It appears that Quentin Tarantino will be following the Coen Brothers in tackling a Western. He's finished a draft of the script, and will turn in a finished version in a couple months. It will, of course, be produced by The Weinstein Company, and, according to an interview with Italian actor Franco Nero, it will be a tribute to Sergio Leone, one of Tarantino's cinematic heroes.
This will whet the appetite of Tarantino fans, as more details emerge. I, for one, am relieved that the follow-up to Inglourious Basterds isn't Kung Fu Nazis Must Die in 3D, or anything of that ilk. Names apparently involved with the project so far include Keith Carradine and Treat Williams, and Basterds Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz is one of the leads.
This new direction isn't totally unexpected. At the end of the press tour for Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino expressed his interest in making an oater, but with a twist. He said:
"I'd like to do a Western. But rather than set it in Texas, have it in slavery times. With that subject that everybody is afraid to deal with. Let's shine that light on ourselves. You could do a ponderous history lesson of slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Or, you could make a movie that would be exciting. Do it as an adventure. A Spaghetti Western that takes place during that time. And I would call it a 'Southern'."
I can picture Samuel L. Jackson kicking ass alongside John Travolta's cool abolitionist. And Uma Thurman as the saloonkeeper's daughter who they must rescue from the clutches of Christoph Waltz's evil outlaw. It could happen.
