Quentin Tarantino Cut A ‘Brilliant’ Charles Manson Scene From ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’

Damon Herriman played cult leader Charles Manson in both Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Netflix’s Mindhunter, which is great, because I want nothing but the best for anyone who was on Justified (especially Dewey Crowe). Less great: how little screen time he had in the Quentin Tarantino film. His presence and “Family” loam large, but Manson himself only appears in one scene, when he visits Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski’s house. If you’re thinking/hoping/praying that bonus Manson footage will appear in the rumored Netflix episodic series, think/hope/pray again: compared to his previous comments, Herriman told Collider that only a “tiny bit” was cut from the film.

“There wasn’t a number of other sequences,” Herriman said. “Given it was a four hour and 20 minute first cut, there was obviously a lot that was shot that is not in it. Everybody lost a bit of stuff in the there, including some Manson stuff. Maybe it will see the light of day. I can’t give away what it was, but it was Quentin’s writing at its best.” Herriman praised one scene in particular as being “brilliantly written,” unlike Manson’s music.

“There was a scene that I thought was one of the best scenes I’ve ever read in my life, just on the page, I hope that scene does get released. I genuinely don’t know if it ever will. He has shown an interest in going back to his older movies and making a longer version. Given this one was so long to start with, I think it would be a great candidate for that.” (Via)

Herriman was also asked how often strangers still refer to him as Dewey (or Mr. Crowe). “It’s not that common,” he said.” I mean, I don’t know that people are expecting… [Justified fans] aren’t expecting to see Dewey Crowe at the Trader Joe’s in Hollywood or whatever, so it happens but it’s probably, I mean, five times a year or something.” I fully expect “Dewey Crowe at the Trader Joe’s” to become the next “Old Town Road”-level hit.

(Via Collider and IndieWire)

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