So what happened?
U.T. He got so excited about it that he went and wrote eight pages of this character, and Bill. And the opening sequence, the original idea was this thing of this character in the wedding chapel massacre, driving at that point to L.A., I think, listening to, well I won't say. So that was the beginning of the movie. That was 1992. Then you know, he was all excited about it, and then it goes away. Oh, OK, no big deal. So he went and did Jackie Brown and this and that, and I went and lived my life. It was about seven years later that I ran into him and asked him what he was doing, and he was writing a war epic film. I said, 'Whatever happened to those pages that you wrote? Did you lose them?' He was like, 'No, I didn't. I still have them.' I was like, 'Oh, that's good. Anyway, blah blah blah.' And for some reason he went home and he dug them up and reread them, and became infused with enthusiasm to go back to it. It was a few months later then, we were in touch again, mysterious to me, little did I know he was there scrolling away with his little felt tip pens and his little legal pads, writing away.

Did you really become this character (The Bride)?
U.T. As a performer, you find it in yourself, in your heart, you relate to what the character is. You try to live it, try to have it be real for you. And it's a painful thing to have too much.

How do you react to the violence your character is part of?
U.T. I think it's sort of thrilling. While I was watching it I was like, 'Ooh,' because you don't see it. Also, particularly as a female, you're taught to be defensive your whole life. You're taught not to be aggressive, you're taught not to provoke violence, because you're instructed from such a young age that you will be the recipient of it, and you will lose.
  This message comes down the pike, 'don't start a fight girl, you're going down.' And for me, just having to make contact, these guys training me and having to actually make contact with a body with a sword, and with Quentin, who's relentless, 'harder, harder, more, more, harder.' These guys want to be tough, you can feel it, you make the contact, and you can feel that you're hitting skin, you're hitting a body, not hitting a pad.

Were you ever in a schoolyard fight as a kid?
U.T. I have three brothers, so I've been thrown against some walls. But no, I was not. I'm not a violent person. And I can talk.  I can usually get around a lot of stuff.

What was the toughest scene you worked on?
U.T. The toughest scene? It's difficult to say. Everything had to be tough. The character goes through an ordeal, and wait till you see the second half, it's not over. It goes on and on and on. And he (Quentin) needs to feel that it's real, he doesn't want shortcuts. He wants to see it real, he wants to see it tricked, he wants to see it every which way. And I don't think he believes in the easy hit, you know what I mean?
  He was laughing to me about the scene where I'm in the car, I'm struggling. He goes, 'I'm watching this footage and you're struggling, I see the tears run down your face, and you've got this weird muscle you've developed in your hand, I never saw that muscle, and you're sweating and you look awful, ah it's so great. And then I realized I made you do it 15 more times.' So, we explored every single moment to the nth degree. So it's hard to tell you which was the toughest.

How many takes does he usually do?
U.T. He doesn't always necessarily do that many takes, unless it's really physically difficult, and then it's sort of a thrill for him, to make it happen again and again. With the drama, he actually gets in and gets out, especially when he's got you, he knows you're together, you're dancing. Sometimes he would do more, some less. He's improvisational. He's changing. He always wants to do something differently. He always wants to reinvent the wheel. He always wants to experience something. And he gets bored quickly. So even if something is really good, if he's seen it before, it's boring. He wants to destabilize the situation. He wants to do something to make it hard again, so that it's thrilling.

- Robin Lynch


Tribute had the chance to get director Quentin Tarantino's take on Kill Bill.

What has the feedback been for releasing Kill Bill in two parts?
Q.T. The thing is this, I don't think most people could handle a 3 and 1/2 hour Kill Bill. Could I? Well yes, cause I'm a movie junkie. I could mainline it alright, but I think most people would overdose on a 3 1/2 hour Kill Bill.

Is it right to call Uma your muse?
Q.T. It's very apropos, especially when it comes to this movie. If Mrs. Thurman never met Mr. Thurman, there wouldn't be a Kill Bill.

Do you think women are better at revenge?
Q.T. I think it is more fun to see them do it. I think it is fun to see the woman warrior, not the cutie-pie, hee hee hee, woman warrior but the real woman avenger. She's not a girlie girl in these films, she's a woman alright?  Where

We have to know. Is Sophie Fatale going to have any appendages left in Vol. 2?
Q.T. She's lost two of them. After she gets the second arm cut off she told everything she knew.

When you just see her from the head up at the end of Vol. 1 you think, 'what else is she missing?'
Q.T. (laughs) Yeah, she's Stumpy Fatale alright?