Other Titles • Pulp Fiction • Petparacke price (1994) • Fiction pulpeuse (1994) • Black Mask (USA working title) (1994) • Tiempos violentos (1994)
Trivia from Pulp Fiction (1994)
1
The parts of "Honey Bunny" and "Pumpkin" were written specifically for Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth.
(81 votes)
2
The first scene, chronologically, in the movie has Vincent and Jules chatting in their car while on their way to do a job. The last chronological scene has Butch and Fabienne riding away from the hotel on Butch's newly acquired motorcycle (and the "last line" of the movie is therefore "Zed's dead, baby; Zed's dead."
(76 votes)
3
Quentin Tarantino hesitated over the choice between the character he was going to play: Jimmie or Lance. He ended up choosing Jimmie's role because he wanted to be behind the camera in Mia's overdose scene.
(77 votes)
4
The shot of Vincent plunging the syringe into Mia's chest was filmed by having John Travolta pull the needle out, then running the film backwards.
(74 votes)
5
Jules's character was originally written to have a gigantic afro, but a crewmember obtained a variety of afro wigs and one jerry curl wig. Quentin Tarantino had never thought about a jerry curl wig, but Samuel L. Jackson tried it on, Tarantino liked it, and it was kept.
(68 votes)
6
After Butch kills Maynard, Marsellus Wallace says that he's going to call some friends "to go to work on [Zed] with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch." In Charley Varrick (1973), a character named Maynard warns a bank manager that some mobsters "will go to work on you with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch."
7
The marquee where Butch boxes advertises the following fights: "Coolidge vs Wilson" and "Vossler vs Martinez". The first is a reference to United States Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Woodrow Wilson, the second is a reference to Russell Vossler and Jerry Martinez, who are two friends of Tarantino's from when he worked in a video store. See also Crimson Tide (1995).
8
When Vincent calls Lance on his cell phone, Lance is eating a bowl of Fruit Brute, a cereal from the older monster cereal family. Fruit Brute (which, along with Yummy Mummy, Frankenberry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula, make up the monster cereals) was later discontinued, along with "Yummy Mummy." Quentin Tarantino has held onto a box and drops it into scenes from time to time. It appeared in Reservoir Dogs (1992), too.
9
The Big Kahuna burger was also eaten in the movie From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and first appeared in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
10
Butch smokes "Red Apple" cigarettes. The same brand is smoked by Tim Roth's character in Four Rooms (1995).
11
Fabienne says, "Any time of day is a good time for pie." Alabama also says this in True Romance (1993), also written by Quentin Tarantino.
12
Harvey Keitel's character in this movie has the same specialized job as his character in Point of No Return (1993).
Quentin Tarantino wrote "The Wolf" character specifically for Harvey Keitel
13
The role of Marsellus Wallace was originally going to be played by Quentin Tarantino favorite, Sid Haig. At the last minute, Haig turned it down, saying that it was "too TV".
14
Uma Thurman originally turned down the role of Mia Wallace. Quentin Tarantino was so desperate to have her as Mia, he ended up reading her the script over the phone, finally convincing her to take on the role.
15
John Travolta's character, "Vincent Vega", is the brother of "Vic Vega", aka "Mr. Blonde" from Reservoir Dogs (1992).
16
Speculation abounds as to the nature of the mysterious glowing contents of the case:
Could it be Elvis's gold suit, seen worn by Val Kilmer (as Elvis) in True Romance (1993)?
The most persistent theory (most usually attributed to a friend of a friend who saw it posted on a message board by someone whose brother had read a report of a radio interview with Tarantino himself) is that it is Marcellus Wallace's soul. The story goes that when the Devil takes a person's soul, it is removed through the back of the head (this isn't part of any known religion, but this is what the message board posters say). When we see the back of Marcellus's head he has a Band-Aid covering the precise spot indicated by tradition for soul removal. Perhaps Marcellus sold his soul to the devil which would also explain why the combination to open the briefcase is 666.
Quentin Tarantino has said that the band-aid on the back of Marsellus Wallace's neck had nothing to do with an allusion to the Devil stealing Marsellus's soul... but that the actor Ving Rhames had a scar on the back of his neck he wanted to cover up.
Or could it be simply a 20-watt light bulb?
According to Roger Avary, who co-wrote the script with Quentin Tarantino, the original plan was to have the briefcase contain diamonds. This seemed neither exciting nor original, so Avary and Tarantino decided to have the briefcase's contents never appear on screen; this way each filmgoer could mentally "fill in the blank" with whatever struck his or her imagination as best fitting the description "so beautiful". The orange light bulb (projecting shimmering light onto the actors' faces) was a last-minute decision and added a completely unintended fantastic element.
In a radio interview with Howard Stern in late 2003, Quentin Tarantino was asked by a caller the contents of the briefcase, and he answered, "It's whatever the viewer wants it to be."
17
Quentin Tarantino has said that the band-aid on the back of Marsellus Wallace's neck had nothing to do with an allusion to the Devil stealing Marsellus's soul... but that the actor Ving Rhames had a scar on the back of his neck he wanted to cover up.
