Uma Thurman Admits She Almost Passed on ‘Pulp Fiction’: “It Was a Small Film”
The actress wasn’t sure the next movie of Reservoir Dogs’ director would be a major success — she ended up with an Oscar nod later.
Quentin Tarantino has been regarded as one of the greatest masterminds in the history of cinema ever since his Pulp Fiction surpassed Reservoir Dogs’ immense success — however, not everyone on the former movie’s set was sure it would achieve this much.
Starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis and many others, Pulp Fiction became the second feature for then relatively unknown Tarantino who would blow everyone away at the 1995 Oscars ceremony.
Despite the film proving itself to be something truly unique, Uma Thurman initially had second thoughts and even considered quitting Pulp Fiction due to its possible box office failure.
Uma Thurman Says ‘Pulp Fiction’ Was a “Relatively Small Film” Back Then
It might be something really weird to say right now, but back in 1994 no one thought Tarantino’s quirky directorial style would earn him so much in the upcoming decades.
Pulp Fiction’s leading star Uma Thurman also doubted the movie’s commercial success and even thought about declining the role upon landing it.
“I knew it was special, you could tell from the writing, the uniqueness, but it was a relatively small film”, the actress recently revealed in an interview with The Times UK.
However, it’s not the first time she admitted she wasn’t so enthusiastic about Pulp Fiction, especially since this was Tarantino’s second movie only.
“He wasn’t this revered demigod auteur that he has grown into. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it because I was worried about the gimp stuff. No one could believe I even hesitated in any way. Neither can I, in hindsight”, Thurman told Vanity Fair several years ago.
Uma Thurman’s Only Oscar Nomination Is For ‘Pulp Fiction’
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- On Rotten Tomatoes, Pulp Fiction holds scores of 92% and 96% from critics and audiences
- On IMDb, the movie is rated 8.8/10
To say that the movie eventually paid off is, well, to say nothing.
With its initial budget of around $8 million, Pulp Fiction went on to gross a whopping amount of $214 million, becoming one of the highest-grossing films in 1994.
Apart from all verbal praise for directing, screenwriting, acting and soundtrack, Pulp Fiction received seven nods from the Academy, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for John Travolta and Best Supporting Actress for Uma Thurman.
Despite not winning any of those eventually, Pulp Fiction still got Tarantino his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
