Bruce Willis broke a strict rule in one of Quentin Tarantino’s movies which meant he wasn’t credited.
The actor was of course featured in Pulp Fiction, but a year after its release, he also worked on one of the writer’s lesser-known movies.
Tarantino has a whole list of films to his name, from Django Unchained to Reservoir Dogs and from Kill Bill to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
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And so does Die Hard’s Willis, obviously.
But 1995’s Four Rooms probably isn’t one of the first movies you think of when you see either of the stars’ names.
The black comedy film is loosely based on Roald Dahl’s adult short fiction and is an anthology of four stories, each directed by four different people in a different hotel room.
Don’t worry if you’ve not heard of it, it was actually quite a flop in the end.
But Willis wasn’t to know that when he featured in it.
The actor had agreed to appear in the movie for free, and basically just for a bit of fun with his mate.
However, according to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) rules, taking no payment for his role prevented him from being acknowledged in the credits.
So he didn’t get any formal recognition alongside the likes of Madonna and Antonio Banderas.
Even if the film was a flop, and Willis didn’t get any acknowledgment, it didn’t exactly harm either his or the director’s careers.
Willis went on to appear in Armageddon and The Sixth Sense, while Tarantino had a hit with Jackie Brown not too long after.
Earlier this year, the actor’s family announced he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), after he retired from acting following the initial aphasia diagnosis.
They wrote in a statement: “Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces.
"While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”
FTD impacts the lobes of the brain behind the forehead, with symptoms such as personality changes, obsessive behaviour and speaking difficulties common.
Tarantino is apparently looking to have Willis star in a small part of what’s believed to be his final movie.
A production source reportedly told the Daily Express the filmmaker wants to pay one last tribute to the actor and if the family ‘say he’s too sick’ he aims to ‘try to work a brief clip’ from one of his previous movies into the film.
The source added: “Quentin wants to pay tribute to him with a quick glimpse for his legion of fans back on the big screen where he belongs."
Topics: Celebrity, Bruce Willis, TV and Film, Quentin Tarantino
Jess Battison