Tarantino's pal Robert Rodriguez is going to compose the score for Kill Bill Volume 2. The announcement was made by Rodriguez himself at the second annual Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film and TV Music Conference at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

Category: Kill Bill V2
Comments: 17 (closed)

We have our winners. I got an awful lot of entries telling me how Kill Bill was Tarantino's best film to date. If you are going to suck up like that, you've got to at least make it interesting. For the poster, I used a little child labor and got my daughter to randomly pick one entry - for the keychains, I picked the two entries I enjoyed reading the most. For the keychain winners, I've posted their entries below. Later tonight, I'll have a page up with all the entries.

Winner #1 - J Weis (Kill Bill Poster)

Winner #2 - Sherman Somerville (Pussy Wagon Keychain)

I think the closest I've ever come to shitting my pants in a theater was while watching this movie. The shot to the head right at the beginning and the gun in the Kaboom cereal are what did it. I'm hopeful that Kill Bill will sweep the Oscars this year.

Winner #3 - Pieter Dom (Pussy Wagon Keychain)

Vincent:
"Kill Bill breaks down like this: it's Yul Brenner meets Bruce Lee only to find out they both turned female."

Jules:
"Shemales?"

Vincent:
"No, man. Not the type you dig giving foot massages, but badass bitches."

Jules:
"Sounds like bang for my buck. That Tarantino guy is some helluva mushroom-cloudlayin' filmfreak."

Thanks to everyone who entered. If you didn't win this time, I'm sure we'll be doing it again when Volume 2 comes out.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 2 (closed)

The Japan Times has a big article on The 5.6.7.8's - one of the bands on the Kill Bill Soundtrack. They also appear onstage in Volume 1 right before the big fight scene.

"When we met Tarantino on the set, he told us it was destiny that we'd end up in the movie," says Ronnie, plucking out a bunch of ketchup-splattered french fries. Tarantino asked the band to perform the covers "Woo Hoo" and "I'm Blue," and the original 5.6.7.8's song "I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield" on the stage at the House of Blue Leaves, the rock 'n' roll izakaya in the movie, while people get chopped to pieces all around them.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 3 (closed)

On the list of top 40 filmmakers, David Lynch comes in at #1 and Tarantino is a ways down the list at #17. I'm guessing he is down so low only because he hasn't made very many movies - you can't very well be considered a top filmmaker if you don't, well, make films.

Also, E!Online has a list of 20 Things about Kill Bill.

Category: General
Comments: 0

DVD File is reporting that the release data of the Kill Bill DVD for Volume 1 will be February 3rd, 2004. It will apparently be a 2-disc set that'll sell for approximately $29.99. Once its available, you'll be able to pre-order from Amazon thru this link.

Also, here's an email I received [thanks Peter] regarding the bootleg DVDs of Kill Bill appearing in the far east.

Just a quick note that KB1 pirate DVDs in various packages have appeared in China. The one I saw was apparently shot from the projection booth using a digital video cam. Cost RMB 10 (about US$1.25). Quality acceptable, espec. since there was no audible audience reaction except some nervous giggling during Uma's under-the-credits panting at the beginning and a chuckle during the Sonny Chiba get the tea scene.

UPDATE: Those of you in the UK and Europe can pre-order the Kill Bill DVD right now from Amazon.co.uk.

UPDATE #2: Amazon has opened up pre-orders for the Kill Bill DVD here in the US also.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 74 (closed)

Here are the first three shots to be released from Kill Bill Volume 2. Click on each image for a bigger version.

Category: Kill Bill V2
Comments: 4 (closed)

Mens Journal has compiled their list of the 50 Greatest Guy Movies Ever [CNN article]. The top 3 is respectable: Dirty Harry, The Godfather and Scarface. Reservoir Dogs places 19th and Kill Bill gets honorable mention (51st place) as the best guy movie of the year.

Category: Reservoir Dogs
Comments: 5 (closed)

I'm not sure I expected any less, but the World Socialist Website actually reviewed Kill Bill and managed to use the film to get a dig in on the Bush Administration. Here it is:

But Kill Bill originates from a director who sees a high body count as entertainment and violence as valid as any other human activity. Intentionally or not, such a film serves the purposes of this government’s war as the body count grows higher by the day, militarism tries to make youth see violence as just another form of human endeavor and the secretary of defense shrugs off a record number of deaths as a "bad day".

Thats clever and all, but what are these 'record number of deaths' that they refer to? While the loss of between 1-2 soldiers per day in Iraq is regrettable, its by no definition a 'record number of deaths'. But, then we can't exactly expect accuracy from a group that uses a film review for political purposes.

Here's a thought. Movies are art, entertainment - lets leave politics out of it.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 7 (closed)

The Korea Media Ratings Board gave the film a "restricted screening" rating on Wednesday, effectively banning the movie until the objectionable scenes are taken out, Yonhap News Agency reported.

As a result of the restricted rating, the film will need to be edited before it is allowed to play for Korean audiences.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 3 (closed)

JoBlo has a couple of new Kill Bill wallpapers posted. Direct links to the new stuff are here and here.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 0

For the 2nd straight week, the soundtrack for Kill Bill has hit #1 in Billboard's Soundtrack charts with total sales of abour 400,000. You can buy it at Amazon.com.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 1 (closed)

Most of the critical analysis I've seen of Kill Bill has been mindless stuff that anyone could have written - its too violent, its only half a story, its not as good as Pulp Fiction, did I mention its too violent? But finally, we get a smart critique that raises some good issues:

Sure, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" betrays all the hyperactive cinephilia that we've come to expect from a Tarantino film -- boasting "quotes" from Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns, Shaw Brothers chop-socky flicks, and ultraviolent yakuza fare -- but it's too much, and too obvious. "Kill Bill" doesn't nod toward the films it likes; it is the films it likes, often two or three of them at the same time -- Battle Royale meets Sukeban Deka meets Master of the Flying Guillotine.

True, Tarantino's always been lifting bits -- witness the controversy over "Reservoir Dogs" and similar scenes in the Hong Kong action flick City Of Fire -- but the old Tarantino was a true remixer, who could take certain known elements, add something new, and make them his own. For Tarantino, that often meant jazzing up genre tropes with motor-mouthed monologues, off-kilter characters, and loopy story structures.

But the main problem with the violence in "Kill Bill" is that that's all there is. It's like ordering a "Mac Royale" and getting a kilo of raw meat -- no bun, no ketchup, certainly not any pickle. Elevating B-movie schlock into mega-budgeted, over-hyped blockbusters is exactly what Hollywood has been doing since the mid-'80s, and Tarantino joins the club here.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 22 (closed)

I'm gonna make this nice and easy for you. To enter the drawing, simply email me with your thoughts on Kill Bill Volume 1 in 50 words or less. Contest closes on November 14th. I'll pick 3 winners - one of you will get a double-sided Kill Bill Poster, and the other two will each get your very own Pussy Wagon keychain.



UPDATE: I thought this was obvious, but you cannot enter this contest by posting a comment to this article - you must email me w/ your entry.

Category: Kill Bill
Comments: 25 (closed)