The Poster Memorabilia blog

Vincent, Jules, and Mia are Still Cool 30 years Later

Thirty years on, Pulp Fiction's trio still owns every room — including the TCL Chinese.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Like the rest of the movie-loving world, I first saw John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, that crazy, Palme d'Or-winning film. I thought they were the epitome of cool at the time, traipsing about in Quentin Tarantino's freaked-up world without a single care.

Vincent was laid-back and nonchalant, Jules was intense but intelligent, and Mia was mysterious and magnetic. Tarantino couldn't have picked more perfect actors to portray these characters on screen. But what was wild was how these three were still just as cool 30 years later.

My dream of seeing them in person came true when I attended the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2024. It was my first time at the event, and I had to be there because they announced a 30th-anniversary screening of the film. I didn't even know the cast would attend. They advertised that Travolta would be there, but the others kept it hush-hush.

The festival dropped hints leading up to it, but I didn't catch any of it. So when the day finally arrived, I got the biggest surprise of my life. You should've seen the stupid, big grin on my face when I realized that Jackson and Thurman appeared on the red carpet too.

“But what was wild was how these three were still just as cool 30 years later.”

What dawned on me even more, however, was how much they still embodied Vincent, Jules, and Mia three decades later. Sure, they looked older and packed on a few pounds, but that same intensity was still there.

I'd have to say that John Travolta looked better bald than with that greasy, slicked-back hair in the film. The hairdo added a much-needed sinister look to his character, but I'd argue that he appeared even more dangerous that night.

That nonchalant smile still came out, but the slightly bigger build and the bald-and-beard combo looked as if he'd beat you up if you so much as looked at him funny. Fortunately, he’s actually a really nice person. He was very kind when I asked him to sign my Pulp Fiction movie poster by the end of the event.

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After years of watching him as Nick Fury in Marvel films, I was even more shocked at how Samuel L. Jackson retained his intense Jules Winnfield aura. He seemed jolly as he hugged Thurman on the red carpet, but every interview he gave revealed his innate intelligence.

I'm sure had he recited his iconic Ezekiel 25:17 speech that night, we would've all simultaneously shit our pants just listening to him. He still knows every word of it, too, as he's proven whenever someone's gotten him to recite it over the years.

And of course, there was Uma Thurman. As beautiful and enigmatic as ever, she could put on that black bob and instantly turn into Mia Wallace right in front of us. Those fierce eyes, seductive smirk, and come-hither look were all still there. She could ask us to do absolutely anything, such as participate in a dance contest at Jack Rabbit Slim's, and we'd all fold immediately.

Like Travolta, both Jackson and Thurman, as well as the rest of the cast who were there, were pretty cool about giving autographs. I didn’t have any trouble asking them to sign my poster. They were some of the nicer celebrities I’ve met.

That poster was pretty special because I actually got to have Quentin Tarantino and Bruce Willis sign it first, more than a decade before. I met them at separate movie premieres in the late 2000s. And it was only when I moved back to LA that I brought it out again and sought to have the rest of the cast sign it.

Today's celebrities can inject as much Botox and get as many facelifts as they want to stay youthful, but only a handful can maintain their unique star quality. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman are part of that chosen few, and they're just as cool now as they were in 1994.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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