Since Quentin Tarantino's long-time editor and collaborator Sally Menke died unexpectedly after completing Inglourious Basterds, many fans of the audacious auteur wondered how his next venture, the freed slave-centered spaghetti western Django Unchained would come together. Would he stumble without the support system and friend he credited with being a major contributor to his works? Clocking in at 165 minutes, Django Unchained was one of the longer films released in 2012, yet in some ways it seemed too short, leaving several curious questions unanswered.
Tarantino himself admits much was chopped from Django, but not all of it was cut in the editing room. Since the film came out we've learned why the "D" is silent, and why Amber Tamblyn became the featured extra credited as "Daughter of a Son of a Gunfighter." Now celebrated stunt woman and recurring Tarantino performer Zoe Bell has revealed a little bit about her mysterious masked character. You know, the one who gets a long lingering close-up, but no story?
Speaking with E!, the Death Proof star confessed:
"There was backstory and there was to be a fight sequence. I don't know how much Quentin wants me to say, but yes, there was originally more than that. But I guess when you're getting such brilliant shit with Leo [DiCaprio] and Jamie [Foxx] and Christoph [Waltz], you just keep shooting and time kind of got crunchy."
Bell seems to hold no grudges, and was reluctant to share too many details, as she didn't want to displease her director. But she did go on to explain that her red scarf wasn't just a fashion choice, "There was a little sneaky secret under the mask: part of my face was missing."
Unfortunately, because her character's backstory was never shot, these scenes can't be included as a DVD extra. Since, Django Unchained has become the filmmaker's highest grossing film, and has already won a slew of honors including two Golden Globe wins and five Oscar nominations, we expect the eventual DVD/Blu-ray release will be pretty lushly realized. So, hopefully—at the very least—Tarantino will give us a storyboard rundown of Bell's unnamed tracker.
