Who Plays Who?

Brad Pitt Mélanie Laurent Christoph Waltz Eli Roth Michael Fassbender Diane Kruger Daniel Brühl Til Schweiger Gedeon Burkhard Jacky Ido B.J. Novak Omar Doom August Diehl Denis Menochet Sylvester Groth Martin Wuttke Mike Myers Rod Taylor

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Lt Aldo Raine Shosanna Col Hans Landa Sgt Donny Donowitz Lt Archie Hicox Bridget von Hammersmark Fredrick Zoller Sgt Hugo Stiglitz Cpl Wilhelm Wicki Marcel Pfc Smithson Utivich Pfc Omar Ulmer Major Dieter Hellstrom Perrier LaPadite Joseph Goebbels Adolf Hitler General Ed Fenech Winston Churchill

The Inside Story "Inglourious Basterds" long gestation is best recounted via anecdotes shared by writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s friends and colleagues. Pieces of the story and elements from the script would pop up in casual conversations between Tarantino and his friends. The 'men on a mission' espionage epic borrows its title from "Inglorious Bastards", Enzo Castellari’s 1978 film. Castelleri, who makes a small cameo in the film explained, "It’s a completely different movie, this is Quentin’s own thing, this is not a remake this is: this is something that I inspired." Producer Lawrence Bender ("Good Will Hunting") recalls the first time he heard Tarantino read him pieces of "Inglourious Basterds": "It was at least ten years ago that he was in my office, reading scenes that just blew me away." His immediate thought was, "We’ve got to make this." 1995 Independent Spirit Award winner Bender ("Pulp Fiction") would have a long wait. The script would go through many incarnations over the next decade. As the years passed, the title remained the same, but plot lines came and went, and Tarantino tinkered with the idea of presenting the project as a television mini-series or writing it as a novel. Nevertheless, the oft-discussed screenplay resurfaced here and there. Eli Roth, who plays 'Basterd' Donny Donowitz, recalls: "My first encounter with "Inglourious Basterds" was in December of 2004, when Quentin read and acted out the entire Hitler monologue. It was my first time seeing what I now call 'Quentin Tarantino Theater', where he reads his screenplay and plays every character. I remember saying that I was so completely blown away by what he had read me. For years he would call me and say, 'Hey I got a new scene for Inglourious Basterds,' but then he put it down to do "Death Proof". About a year and a half ago Tarantino told Roth, "I really think I want to finish Inglourious Basterds." In the Spring of 2008, Tarantino also mentioned to Bender that he was focusing on "Inglourious Basterds" again. "I was excited for him because he seemed happy about it. But I didn’t realize that he was actually close to finishing it." On July 2nd 2008, Tarantino completed the final draft. Associate producer Pilar Savone ("Grindhouse"), who has worked with Tarantino since her tenure as the 2nd Assistant Director on "Jackie Brown", remembers the moment she got her hands on the script: "We call it 'publishing day': the day that he finishes, we get the script and send it out. He put it on my desk and we made copies. He called his friends and said, 'I have my script. I’ve done it. Come up and get it.' He had a long list of people he wanted to give it to. People came in and out of the house to visit and pick up their copies." Savone recalls that when they were almost at the end of the list, he looked at all the girls in the office and said, "We need some wine." "I got a call from him July 3rd and Pilar sent me the script," Bender recalled. "I scratched all my plans. I stayed home, I read the script once, and I was about to pick up the phone and I said, 'I’ve got to read it again.' I sat down and read it all again. Needless to say I was pretty thrilled with it." "Each chapter in the movie has a vaguely different look, and a different feel, and the tone is different in all of them," 1995 Oscar winning writer Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction") explained. "The opening feels like a spaghetti western, but with WWII iconography." Special effects makeup artist Greg Nicotero, who has worked with Tarantino since "Reservoir Dogs", was another early reader of the script. There was a vast difference between what he thought the film would be and what was contained in the scripts one hundred and sixty-four pages. How did Nicotero envisage what might have been in the script? "I was thinking that there will be giant battle scenes, and carnage, and bodies being blown apart, so it was a great surprise." I had no idea where the script was going. I was just amazed at the level of detail, and that he made it as authentic as it could be," the two time Saturn Award