The Poster Memorabilia blog

A Nazi-Fighting Fantasy Comes to Life on Screen

Cannes, 2009 — the whole Basterds crew on one carpet, and a director who signed first.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is one of those movies I could put on any day of the week. There's a particular satisfaction in watching people beat the living you-know-what out of Nazis, and no filmmaker has ever served it up quite like this. Sorry, Christoph Waltz! You're great in the movie, but it was so satisfying seeing Brad Pitt carve that swastika on your forehead. Never forget!

I will definitely never forget this movie myself. It's my favorite Tarantino film, and I think Pitt gives his best performance here. It's just his bad luck that Waltz also knocked it out of the park, but for me, they both ran away with the film. And that's on top of an awesome supporting cast, like the beautiful Diane Kruger and the amazing Daniel Brühl, too.

Another reason why I'll never forget it is that I got to see the cast at the Cannes Film Festival where the movie premiered. A majority of the cast walked the red carpet that night, and they were all so beautiful. I almost can't believe they all starred in one movie together.

Brad Pitt was always a handsome fella, but he looked his best that night arriving with Angelina Jolie. Whatever you think of that era, the two of them turning up at Cannes together really was the height of Hollywood wattage, and the noise from the crowd when they stepped out told you everything.

Then there were Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, and Mélanie Laurent. Tarantino really cast the most striking people he could find in this movie. I know they're also amazing actors, but I can't help thinking their faces didn't hurt their chances. And deservedly so!

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Now that I think about it, Tarantino doesn't get enough credit for assembling some of the best casts ever. He's an awesome filmmaker, that's for sure, but he also knows how to find the right actors for the right roles and really turn them into movie stars.

“He is Hollywood. A slightly weirder side of Hollywood, but Hollywood just the same.”

He is Hollywood. A slightly weirder side of Hollywood, but Hollywood just the same. And yet, despite his status, he's still very accommodating to fans. He actually signed my poster first, and I think that if not for him, the cast might not have signed it when I asked.

Some of them, maybe, like Pitt, Fassbender, and Kruger, but I doubted the rest of them would. Luckily for me, every single cast member I asked actually did. They really proved me wrong that night. None of them had the ego to ignore me or even the rest of the fans who assembled on the street to see them. Practically each one signed my poster before they went to the red carpet.

The only one I regret not getting was Mike Myers. I was too busy with another cast member when he passed me by. But while I may not have gotten Austin Powers' autograph, I'm still grateful I got the others. I couldn't have asked for a better first time at the Cannes Film Festival.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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