Originally published August 15, 2019. Updated August 16, 2019.
Shannon Lee, the daughter of Bruce Lee, has told Quentin Tarantino to “shut up” or apologise for her father’s portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Quentin Tarantino films are often controversial but not many would have guessed the major talk about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood would be its depiction of icon Bruce Lee. In the film, Lee is portrayed as rather arrogant and unlikeable and this has rubbed some people the wrong way, including Lee’s daughter Shannon.
Tarantino has declined to apologise, saying that he felt the portrayal of Lee was accurate. Now, Variety has spoken to Shannon Lee about how Tarantino could fix the issue and she has had some strong words for the legendary director in response:
“He could shut up about it. That would be really nice. Or he could apologize or he could say, ‘I don’t really know what Bruce Lee was like. I just wrote it for my movie. But that shouldn’t be taken as how he really was.’”
SEE ALSO: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor Mike Moh weighs in on Bruce Lee controversy
This is certainly one of the complications when it comes to portraying historical figures in fictional movies as often audiences take the film as a definitive account of who that person was.Do you think Bruce Lee was portrayed accurately in the movie? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @flickeringmyth…
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbour… Sharon Tate.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained), Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet), Al Pacino (The Godfather), Damien Lewis (Billions), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs), Dakota Fanning (Ocean’s 8), Luke Perry (Riverdale), Emile Hirsch (The Autopsy of Jane Doe), James Marsden (Westworld), Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld), Julia Butters (American Housewife), Keith Jefferson (The Hateful Eight), Nicholas Hammond (The Sound of Music), Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Spencer Garrett (The Magicians), Martin Kove (Cobra Kai), James Remar (Django Unchained), Brenda Vaccaro (Once Is Not Enough), Nichole Galicia (Django Unchained), Bruce Dern (The Hateful Eight), Mike Moh (Inhumans), Craig Stark (The Hateful Eight), Marco Rodriguez (Inhumans), Ramon Franco (Tour of Duty), Raul Cardona (Where the Sky Is Born), Lena Dunham (Girls), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Austin Butler (The Shannara Chronicles), Lorenza Izzo (Knock, Knock), Rumer Willis (Empire), Dreama Walker (Gossip Girl), Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers), Costa Ronin (The Americans), Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House), Madisen Beaty (The Master), Danny Strong (Billions), Sydney Sweeney (The Handmaid’s Tale), Rafal Zawierucha (The Pact), Damon Herriman (Justified), and Palm Dog award-winner Brandy.