winner ("Vampires" 1999 & "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" 2006) said. Those familiar with Tarantino know his commitment to making movies for global audiences, not just for Americans. Julie Dreyfus, who starred as Sophie Fatale in "Kill Bill", notes: "When he did "Kill Bill" he also wanted to be as authentic as possible." An eager and enthusiastic Bender met with Tarantino on Sunday July 6th 2008, to discuss the project and the challenges that lay ahead. Bender ("Killing Zoe") recalls, "We talked about the script, and then we start talking about where we shoot it. We talked about all different places around the world, and focused in on Germany and specifically in Berlin." Tarantino told Bender that he wanted to have the film ready for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, a nearly impossible feat. Bender remembers telling him, "We would have to start pre-production tomorrow, and we would have to start shooting in fourteen weeks from tomorrow. We’ll probably be in Germany before we close a deal with the financing. We’ll be casting, we’ll be crewing, finding locations, doing all that work before we even have financing." "The first two to four weeks were insane and everything was happening so fast," says Executive Producer Lloyd Phillips ("The Legend of Zorro"). "I worked around the clock dealing with time zones, crew, accounting issues etc. Because we knew we were starting on a specific date, we needed to focus everyone’s attention. Without the great team we put together, we could not have hit that date. We really had a remarkable team." By the time Tarantino et al arrived in Germany, production designer David Wasco ("The Royal Tenenbaums" & "Collateral") had already done extensive location scouts, and he had a room filled with photographs to show Tarantino. The frenzied, spirited pre-production schedule had begun. Fourteen weeks after 'publishing day', the Basterds were ready to roll. Now all they had to do was come up with the cast! Casting "Inglourious Basterds" required the skill and patience of a team of casting directors in Paris, Berlin and Los Angeles. The production would cast actors from each character’s corresponding country. "It’s a new step towards an international cinema, and I think it will be greatly appreciated," says co-producer Henning Molfenter, who is part of the production team at Berlin’s Studio Babelsberg. 1995 Golden Globe winner Brad Pitt ("Twelve Monkeys") was the first actor to join the ensemble and was cast as Lieutenant Aldo Raine. Tarantino flew to France during pre-production to meet with the actor. "He’s wonderful. We’ve wanted to work together for a long time and this was just the right one, completely. I really didn’t consider anybody else." 2003 Cannes Film Festival Chopard Trophy winner Diane Kruger, who grew up in Germany and lives in Paris, found that the multi-national cast marks a refreshing change for world cinema. "Being from Europe, I really appreciate it. I think it’s great that Quentin has the guts to do it. It adds authenticity. Different languages have different melodies, and it’s funny to hear and people not understanding each other." "Diane gets Quentin’s sense of humor. When she read the script, she got him," says Executive Producer Erica Steinberg ("Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2"). "It wasn’t something that she had to learn. She completely understands his dialogue." An early castings was Daniel Brühl winner of both the 2003 European Film Award and the 2003 Audience Award for "Goodbye Lenin" was cast as sniper war hero turned movie star, Fredrick Zoller. Brühl ("The Edukators") describes his character as, 'sweet' and he’s handsome, and he’s a cinema lover." "He has to fight hard to get Shosanna, and he does so throughout the film. He can’t take it that this girl treats him so badly and doesn’t have any respect or feelings whatsoever for him." Mélanie Laurent, 2007 César winner for Most Promising Actress, was cast as Shosanna Dreyfus. "Shosanna was always a main character," says Tarantino. Despite their initial, almost immediate successes, Tarantino remained apprehensive about finding an actor to play SS Col Hans Landa. Christoph Waltz immediately set Tarantino’s mind at ease. "He starts his audition, and Quentin’s reading with him," Bender recalls. "Quentin and I looked at each other, and I could see in his eyes, and he could see in my eyes that we found him. It was just so amazing that Quentin was so concerned, and literally hours later the guy walks in that can do it in English, French, and German. He was just killing it." This is something cinemagoers will quickly pickup on when they see Waltz in the role that won him Best Actor