Quentin Tarantino Had a Heated Exchange With Brad Pitt on the Set of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - "You’ll Be Dead in This Business"

Even filmmakers and movie stars who work great together can hit a rough patch on set, and according to Bruce Dern, that happened between Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt while making Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Dern recently shared the story while speaking with People at the Cannes Film Festival, where a documentary about his career titled Dernsie premiered. The film’s title comes from the little acting touches and improvised moments Dern has become known for over the years.

One of those moments apparently sparked a tense exchange during production on Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Hollywood fairy tale.

Dern recalled filming the scene where Pitt’s character Cliff Booth wakes up George Spahn, the elderly ranch owner played by Dern. During the take, Dern tossed in an unscripted line:

“When Brad Pitt wakes me up in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, I’m in the bed and I get up and I’m a little groggy and stuff and I just say, ‘I’m not really sure what’s going on,’” Dern said.

“I’m looking at him. [Pitt] cut the camera. He cut the camera. The look on Quentin’s face — I mean, he was insanely grave — and he said, ‘Brad, what did you just do?’”

Apparently Tarantino wasn’t thrilled that the scene had been stopped mid-performance. Dern continued:

“He said, ‘Well, I cut the camera.’ He said, ‘Never again in your life will you ever cut a camera or you’ll be dead in this business. That’s my domain. Don’t stop behavior.’ So then we went on and did the scene and all Brad did was say to him, ‘Well, that wasn’t in the script what he said.’”

It’s actually kind of fascinating hearing how protective Tarantino is about keeping a scene alive while actors are in the moment. Even with someone as experienced and respected as Pitt, Tarantino apparently wanted everyone locked into the flow of the performance no matter what unexpected thing happened.

The funny thing is that the collaboration clearly survived the heated moment just fine. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ended up becoming one of Tarantino’s biggest hits, earning 10 Academy Award nominations and taking home two Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for Pitt.

Considering how relaxed and effortless Pitt’s performance feels in the movie, you’d never guess there was a tense exchange like this happening during production.

Stories like this are part of what makes movie sets so interesting. You’ve got huge creative personalities all trying to protect their craft at the highest level, and sometimes sparks fly.