Quentin Tarantino has made his final decision and will be taking his ninth feature to Sony Pictures, Deadline reports. The movie represents the first time in Tarantino’s career that he will be making and/or releasing a film outside of Miramax or the Weinstein Company.
Following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Harvey Weinstein, Tarantino announced he would be parting ways with his former studio. Every major studio besides Disney was reportedly in the mix to become Tarantino’s new home, with Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. emerging as the final three contenders on November 14.
Read More: Quentin Tarantino on His Upcoming Film: ‘It’s not Charles Manson, It’s 1969’
Tarantino’s ninth film is still untitled but it’s set in 1969 and has something to do with the Manson family murders. Deadline reported that the script hews closely to “Pulp Fiction.” One of the stories is expected to focus on Sharon Tate, a role that has been reportedly offered to Margot Robbie; there has also been speculation that Tarantino wrote characters for Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Tarantino’s popularity sparked an intense bidding war between the three studios. Warners Bros. went as far as putting up the studio;s 1969 logo on the marquee outside the studio and retrofitting the conference room where executives pitched to Tarantino with vintage furniture from the era. In order to even meet with Tarantino in person, executives had to sign off on specific terms such as agreeing on a $100 million budget and giving Tarantino final cut privilege and first-dollar gross (he’ll receive a cut of the pre-tax revenue the movie makes).
The director had planned to finalize a deal with a studio before Thanksgiving. He’s planning to start production on the movie over the summer in 2018 for a targeted 2019 release.
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