Tarantino Screens First 17 Minutes of Cliff Booth Film at AFI Fest

Quentin Tarantino showed the first 17 minutes of "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth" to a surprised AFI Fest audience on Friday night at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

The filmmaker appeared after a screening of "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood," followed by a Q&A moderated by Rotten Tomatoes' Jacqueline Coley. Then he offered the crowd a choice. "Well, I could talk a little bit about 'The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth' or I could show you the first 17 minutes," Tarantino said.

He showed the footage. Director David Fincher, also in attendance, directs the film from Tarantino's screenplay. Brad Pitt returns as Cliff Booth, and the story jumps from the original's 1969 to 1977.

What is the new film about?

The official logline: "Los Angeles no longer needs a hippie-slaying stuntman the way it did. But Hollywood will always have problems, problems that can only be solved by someone with Cliff's unique (occasionally extralegal) abilities. When he's not earning his keep bartending or as a projectionist, Cliff Booth is a fixer — solving situations for Hollywood's great and, sometimes, not so good."

The plot mechanics, as revealed so far:

• Talent agent Karen Crosby (Elizabeth Debicki) calls Cliff on behalf of client Charlie Peters (Scott Caan), a TV megastar known for doing his own stunts.
• Charlie's circle includes his wife Toni (Carla Gugino) and Roderick "Hot Rod" Harrison (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a pro football champion turned screen star.
• The Verdusco brothers (Matt Groove and JB Tadena), mysterious gangsters, are causing mayhem across the city.

The film's own framing: "What was once a fairytale is now a crime story — a cocktail of violence, ambition and desire that could only happen in LA."

The cast also includes Peter Weller. The Netflix film premieres in Imax theaters on Nov. 25 and hits the streamer Dec. 23.

Why return to Cliff Booth?

Tarantino explained his reasoning with characteristic candor. "I tend to not remember good reviews of mine in quotes; I remember the bad reviews in quotes, but I don't really remember good reviews of mine in quotes," he said.

One review stuck. "'This seems like the first world Quentin Tarantino has ever created that he would like to live in' and there is that aspect; I loved the Cliff Booth character," Tarantino said. "I loved the way that Brad played him, and there was this aspect of him as sort of like a paperback hero. I could see like a series of paperbacks with Cliff Booth getting involved with this adventure or that adventure."

The opening sequence carries Tarantino's signature writing style, while the 1977 Hollywood it depicts is, in true Fincher fashion, gritty and dark.

What else did Tarantino reveal?

He began the evening by admitting he had never seen the film at that theater. He then recalled his conversations with Burt Reynolds about playing George Spahn in the original film.

"He said yes and we became friendly, but he passed away before we could make the film," Tarantino said. "But we did get to rehearse with him and do the script reading with him, so actually, the last performance Burt Reynolds ever gave was as George Spahn in the script reading." Bruce Dern ultimately played the role.

Tarantino also confirmed his play "The Popinjay Cavalier," starring Sacha Baron Cohen, premieres in London's West End next year. "I'm not going to talk a whole lot about that, but our previews are in February. In November we'll start rehearsals," he said. He added: "I'm just a writer and that's just kind of what I do. I'm always writing."

Audiences won't need to wait long to judge the full cocktail themselves. Imax screens get it Nov. 25; Netflix subscribers, Dec. 23.