Quentin Tarantino is a man who, in the 21st century, will screen a 70mm print of a movie with an intermission, so of course he’s not just going to re-create 1969 Los Angeles with a CGI paintbrush. The director is currently shooting his next film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and he’s turning little pieces of the city back in time to do it. This week on Hollywood Boulevard, a several-block stretch near Highland was turned back half a century, with era-appropriate cars stacking the streets, redesigned storefronts, and plenty of extras in hippie threads filling the sidewalks. There was also Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio hanging out in and around an old Cadillac. Here’s a look at what’s happening in QT’s Hollywood of yesteryear.
Here’s Brad Pitt hoping there are better dining options at Hollywood and Las Palmas in 1969 than there are in 2018!
A BTS shot of Leo that Vulture’s own DiCapriologist Hunter Harris can file away for her ongoing investigation of the actor’s “involvement” with Rihanna.
In the video below, enjoy the hilarious sight of cars driving back and forth to get into the right position for filming. It gives you a good sense of how much Tarantino’s production team has done with the street, and you can use it for comparison later to see which awnings and storefronts get digitally retouched for the final product. (Fancy restaurant Musso & Frank, which has been in Hollywood for more than a century, will definitely be staying.) The director told CinemaCon audiences earlier this year that “street by street, block by block, we’ll transform Los Angeles into the Hollywood of 1969,” so you can bet that this is only the first L.A. time warp we’ll see this year.
