What You Never Knew About ‘True Romance’

2018 has been a year filled with anniversaries of some of our favourite films. One such film is True Romance. Directed by Tony Scott, from a Quentin Tarantino script, the film turns an impressive twenty-five this year. Starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, True Romance follows newly-weds Clarence and Alabama Worley as they accidentally end-up in the crazy world of drug-dealing. Also starring the likes of Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini, the film has rightly achieved massive cult status.

To honour this prestigious birthday, here are some facts that you might not have known about the film.

1. Gary Oldman didn’t even need to read the script for the film, he just heard Tony Scott’s pitch for the character and agreed on the spot. Scott described his role of Drexl as ‘a white guy who thinks he’s black, and a killer pimp.’

2. It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Patricia Arquette in the role now, but there were several other actors up for the part of Alabama Whitman. These include Juliette Lewis, Kyra Sedgwick, Diane Lane, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bridget Fonda, Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, and Uma Thurman.

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3. Written by Quentin Tarantino, True Romance originally had Clarence dying in the gun battle leaving Alabama all alone. Had Tarantino made the movie himself he has stated that he intended for her to turn to a life of crime and link-up with Reservoir Dogs’ Mr. White.

4. Tarantino’s original script also played out in his signature non-linear style. Whilst that might work for the likes of Pulp Fiction, personally I believe that having the story play out in order makes much more sense.

5. The time period of True Romance has never really been something that I’ve given much thought. I’ve always just assumed it was set in the nineties, however, there is intel out there that points to events unfolding during the eighties. This is all due to Dick Ritchie’s T.J Hooker audition. The show ran from 1982 – 1986, meaning that unless in the True Romance universe the show had a longer shelf life, events occur somewhere between there. Christopher Walken’s character Vincenzo Coccotti states that he hasn’t killed anyone since 1984, further narrowing the time of the movie to 1985 or 1986.

6. Although a hit with the critics, the film is still certified fresh at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, it didn’t do too well at the box office. During its domestic release it earned $12.3 million dollars on a budget of $12.5 million. It did however come into its own on home video and has become the cult success that we all love today.

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7. Director Tony Scott really was a generous man, he gave the Cadillac from the film to Patricia Arquette as a gift when the film wrapped.

8. Clarence and Alabama’s son Elvis, who appears on the beach with them at the end, was played by Arquette’s actual son Enzo Rossi.

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9. Of all the film projects that Christian Slater has made over the years True Romance is the one that people most want to talk to him about. In an interview he said, ‘Eighty-five per cent of the time, people want to talk about True Romance. That’s the film I’ve made that really seems to have stuck with people.’

10. The scene between Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore and Bronson Pinchot, wherein Nicky and Cody interrogate Elliot, was all improvised by the acting trio.

11. Speaking of improvisation, the iconic scene between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken was all as scripted, with the exception of two words; ‘eggplant’ and ‘cantaloupe’.

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12. Val Kilmer plays Clarence’s Elvis-inspired mentor, we never see his face. In addition to guiding Clarence, Kilmer sings the song on the end credits.

13. That epic showdown battle with Alabama and Virgil (James Gandolfini) took five days to shoot. Worth every second.

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14. Clarence’s sunglasses appear in another Quentin Taratino project. The eagle-eyed may have noticed that Uma Thurman’s Bride briefly wears them in Kill Bill: Vol 1. She takes them from Buck after awaking from her coma, and wears them to shield her eyes.

15. The comic book that Clarence shows Alabama at Heroes for Sale is likely to be “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos” #18. In the issue, as Clarence says, Nick Fury has gotten a ring for his sweetheart, that he keeps on a chain around his neck. Later in the story, he gets in a fight with a Nazi, and the ring falls overboard, but Fury dives into the ocean to retrieve it. What Clarence doesn’t tell Alabama, is that when Fury returns to give the ring to his love, he finds that she’s been killed. Incidentally, Nick Fury is played by Samuel L. Jackson, who has a small role in True Romance as one of Drexl’s buddies.