Quentin Tarantino looks back with regret on a particular scene from 2003, the one for leading actress Uma Thurman became a life-threatening experience and led to a heated argument.
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) often hires the same actors for different projects. Uma Thurman became known not only as the gangster’s wife Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, but also as vengeful bride Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2.
As Far Out Magazine reported, Tarantino revealed in an interview with Deadline in 2018 that there was one scene in the film that had stuck with him to date.
Uma Thurman accused Quentin Tarantino of trying to kill her
During the filming of Kill Bill in 2003, Uma Thurman took one herself dangerous car ride in front of the camera. This didn’t go as expected:
None of us ever thought of it as a stunt. Maybe we should have, but we didn’t.
Tarantino drove the route himself first to make sure it wasn’t a risk:
I told her it would be safe. And that wasn’t it. I was wrong. I didn’t force her to get in the car. She got in because she trusted me.
But then there was the film crew due to a change in light forced to turn the scene in exactly the opposite direction.
Uma Thurman’s route also changed. This became a problem, as Tarantino confessed:
I didn’t think I would need to drive the road again to make sure there was no difference going the other way. That was one of my worst mistakesthat I didn’t take the time to drive the road again.
He described below Uma Thurman’s accident:
It wasn’t as straight as it was when I went the other way. There is a little mini S-curve. She flies along thinking it’s a straight road, and as far as she can see it’s a straight road out of her windshield. And then she makes this little S-curve that she’s not prepared for. This caused the car to spin out of control.
Tarantino was moved by what he saw at the time:
She spins like a top. It was heartbreaking. Not only is it one of the biggest regrets of my career, it is one of the biggest regrets of my life.
Following the accident, a heated argument between Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino. As Far Out Magazine further reports, Uma Thurman gave an interview to the New York Times, also in 2018, about the aftermath of the accident:
I felt this sharp pain and thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ll never be able to walk again’. Quentin and I had a heated argument and I accused him of trying to kill me.
Miraculously, the actress did not suffer any life-threatening injuries, but had to be taken to the hospital immediately. She was able to recover quickly.
The creative collaboration between Tarantino and Thurman continued nonetheless
Despite these turbulent experiences, Uma Thurman returned to Quentin Tarantino’s set shortly afterwards for Kill Bill: Volume 2. Apparently the two had managed to resolve their argument. As the actress announced 15 years later via Instagram post, she now believes that Quentin Tarantino has not out
“malicious intent” traded.
You can both stream the Kill Bill films on Netflix in Germany.