at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. At let me point out, Waltz is no stranger when it comes to picking up major awards, with a list that includes: 2002 & 2004 Adolf Grimme Award, 2004 Golden Camera, 2003 German Television Award, 1997 Bavarian TV Award and 1996 Baden-Baden TV Film Festival Special Award. The rest of the Basterds quickly fell in line. Til Schweiger, a long-time fan of Tarantino, plays Hugo Stiglitz. In fact, Til named his first production company, Mr Brown Entertainment, after Tarantino’s character in "Reservoir Dogs". Tarantino told Eli Roth ("Hostel") that he had the writer, director, actor in mind for the role of Donowitz before Roth got through his draft of the script. Joining Roth are fellow "Death Proof" brethren Omar Doom and Michael Bacall. "It happened very late in the game," Doom says. "Quentin didn’t decide that I was going to be a Basterd until two weeks before I had to be here. It was great surprise but very last minute." German actor Gedeon Burkhard, who plays Wilhelm Wicki, had been waiting years for the opportunity to be in "Inglourious Basterds": eight years, to be exact. "We met about nine years ago in Vienna," Burkhard recalls. "I never heard anything again. Suddenly, I heard he was in Germany and that he was casting and basically I was sitting around, nervously waiting to see if I would be called to the auditions. I finally did, and I went to the audition, got the part and I’ve been smiling ever since." B.J. Novak, who produces, writes and stars on NBC’s "The Office" was cast as Smithson Utivitch a.k.a 'Little Man'. Rounding out the Basterds are comedian, writer and actor Paul Rust ("Semi-Pro") and Samm Levine ("Sydney White"). Denis Menochet was the first guy to audition for the part of Perrier Lapadite, and won it first up. "His scene with Christoph Waltz, who plays Colonel Landa, is powerful," Bender notes. The surprise short within the film is the mock propaganda film called "Nation’s Pride". Shot by Eli Roth and his brother Gabriel, "Nation’s Pride" stars Daniel Brühl. Martin Wuttke, who plays Adolph Hitler, had only played Hitler on stage, so he had never gone through the prosthetics process. "For his makeup test, we had silicone cheeks, and a chin, and nose, a wig, and contact lenses," says Nicotero. "Once upon a time in Nazi occupied Germany. It’s obviously not a documentary," says Kruger, who appeared in "Joyeux Noël" with Brühl. "The film is about a group of rebels who decide they want pay back. I love it." "It's like a Quentin Tarantino movie on steroids and speed," says Roth. "This is a fast, exciting, tense, with all the thrills, all the tension, all the shoot-out, all the violence you’d expect from a Tarantino film." "I like that it’s the power of the cinema that fights the Nazis," says 2007 Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award winner, Tarantino. The Verdict "1994's "Pulp Fiction" confirmed what many cinemagoers had discovered when "Reservoir Dogs" hit the screens two years earlier: a new and glorious chapter was about to be written into the pages of cinema history. The icing on the cake came at the 1995 Academy Awards, when Tarantino shared the Oscar for 'Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen' with co-writer Roger Avary (the two then went their seperate ways with Avery directing and writing "Killing Zoe" (1994) and 2002's "The Rules of Attraction"). Tarantino's next film would be the critically acclaimed "Jackie Brown" (1997), which, like "Pulp Fiction" starred Samuel L Jackson. To the disappointment of his huge fan base, it would be a long dry period before the writer, director, producer returned to the screen. And what a stunning return Tarantino would make. "Kill Bill" in two volumes (2003 & 2004) and starring Uma Thurman, would blow everyone away. In 2007 Tarantino released "Grindhouse" (co-directed with Rodriguez of "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" fame) and "Death Proof". Despite critical acclaim, neither films would garner the success of his previous efforts. Tarantino has certainly made ammends for 2007 with his latest production "Inglourious Basterds", a remarkable WW2 tale set in five interlocking chapters. Fans will not be disappointed. Critics are once again lauding and applauding Tarantino. The icing on the cake for "Inglourious Basterds" (which borrows its title from Enzo Castellari’s 1978 film "Inglorious Bastards") and cinemagoers is the sensational 'debut' of fifty two year old Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, winner of the Best Actor prize at this years (2009) Cannes Film Festival. There's nothing 'inglourious' when it comes to "Inglourious Basterds". Outstanding! MSM. 4 1/2 STARS." Synopsis

