With the 50th anniversary of the Tate-LaBianca murders at the hands of the Manson family coming next year, there are multiple projects about the late actress Sharon Tate hitting in 2019 to coincide with the anniversary. The most noteworthy of these projects is Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Sharon Tate's sister, Debra Tate, has always been very vocal in her opinions about how her sister is portrayed, and she previously spoke out against Quentin Tarantino's film back in March. However, she has since come around after speaking to the director, as she explained:
I'm pleased he reached out. I thought it showed a lot of class and sensitivity to move up the release date. He has done nothing but respect me and be very forthcoming. I have very high hopes for this project.
Debra Tate had previously expressed concern and frustration over Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, calling it "irresponsible" that she was not consulted about the project because she wants to protect how her sister is seen. That seems to have been remedied though, because Quentin Tarantino did the right thing and reached out to speak with her about the film. She must have liked what he had to say and how he plans to portray Sharon Tate in the film, because she now has high hopes for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
As Debra Tate also mentioned to People, the release date for the film was also moved. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was originally slated to release on August 9, 2019, fifty years to the day from the murder of actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969. Sony has since moved the release date up two weeks to July 26, 2019. Debra Tate has spoken in the past regarding a Hillary Duff project about how it seemed like everyone was rushing to capitalize on the 50th anniversary of the murders in a classless way, so this move off of the August 9 date shows some sensitivity to the pain of the victims and helped sway her to be more receptive of Quentin Tarantino's film. This is good to hear because you don't want a film that depicts a real life tragedy to be insensitive or hurtful to those still suffering the effects of that tragedy.
Margot Robbie will portray Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a casting that Debra Tate has actually endorsed in the past, preferring the Aussie actress to play her sister over Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence. We still don't know exactly what role Sharon Tate will play in the film that focuses on a former Western TV star and his stuntman as they navigate a changing Hollywood. All we know is that Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton's next-door neighbor is Sharon Tate, and given that the film is set in 1969, one imagines that her tragic fate will be in the film.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens in theaters on July 26, 2019. For movies hitting theaters to tide you over while you wait, check out our release schedule.
