Quentin Tarantino has disclosed that two prominent actresses were dismissed from his acclaimed 2009 film Inglourious Basterds during its turbulent casting process.
The 63-year-old filmmaker discussed the behind-the-scenes drama in Jay Glennie’s new book, The Making of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
Tarantino said he fired French screen icon Isabelle Huppert after she failed to attend a table read. Maggie Cheung was subsequently cast 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, according to Variety.
Mélanie Laurent was also cut from the film, although she later persuaded Tarantino to give her another opportunity.
The French actress, a two-time César Award winner — the country’s equivalent of an Oscar — was initially dropped after what was described as a “terrible” table read, according to People.
Quentin Tarantino has revealed that two major actresses were dismissed during the making of his acclaimed 2009 film Inglourious Basterds
Laurent later called the Pulp Fiction director and asked for a second chance. Tarantino agreed, provided she would complete three days of rehearsals with him.
She excelled at the second audition and reclaimed 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, Inglourious Basterds won widespread critical praise and earned more than $320 million worldwide, making it one of Tarantino’s most successful films.
The movie received eight Academy Award nominations, including a nod for Best Picture.
Christoph Waltz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the ruthless Nazi officer Hans Landa.
Inglourious Basterds follows two separate but ultimately connected plots to assassinate Nazi Germany’s top leadership at a Paris cinema.
Tarantino said Isabelle Huppert was fired after she failed to attend a table read, with Maggie Cheung later taking her place
Mélanie Laurent was dismissed after a “terrible” table read but won back her role a few days later
Alongside Waltz, the film features Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender and Diane Kruger.
Although Huppert did not remain part of the project, she later received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle at the 2017 Academy Awards.
In June, Tarantino also criticized the modern film industry as a “flavorless sausage factory” while naming the one unexpected movie he has particularly enjoyed over the past six years.
The two-time Oscar-winning director shared his views in a sharply worded essay for Sight & Sound magazine.
Tarantino wrote that he finds it “almost impossible” to watch films these days, but said one 2026 release held his attention from start to finish: The Rip.
The crime thriller arrived on Netflix in January, led by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
“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 entire production came together effectively, praising director Joe Carnahan, the screenplay and “the splendid cast.”
The 2009 film earned widespread critical acclaim, made more than $320 million and became one of Tarantino’s biggest box-office successes
Elsewhere in the Sight & Sound essay, Tarantino launched a broader attack on 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,” he wrote.
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 other films he has enjoyed in recent years, including the 2021 adaptation of West Side Story starring Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort.
He also praised Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga, including Chapters 1 and 2, which were released in 2024.
Beyond The Rip, however, Tarantino said few films 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.
