At AFI Fest in Los Angeles, Quentin Tarantino pulled off a surprise: after a screening of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," he presented the first 17 minutes of the sequel "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth."
The film, written by Tarantino and directed by David Fincher, brings Brad Pitt back in the role of stuntman Cliff Booth. The action unfolds in 1977 — eight years after the events of the original. Booth now works as a Hollywood "fixer," solving problems in the shadows of the studios.
The footage blends conversation and explosions: Booth is by turns spinning film reels in a movie theater and getting mixed up in shady business. The atmosphere is a mix of pulp novels and noir, with the hero balancing between Hollywood's polish and its back alleys.
The central tension is Booth's struggle to survive in a world that is no longer what it was. He is not seeking fame, but simply a place in it, preserving his composure and moral boundaries.
Viewers describe the screening as a mix of tension and recognizable Tarantino charm: the dialogue hooks you, and the scenes of violence hit their mark precisely. One specific detail is the moment when Booth calmly discusses business while chaos unfolds off-screen.
This matters now because the sequel opens in IMAX on 25 November, and on Netflix on 23 December. Tarantino increasingly acts as screenwriter and writer, handing over directing to Fincher.
An unexpected detail: Tarantino admitted that "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is his favorite film to rewatch precisely because of the atmosphere of "just hanging out with the characters." He sees in Booth a hero of an entire series of adventures, like in paperbacks.
The film will be perfect for fans of the original and of Pitt who are waiting for a more plot-driven story. Those looking for pure Tarantino behind the camera should wait for his next directorial work.
For now, 17 minutes leave the impression that the mythology of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" continues to live on — and that in itself is an event for the film industry.
