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Return to "Dogs" and "Fiction" May Be in Tarantino's Future

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7 2006 5:00 PM

Submitted by Hooraydiation. Edited By Rahodeb.

Over fourteen years after the release of Reservoir Dogs and twelve years after the release of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino may finally be ready to work on a once proposed sequel to BOTH films. The project, tentatively entitled The Vega Brothers, was initially planned as a prequel that would follow John Travolta and Michael Madsen as they reprised their respective roles as Vincent and Vic Vega. Two years later, though, plans have changed to accommodate the aging heartthrobs.

The idea of a combined sequel to the films that launched his career as a director was first introduced by Tarantino in a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone. At the time, Michael Madsen was appearing on screens in Kill Bill 2 while Travolta was himself being featured as villain Howard Saint in the screen adaptation of The Punisher. Though more than a decade had passed since the release of Reservoir Dogs, Madsen and Travolta playing younger versions of younger versions of themselves was still not outside the realm of possibility, according to Tarantino.

"It's a sequel to both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, actually, it's a sequel and it's a prequel. It's the Vega Brothers, played by Michael Madsen and John Travolta. I have been trying to do it for years, and the more time I take, the older these two guys get. But I've come up with an idea that won't much matter how much they age....the magic of movies. It's going to be great. It'll be funny, and these guys are so great, alright, they're going to be like two oversized mob-men fighting over the last bowl of pasta, that we can't go wrong. It's just going to be John and Michael, and I hope to make this my next movie. We're laying down the pipework for it now."

Unfortunately, the span of two years only served to increase Travolta's reputation as a flabby eccentric and add a few more lines to Madsen's already creased forehead. Barring the addition of reverse aging as a plot device, hopes of The Vega Brothers ever appearing in theaters seemed completely dashed.

An interview with Michael Madsen regarding the 15th anniversary of Reservoir Dogs, however, has revealed that the project has found new life thanks to an ingenious twist on the concept.

Madsen: I�d like to do The Vega Brothers. I hope that one comes together some day.

Q: Hasn�t Quentin said that wouldn�t happen?

Madsen: Well, first he said he would do it, then he said he wasn�t going to do it. Then he called me and said, �You know, I�ve figured out a way to do it. It can�t be a prequel because you and John don�t look the same. It wouldn�t make sense as a sequel because you�re both dead.� And he gave me an idea that would be really outrageous � that John and I would be the twin brothers of Vic and Vincent. We come from Amsterdam to LA to avenge the deaths of our brothers. I think that�s pretty interesting. For me, I�d love to do it.

Brilliant!

Still, before work can even begin on The Vega Brother, Tarantino must finish working on Death House (one half of the upcoming Grind House) and, after that, Inglorious Bastards. Let's hope that Madsen and Travolta can stay presentable until then.

Meanwhile, those of us who simply cannot wait for a return to Pulp Fiction may find some small diversion in The Bible Experience. Though Samuel L. Jackson's character of Jules WInnfield made it out of Pulp Fiction alive only to die in a "go deaf and you'll miss it" cameo in Kill Bill, you can still experience a follow-up to the character's recitation of Ezekiel 25:17 by listening to this new audio version of the New Testament which features Jackson as the voice of God.

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Now that's a deity you'd be willing to give up sodomy for.

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30 Comments

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FridgeMagnet

Chicago, IL

November 2004

NOV 07, 2006 05:04 PM

How hard is it to find two young actors who can mimic Madsen and Travolta for Christ's sake.

dingoes8

Milwaukee, WI

March 2004

NOV 07, 2006 05:13 PM

When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

jinkblade

France

August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 05:13 PM

And he gave me an idea that would be really outrageous - that John and I would be the twin brothers of Vic and Vincent. We come from Amsterdam to LA to avenge the deaths of our brothers. I think that's pretty interesting. For me, I'd love to do it.

That's were you realize that pseudo-indie iconic movie stars and filmmakers have the same lame ideas and tastes as your typical first year film school student.

redconsensus

Baltimore, MD

August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 05:18 PM

I think this may be the most idiotic thing I've ever heard of in my life.

If Tarentino does this and actually pulls it off he will have proven himself a truly great filmmaker because it'll take a genius to make it not suck.

Hooraydiation

Boston, MA

October 2005

NOV 07, 2006 05:26 PM

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

I thought that Samuel L. Jackson's small part in Kill Bill was meant to imply that the character of Jules had gone on to be a church organist under a fake name, given the fact that Pulp Fiction ended with him experiencing a religious awakening leaving his old life behind for a greater calling.

I couldn't find any other similar theories through google, though, so maybe I was stretching?

Maybe I should take that part out.

StarBelliedBoy

Philadelphia, PA

December 2003

NOV 07, 2006 05:30 PM

Boy, that sounds pretty fucking awful.

Roethke

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

NOV 07, 2006 05:36 PM

You can't make a fucking prequel to a remake, damnit!

bucolic

Dayton, OH

June 2006

NOV 07, 2006 05:38 PM

Michael Madsen is a fucking badass!

Bratchny

United Kingdom

July 2005

NOV 07, 2006 05:45 PM

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

When Jules went to 'walk the Earth' after turning to christianity, he became the organist in the church that The Bride was to be married in. As the article says there is really only a glimpse of him in the film (Part 2 only, if my memory is correct) , and he's then promptly killed by the Deadly Vipers in the church massacre.

MrCrisp

Charleston, SC

August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 05:55 PM

Bratchny said:

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

that wasn't jules. it was rufus thomas: a drell, a drifter, a coaster, part of the gang, a bar-kay. if they come through texas, rufus done played with them. rufus: he's the man.

Vestril

Coronado, CA

March 2003

NOV 07, 2006 05:58 PM

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

I didn't know/think that was the same character either...but by god it could have been.

AndersWolleck

Astoria, NY

March 2003

NOV 07, 2006 06:00 PM

Devin Faraci is a loser

Hooraydiation

Boston, MA

October 2005

NOV 07, 2006 06:00 PM

MrCrisp said:

Bratchny said:

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

that wasn't jules. it was rufus thomas: a drell, a drifter, a coaster, part of the gang, a bar-kay. if they come through texas, rufus done played with them. rufus: he's the man.

Reverend Harmony: Rufus... he's the man.
Reverend Harmony: [to Rufus] Who was that you used to play for?
Rufus: Rufus Thomas.
Reverend Harmony: Rufus Thomas...
Reverend Harmony: [to Bride] Rufus Thomas.
Rufus: I was a Drell. I was a Drifter. I was a Coaster. I was part of The Gang. I was a Bar-Kay... If they come through Texas, I done played with them.
Reverend Harmony: Rufus... He's the man.

From the exchange, Rufus seems like a nickname he earned because he played with Rufus Thomans.

MrCrisp

Charleston, SC

August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 06:03 PM

Hooraydiation said:

MrCrisp said:

Bratchny said:

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

that wasn't jules. it was rufus thomas: a drell, a drifter, a coaster, part of the gang, a bar-kay. if they come through texas, rufus done played with them. rufus: he's the man.

seeing that tarantino movies have re-occuring stars, but not necessarily re-occuring characters (though some of the characters are related), i'm going to stick with my assertion that this is a different character.

ThisIsWhoWeAre

Oakland, CA

July 2004

NOV 07, 2006 06:33 PM

MrCrisp said:

Hooraydiation said:

MrCrisp said:

Bratchny said:

dingoes8 said:
When did Jules die in Kill Bill?

that wasn't jules. it was rufus thomas: a drell, a drifter, a coaster, part of the gang, a bar-kay. if they come through texas, rufus done played with them. rufus: he's the man.