Quentin Tarantino calls convincing Uma Thurman to do the stunt that led to a brutal car crash on the 'Kill Bill' set the 'biggest regret of my life'
- Director Quentin Tarantino spoke to Deadline about his treatment of actress Uma Thurman on the set of "Kill Bill."
- Thurman told The New York Times that Tarantino pressured her to do a car stunt that resulted in a crash, injuring her.
- Tarantino said that convincing Thurman to perform the stunt was "the biggest regret of my life."
- Tarantino also said producer Harvey Weinstein, who Thurman accused of sexually assaulting her, prevented her from seeing footage of the crash.
In an interview with Deadline, director Quentin Tarantino said that getting Uma Thurman to do a car stunt that resulted in a brutal crash on the set of "Kill Bill" was the "biggest regret of my life."
In a New York Times piece published over the weekend, Thurman said that Tarantino, who directed her in "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill," mistreated her on set. (Thurman also accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.)
Thurman provided a video to the Times of a car stunt on the set of "Kill Bill" that she said Tarantino pressured her to do. Thurman said the stunt resulted in a concussion and injured knees for her because the car crashed.
Tarantino told Deadline that while he didn't "force" Thurman to do the stunt, she did it because she "trusted" him.
"I came in there all happy telling her she could totally do it, it was a straight line, you will have no problem," Tarantino said of the stunt. "Uma's response was, 'Okay.' Because she believed me. Because she trusted me. I told her it would be okay. I told her the road was a straight line. I told her it would be safe. And it wasn't. I was wrong. I didn't force her into the car. She got into it because she trusted me. And she believed me."
Thurman told the Times that Tarantino persuaded her to do the stunt after coming into her trailer. "He was furious because I'd cost them a lot of time," she said.
Thurman also said that during shooting Tarantino spat in her face and strangled her with chains to get the performance he wanted out of her. Thurman's story inspired people in Hollywood like Jessica Chastain and Reese Witherspoon to publicly criticize Tarantino for his tactics.
While Tarantino did not respond to the Times' requests for comment, he spoke to Deadline about the crash. "It was heartbreaking. Beyond one of the biggest regrets of my career, it is one of the biggest regrets of my life. For a myriad of reasons."
Tarantino said that he knew the piece in the Times was coming, and that he talked to Thurman about it. He also helped her secure footage of the crash. For 15 years, Thurman couldn't get ahold of it. She told the Times that at the time of the crash, Miramax offered her the footage if she signed a document "releasing them of any consequences of my future pain and suffering," but she refused.
Tarantino said that when he provided Thurman with the footage in preparation for the Times article, it was her first time seeing it. "She had been denied it, from Harvey Weinstein, being able to even see the footage." Tarantino said that he wanted Thurman to see footage of the crash so she could have a better memory of what happened, and so she could have closure.
Read the full interview over at Deadline.