Since Saturday morning when The New York Times published Uma Thurman’s depiction of assault at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, the writer/director most closely associated with her biggest successes has been the one taking a turn in the barrel. Quentin Tarantino, who directed Thurman in Pulp Fiction and two installments of Kill Bill, has been getting hammered on social media. The article reported — and showed footage — of a disturbing car crash that Thurman endured in the last days of production on Kill Bill, and it also detailed that he personally spit on her in one scene and choked her in another.
I offered Tarantino the opportunity to clarify because at this moment, stories get written and then picked up across the globe, often getting twisted to suit convenient narratives in this #MeToo moment. Here, Tarantino discusses in great detail the article and his long and complex relationship with Thurman, and in so doing, he illuminates how the dynamic between director and his actor works and why it can seem so awkward when given brief description in an article. “I am guilty, for putting her in that car, but not the way that people are saying I am guilty of it,” Tarantino told me. “It’s the biggest regret of my life, getting her to do that stunt. There are certain things I can’t get too far into the weeds on, but I will any questions you have about it.” Buckle up.
(Excerpt) Read More in: Deadline