Quentin Tarantino has disclosed that two prominent actresses were dismissed from his acclaimed 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds.
The 63-year-old filmmaker discussed the film’s challenging casting process in Jay Glennie’s new book, The Making of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
Tarantino revealed that he fired French star Isabelle Huppert after she failed to attend a table read, before casting Maggie Cheung in her place.
‘So f**k it. I fired her. I mean, I love Isabelle Huppert — Heaven’s Gate and all that — but there were issues with her contract. It just kept stalling. And then not coming to the table read. Well, we cast Maggie instead,’ he said, per Variety.
Mélanie Laurent was also dropped from the film, although she was eventually brought back after asking Tarantino for another opportunity.
The French actress, a two-time César Award winner—the French equivalent of an Oscar—was dismissed after what was described as a ‘terrible’ table read, according to People.
Quentin Tarantino has revealed that two major actresses were dismissed from his acclaimed 2009 film Inglourious Basterds
Laurent later called the Pulp Fiction director and asked to audition again. Tarantino agreed, on the condition that she complete three days of rehearsals with him.
She impressed him during the second attempt and regained the role of Shosanna Dreyfus, the film’s female lead.
‘Let me just go on the record for everybody to know: I love Melanie,’ Tarantino said.
‘The fact of the matter is, if we were not talking about the making of Inglourious Basterds, I would never think about the table read again for the simple reason Mélanie is my Shosanna. She did a wonderful job.’
Released in 2009 to widespread critical acclaim, Inglourious Basterds earned more than $320 million worldwide, making it one of Tarantino’s biggest commercial successes.
The film received eight Academy Award nominations, including a nomination for Best Picture.
Christoph Waltz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the ruthless Hans Landa.
Inglourious Basterds centres on two separate but ultimately connected plots to assassinate Nazi Germany’s senior leadership inside a Paris cinema.
Tarantino said he fired French star Isabelle Huppert after she failed to attend a table read, replacing her with Maggie Cheung
Mélanie Laurent was also dismissed after a ‘terrible’ table read, but won her role back several days later
Alongside Waltz, the cast features Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender and Diane Kruger.
Although Huppert did not appear in the film, she later received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination in 2017 for her performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle.
In June, Tarantino criticised Hollywood as a ‘flavorless sausage factory’ and revealed the one unexpected film he has particularly enjoyed over the past six years.
The 63-year-old director, who has won two Oscars during his career, shared his views in a strongly worded essay for Sight & Sound Magazine.
He wrote that he now finds it ‘almost impossible’ to watch a movie, but identified one 2026 release that held his attention from start to finish: The Rip.
The crime thriller arrived on Netflix in January this year, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the leading roles.
‘A suspenseful new movie has come out that did grab me and held me for its entire duration,’ Tarantino wrote.
‘The film is an exciting cop thriller with a novel premise that manages to deliver the goods in really clever ways.’
He said the film’s ‘whole package worked’, praising director Joe Carnahan, the screenplay and ‘the splendid cast.’
Released in 2009 to widespread acclaim, Inglourious Basterds earned more than $320 million and became one of Tarantino’s most successful films
In another section of his Sight & Sound essay, the filmmaker took aim at the state of contemporary Hollywood.
‘Flaws, implausibilities, audience pandering, miscast performers or just plain stupid s*** usually torpedoes every new movie coming out of the flavorless sausage factory that used to call itself Hollywood,’ Tarantino said.
He added that ‘the entire concept of what is a movie is more inclined to inspire contempt in me than generosity.’
‘Which is fair enough, because by comparison the movies of the last six years make the 80s seem like the 30s.’
Tarantino did highlight several films he has enjoyed in recent years, including the 2021 version of West Side Story, starring Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort.
He also praised Kevin Costner’s Western epics Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, which were released in 2024.
Beyond The Rip, however, the filmmaker said little else had ‘really held me in its grip and swept me away to the magical land of enjoyment that I used to visit regularly and was the reason I loved movies above all other artforms.’
‘These days I’d rather read a book,’ Tarantino added.