actor to narrate a QT book, i wonder whether they approached Kurt Russell first? As he was the narrator of the film, i appreciated that QT skipped the Manson family assault but the story bounced around quite a bit in time which could be infuriating and a little self indulgent of QT.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Duncan H. Wilson
- 19-10-21
Great story
Beautifully read, my favourite read this year. Eight more words required here for some daft reason
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- martin bree
- 30-08-21
Awesome!!
Even better than the film so glad I listened to the book and it keeps you listening.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Aimee Carroll
- 01-09-21
If you want to know more about the OUTIH Universe!
Honestly, I was obsesssed with this film when it came out and immediately wanted to know so much more about the cinematic Universe it was set in! The book is a bit rambly at times, but then I think that's Tarentino all over! The guy has so much passion about everything he does and it really shines through in this book. It's amazing how deep all the lore about this film goes. If you want to know all about the characters, and their history, you'll love it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 22-06-22
Superb
Great addition to the film, quite simply superb and JJL performance really makes it. Fab
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Douglas Fraser Miller
- 16-07-21
great story
excellent narrator
great story I would recommend this book to any discerning listener. thank you
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1 person found this helpful