18
Jimmy (Quentin Tarantino) is wearing a t-shirt bearing the logo of "Orbit", a local alternative newspaper in Metro Detroit, for which Tarantino did an interview when he was promoting Reservoir Dogs (1992). See also the WWW-links section.
19
The word "fuck" is used 271 times.
20
In real life, Vincent Vega's 1964 Chevelle Malibu convertible belongs to Quentin Tarantino and was stolen during the production of the film.
21
You can see Vincent entering the bathroom at the beginning of the film, when Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are talking about robbery.
22
Mia Wallace's comment "An Elvis man should love this" is a reference to an earlier cut scene where Mia claims that everyone can be classified as either an "Elvis" person or a "Beatles" person. She bets Vincent that he is an "Elvis", and he confirms it.
23
Cameo: [Steve Buscemi] as the Buddy Holly waiter in Jack Rabbit Slim's. However, as Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs (1992), he refused to tip waitresses.
24
The cab driver, Esmeralda Villalobos (Angela Jones) appeared in a 30-minute short called Curdled (1991) in which she played a character who cleaned up after murders. This makes her fascinated by the idea of murder. Quentin Tarantino saw this film and decided to include this character in Pulp Fiction (1994) but as a cabdriver.
25
Sylvester Stallone was briefly considered for the role of Butch.
26
The role of Vincent Vega was written for Michael Madsen, who played the characters brother, Vic Vega, in Reservoir Dogs (1992), but he couldn't do the film due to scheduling conflicts for another film.
27
Jules' "Bad Mother Fucker" wallet actually belongs to Quentin Tarantino. The inscription on the wallet is a reference to the theme song of Shaft (1971).
28
When Butch ('Bruce Willis (I)' ) taunts Zed (Peter Greene) with the samurai sword and says, "You want that gun, don't you Zed? Go ahead and pick it up. I want you to pick it up." This is also said by Sheriff Chance (John Wayne) in Rio Bravo (1959), which, according to interviews, is one of Tarantino's favorite films.
29
Quentin Tarantino wrote the script in Amsterdam, in a hotel room and in coffee shop ("Dutch" for hash-bar) Betty Boop. He stayed for several months, and left the video rental store "Cult Video" with an unpaid bill of about $150. This stay explains the references to Dutch culture and customs at the beginning of the movie. Also, the book version of the movie's screenplay includes some cut dialogue between Vincent and Mia - he realizes that she was "the girl in the cowboy hat" in a photo at a hash bar they both visited, the Cobra, which is right across from the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.
30
The movie cost $8 million to make. $5 million of which went to pay the actors' salaries.
31
The role of Butch was originally supposed to be an up and coming boxer. Matt Dillon was in talks to play the role, but never committed. Tarantino then changed the role and offered it to 'Bruce Willis (I)' , who had been disappointed at not being signed to play Vincent.
32
Isabella Rossellini, Meg Ryan, Daryl Hannah, Joan Cusack, and Michelle Pfeiffer where all interviewed for the role of Mia Wallace. Out of all of them Tarantino said he preferred Michelle Pfeifer the most.
33
The book Vincent is reading on the diner's toilet is also visible when he gets shot in Butch's house. We see Vince get out of the diner with the book in his hand.
34
When Vince visits Lance for the first time he is complaining about some jerk that supposedly keyed his car. It was allegedly Butch's revenge for the argument the two had when early on they met at Marsellus's club.
35
PULP FICTION is number 95 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Greatest Movies.
36
PULP FICTION grossed $9.3 million the first weekend it opened. It took $8 million to produce.
37
The film shoot took approximately 500 days.
38
Jack Rabbit Slim's took 75 people, nine weeks and $75,000 to build. The restaurant was based on diners in the movies SPEEDWAY, RED LINE 7000, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, and GREASE.
39
Uma Thurman (Mia Wallace) is the daughter of the first American to be ordained a Buddhist monk. She was named after the Hindu bestower of blessings.
40
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I break your concentration?"--Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) to a young, would-be victim (Frank Whaley) after firing a pistol near him.
41
Quentin Tarantino hesitated over the choice between the character he was going to play: Jimmie or Lance. He ended up choosing Jimmie's role because he wanted to be behind the camera in Mia's overdose scene.
42
Quentin Tarantino wrote two of the three stories before he wrote Reservoir Dogs (1992) and True Romance (1993). After the success of those films, he decided to write a third story, intending to have each segment directed by a different person.
43
The Big Kahuna burger was also eaten in the movie From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and first appeared in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
44
A scene removed from the final film involves Jules trying to consider what to do while Pumpkin and Honey Bunny rob the diner. In the scene, Jules points his gun at the bottom of the table and fires up twice, hitting Pumpkin and killing him. He then spins around and shoots Honey Bunny three times, killing her. As she falls her gun goes off and hits the Long Haired Yuppie Scum, who dies screaming on the floor. The scene then cuts back to Jules talking to Pumpkin in the diner, revealing the shootings to have happened entirely in Jules' mind.
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