In the first year of the German occupation of France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. The infamous Lander is feared for his ruthless rooting out of Jews who are hiding or being hidden in France. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish-American soldiers to perform swift, shocking acts of retribution. Anyone joining the squad owes him 100 Nazi scalps. Later known to their enemy as 'The Basterds', Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich. Fate brings them together at the cinema marquis. Here Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own. But will her plan succeed?

What Do The Critics Say

"From the very first scene (or chapter, I should say), I was hooked in. By the gorgeous Robert Richardson cinematography, by the use of Ennio Morricone music, by the general spaghetti western feel. And of course, by the astonishing Christoph Waltz as Col Hans Landa. Hysterically fun and gloriously excessive, Quentin Tarantino's latest is right up there with "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill". Kevin N Laforest MONTREAL FILM JOURNAL "Let's be clear. I love this movie. 'Inglourious Basterds' is a triumph. Robert Richardson's photography is lush and gorgeous. This is a movie that should be seen with a crowd, a movie you should see in the very best theater you can find playing it. "Inglourious Basterds" is a triumph." Drew McWeeny HITFIX "Fierce, fascinating, literate, ballsy, shocking, whimsical, devastating, brazenly inventive, and nothing less than wholly hypnotic. The film is ecstasy for movie lovers." Dustin Putman THE MOVIE BOY "The film's real star is Christoph Waltz, who steals the show as Jekyll & Hyde inquisitor Hans Landa. He is a screwball menace, giggling one moment then strangling you the next." Marlow Stern MANHATTAN MOVIE MAGAZINE "F**k I loved this movie! It`s exactly as kick-ass as I hoped a war epic directed by Quentin Tarantino would be. I'll be honest: I had my doubts about whether or not it would deliver. I could really go on and on about the cast. This really is a return to form for QT. It`s a great flick." Chris Bumbray JOBLO'S MOVIE EMPORIUM "Tarantino takes risks and they all pay off. There are umpteen memorable moments in this often shocking entertainment that confronts the horrors of WWII head on coupled with the imaginative flair you might expect. It is definitely not for everyone, but there are plenty who will thrive on the trip." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

"It's mad, it's bad and it's thoroughly entertaining, with some of the most disciplined storytelling Tarantino has produced. The cast: ranging from Eli Roth & Michael Fassbender in Pitt’s team of 'Basterds' to Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill and Mike Meyers as a pucker British general, are all clearly enjoying themselves, and produce a flawless ensemble piece." Simon Weaving SCREENWISE "Tarantino uses some surprising music cues, applied with the same bravado that infests the entire film, lunging suddenly from calm to violence. The result is a film that seems not to take itself too seriously yet recognises that the subject matter is serious. Tarantino uses restraint to keep us on edge." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE "The most entertaining fiend is SS Col Hans Landa (scene-stealing Christoph Waltz). With its exploded notions of heroism, torture-rack dramatics and kamikaze gusto, it's a fiendishly entertaining flick." Joe Williams ST LOUIS POST-DESPATCH "With Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino has made his best movie since Pulp Fiction. He has also made what could arguably be considered the most audacious World War II movie of all-time." James Berardinelli REELREVIEWS "This has to be regarded as the most unusual movie of the year. The movie is imaginative and so full of curveball ideas that you can't wait to see what will happen next." Keith Cohen ENTERTAINMENT SPECTUM "Tarantino swaps fact for pulp fiction; Quentin Tarantino has made a glorious, silly, blood-spattered return. Pitt may get top billing, but he's not the star of the show. That honour goes to Christoph Waltz, who plays SS officer Colonel Hans Landa. Waltz carries off comedic menace with aplomb." Emma Jones BBC IN CANNES

The Production Team

Director Written by German dialogue Producer Cinematography Film Editor Casting Production Designer Supervising art director Set Decoration Costume Design

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Tarantino Tom Tykwer Lawrence Bender Robert Richardson Sally Menke Simone Bär/Olivier Carbone/Jenny Jue/Johanna Ray David Wasco Sebastian T Krawinkel Sandy Reynolds-Wasco Anna B. Sheppard

Run Time 153 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] ©2009 - Universal Pictures & Weinstein Co - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2009 All Rights Reserved The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark laws applied.