“I was like, wow, this is actually the closest to homoerotica I’ve ever filmed,” Tarantino recalled about shooting the scene. “This is very Joe Gage… very 1970s handyman guy on a roof. I go, ‘Okay, so I’m thinking maybe… you unbutton the Hawaiian shirt and you peel that off, and then peel off the Champion T-shirt,” Tarantino continued. “He was like, ’Really? You want me to go through all that button bullshit? I just take it off in one big go! I’m like, okay, this guy knows exactly what time it is. I’ll shut the fuck up and let the master do his job!”
– Quentin Tarantino recalling himself directing Brad Pitt to take his shirt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Brad is like fine wine
Interesting to know that, not only does Tarantino know who Joe Gage is, he’s familiar enough with Gage’s work to try to recreate his 70s era homoerotica. It was a wise choice to stand back and let Pitt take control of the action in that scene.
Brad really did make that film
No. Let your gay audience guide you on this. He needs to remove his pants and everything else if you’re going to use that analogy.
Agreed. Chandler & Heston did that same scene multiple times. If Quin had paid attention to another person besides Q, Tarantino and been inspired by Gage, he would have had Leo up there lickin’ his stomach.