Sometimes, one brilliant spin inspires another. This was the case with the birth of “Kill Bill.” The revenge epic that grew so heavy that it had to be split into two volumes to protect Miramax’s investment was born on a wild night during the production of “Pulp Fiction.” As Thurman told Time in 2003:
“‘We were with the guys from the Pulp Fiction cast and crew, just talking about making a revenge genre film,’ he said, ‘putting ideas out.’ Within minutes he and Tarantino came up with a plot idea: a pregnant woman murderer tries to be direct, is viciously assaulted at her marriage, loses her baby, goes into a coma, recovers and continues her revenge.So excited by the premise that she went home and wrote a nine-page script. with a colorful frenzy.”
Then Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” inspiration disappeared. He lost contact with Thurman for several years. When they finally reconnected, Thurman asked Tarantino if he still had the pages he filled with inspiration. He did, but no script.
On Thurman’s birthday that year, he promised that he would have a complete screenplay “in a few weeks.” A year and a half later, he finally received a draft of “Kill Bill.”