Will Netflix run Quentin Tarantino’s four-hour cut of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will be released in the UK later this month, but what is believed to be the penultimate Quentin Tarantino film may be granted further air time through Netflix.
Tarantino’s latest film, which follows two fading stars in the changing Hollywood of the late Sixties alongside the events of the Manson Murders, currently has a run time of 165 minutes (2h 45 minutes). But there are industry rumours that a far longer directors cut, running to four hours, may be acquired by Netflix and run as a miniseries.
The move wouldn't be unprecedented: Tarantino’s previous film, The Hateful Eight, has run on the streaming service as a four-hour version, meaning scenes and characters – such as a role played by Tim Roth – were given screentime they never received in the official release.
The news comes from Nicholas Hammond, who plays Sam Wannamaker in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Hammond discussed the matter on The Mutuals Interviews, saying: “There is talk about there being a 4-hour Netflix version, as well, because there were a lot of scenes he shot that couldn’t make it into the film because there just simply wasn’t room”.
Neither Netflix nor Tarantino have confirmed or denied Hammond’s comments. Even if the cut will make its way onto Netflix, it won’t be for a while: the film will have both a long release in cinemas before a home release. The Hateful Eight, after all, was released in January 2016.