Brad Pitt is likely reuniting with Quentin Tarantino for the filmmaker’s 10th and ostensibly final feature, “The Movie Critic.” The status of the deal is unclear.
Tarantino has remained tight-lipped about “The Movie Critic,” but it’s reportedly set in southern California during the 1970s and center on a cynical film reviewer. It’s rumored to be inspired by the life of Pauline Kael, the late New Yorker writer who was one of the most influential film critics of her time.
Tarantino sidestepped inquiries about “The Movie Critic” during a conversation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, saying to audience members, “I can’t tell you guys [anything] until you see the movie. I’m tempted to do some of the character’s monologues right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe if there were less video cameras. You just have to wait and see.”
Pitt is expected to spend a portion of 2024 filming a Formula One racing feature from “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski. In that film, set at Apple, he’s playing a driver who comes out of retirement to compete alongside a rookie driver and the titans of the sport. So, if talks for “The Movie Critic” are finalized, it likely wouldn’t begin production until mid-year or later. No studio is attached to the film, which will shoot in California and receive a $20 million tax credit.
Pitt and Tarantino previously worked together on 2009’s “Inglourious Basterds” and 2019’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which landed Pitt an Oscar for best supporting actor. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which co-starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie, also scored at the box office with $377 million globally.
Tarantino has shared an intention to retire from filmmaking after his 10th film. He made his debut with the independent crime drama “Reservoir Dogs” in 1992 and followed that up with 1994’s Palme d’Or-winning “Pulp Fiction.” Tarantino also directed “Jackie Brown,” “Kill Bill: Volume 1” and “Volume 2,” “Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight.”
Deadline first reported the news of Pitt’s potential casting.
From Variety US