A behind-the-scenes clash between Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino on the set of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has been revealed and it sounds like it was quite the moment.
The story comes from Bruce Dern, 89, who played elderly rancher George Spahn in the 2019 film and was present when the confrontation unfolded.
Dern told PEOPLE that the incident occurred during the scene where Pitt’s character Cliff Booth visits the ranch to check on George, a moment that featured one of Dern’s signature improvised dialogues, which he cheerfully refers to as a “Dernsie”.
In the middle of the scene, while Dern was doing her thing, Pitt did something no actor is supposed to do on a Tarantino set.
He called cut.
“I look at him. [Pitt] cut the camera,” Dern recalled. “The look on Quentin’s face, I mean, he was insanely serious, and he said, ‘Brad, what did you just do?’
Tarantino’s answer was unequivocal.
“He said, ‘Well, I cut the camera.’ He said, ‘Never again in your life will you ever cut a camera or you’ll be dead in this business. It’s my domain. Don’t stop the behavior.'”
Pitt’s defense, Dern revealed, was straightforward, if not exactly well-received: “All Brad did was tell him, ‘Well, it wasn’t in the script what he said.’
The implication is that Dern’s improv had thrown him, which, given that a “Dernsie” can seemingly happen at any moment, is perhaps understandable, if not forgivable in Tarantino’s eyes.
Filming resumed and Dern delivered a new improvised line for the ages: “I don’t know who you are, but you touched me today. You came to visit me, now I’m going back to sleep.”
Pitt went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role.
Despite the friction on set, the relationship between director and star has clearly survived.
A source told Daily Mail that Tarantino is among Pitt’s favorite directors and that the two share a strong relationship. Representatives for both have been contacted for comment.
