Pulp Fiction Cast Reunites to Commemorate 30th Anniversary with One Member Missing

It has been three decades since visionary auteur Quentin Tarantino delivered his second masterpiece, Pulp Fiction. The film features an ensemble cast including John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, and Amanda Plummer. On the occasion of the film’s 30th anniversary, The Pulp Fiction cast reunited at TCM Classic Film Festival. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, and Harvey Keitel were all in attendance to celebrate the event.

Pulp Fiction celebrates 30 years: Cast members reflect with gratitude

In 1994, legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino delivered the independent crime drama Pulp Fiction. The film tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence in Los Angeles, California. Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as Tarantino’s magnum opus, with particular praise for its screenwriting. The self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a touchstone of postmodern film. It is often considered a cultural watershed, influencing films and other media that adopt elements of its style.

The film has now completed 30 years, and to commemorate the occasion, the cast members of the movie reunited at TCM Classic Film Festival. Apart from the aforementioned celebrities, actors Phil LaMarr, Burr Steers, Frank Whaley, Eric Stoltz, and Julia Sweeney were also present for the reunion, as well as producer Lawrence Bender and executive producers Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg.

As per Variety, during the Q&A with host Ben Mankiewicz, Uma Thurman praised the Academy Award-winning film, noting that “It changed cinema, so it’s almost hard to have it sink in.” Thurman further explained,  “I feel like I’ve had an evolving and beautifully growing relationship with Pulp Fiction all of my life. It changed cinema, and it changed every filmmaker I met since.”

 

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Harvey Keitel also recounted how Tarantino changed the film industry. He explained,

“Quentin is one of those talents that changed the environment that we were working in with his huge talent. His aesthetic force was so powerful that it had the power to change your direction, and we’re all here tonight for the same reason: we respect the art and the artist. God knows our country needs it now because of what’s going on in it.”

Upon its release, the cast of the film was widely praised, with Travolta, Thurman, and Jackson earning high acclaim. During the same conversation, Travolta showed his gratitude towards Tarantino for casting him in the film. He said,

“I had a great first chapter, and I was desperately looking for a second one. And [Quentin] took me to the moon and back. After that, it was mind-boggling, the opportunities that came my way. I mean, an actor can only fantasize about what happened after that for me. It was next level.”

While almost all the main cast members of Pulp Fiction reunited for the event, actor Bruce Willis was not among them. Instead, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, and his daughter, Tallulah Willis, attended the festival to represent the actor, receiving applause from the crowd. Previously, it was reported that Wills was diagnosed with dementia, and he hadn’t made an official appearance since retiring.

Pulp Fiction has become a cult classic with time. Based on 174 reviews, the film has an approval rating of 92% and an average rating of 9.30/10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The film was both a commercial and critical success, grossing $212.8 million worldwide from an $8 million budget (via The Numbers). It also received seven Academy Award nominations, taking home the golden statuette for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.