4-hour Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? Robert Richardson teases extended cut and details Tarantino’s last film

Here’s something for anyone who geeks out over the people behind the camera as much as those in front of it. Legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson – the bloke who’s made everyone from Oliver Stone to Quentin Tarantino look halfway decent on screen – is now the star of his own documentary. It's called 'Robert Richardson: The White Devil', and comes courtesy of Czech filmmaker Jana Hojdová. Richardson rocked up to the premiere, and naturally, Deadline cornered him for a chat about his wild career, his famous directors, and the ongoing, ever-evolving Tarantino cinematic universe.

Uncut Kill Bill: The Bloody Truth

Richardson’s had his hands on more iconic films than most people have hot dinners, so of course the topic of Kill Bill came up. He says he’s pretty pleased that the famously over-the-top ‘House of Blue Leaves’ massacre has finally been released as originally intended – in glorious technicolour, unrated, with nothing blurred or black-and-white to appease the censors. About time, if you ask me.

Will Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Get the 'Whole Bloody Affair' Treatment?

You know how Tarantino loves repackaging his films with different cuts for the true believers? Well, Deadline asked Richardson point blank if an all-extended, possibly four-hour version of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood could be next for the big screen, sort of like how Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair got its day.

'You have to anticipate that. I would think you’d be a fool not to think there’ll be something that’s longer. I think as time moves on, he’ll go back and redo films. Look how many versions of Reservoir Dogs came out, and I think that you’re going to see more versions of Once Upon a Time… once David Fincher’s film comes out.'

In other words: Don’t be shocked if a much-longer Tarantino cut materialises at some point, especially with this next chapter in the works.

What’s Actually Going On With Tarantino’s “Last” Movie?

Tarantino’s been banging on for years about his tenth and final film. People (understandably) keep asking when – or, at this rate, if – it’ll ever happen. Richardson made it clear that even he is in the dark:

'No, nobody knows what he’s going to do. We know that he’s going to finish [his play], so he’s not going to shoot till after that. So, there’s a possibility sometime next summer. I have no idea what it is, but he won’t be walking down the same path he’s currently walking. I don’t know what he’ll do.'

Turns out, Richardson was actually lined up to shoot The Movie Critic, which was meant to be Tarantino’s curtain call – only for Quentin to bin the whole thing mid-prep. The behind-the-scenes shuffle went like this:

• Richardson gets the nod to film Antoine Fuqua's Michael (the Michael Jackson biopic, if you’re wondering).
• Tarantino rings him up, says 'This is my last picture, I want you as my DP, can you get out of the other one?'
• Richardson asks Fuqua, who immediately gives him his blessing.
• Richardson jumps to Tarantino’s project – only for Tarantino to scrap it and announce he’ll write another script.
• Tarantino briefly starts prepping a replacement, that goes nowhere too.

Cliff Booth Returns: Fincher in, Tarantino (sort of) out

Here’s where things get especially Hollywood. After canning The Movie Critic, Tarantino’s next project morphed into something a little unexpected. The script he ditched became the seeds for a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel – or maybe more of a spinoff. Brad Pitt is back as Cliff Booth, this time trying his luck as a Hollywood fixer (because apparently beating up hippies wasn’t enough).

Pitt got so into it that, when Tarantino said he wasn’t directing, Pitt asked to bring someone else on. Tarantino was happy, but only if it was "the right someone". Enter David Fincher. Apparently it took about five minutes for Tarantino to hand over the keys to the kingdom.

The cast list is properly stacked: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, and Carla Gugino all join Pitt. There were whispers about Timothy Olyphant coming back as James Stacy, but he’s since poured cold water on that.