‘Wasn’t good enough to be terrible’: Quentin Tarantino names two actresses he fired from Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino has revealed that he fired Isabelle Huppert and Mélanie Laurent from Inglourious Basterds. While Laurent won her part back, Huppert was replaced by Maggie Cheung.

Inglourious Basterds was released in 2009. It was set during World War II, as two separate but concurrent attempts were made to kill the Nazi leadership. The likes of Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, and Diane Kruger starred in the movie.

Journalist Jay Glennie has now written a book titled The Making of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds about the making of the movie. In it, Tarantino revealed that he had fired Isabelle Huppert for not arriving at a table read. He explained that she had some scheduling issues, and said:

“She didn’t show up, so f**k it. I fired her. I mean, I love Isabelle Huppert, Heaven’s Gate and all that, but there were issues with her contract. It just kept stalling. And then not coming to the table read. Well, we cast Maggie Cheung instead.”

“That invariably happens. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re cast and you are not at that table, I don’t owe you jack sh*t! You can be fired, especially if I get excited by what somebody else did in your absence,” he added.

He then revealed that he fired Mélanie Laurent because her table read wasn't good enough. He said that “it wasn’t good enough to be terrible.” Quentin Tarantino said that the table read is the "most exciting day of preproduction" for him. He added that Laurent "was terrible, so I fired her."

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How did Mélanie Laurent win her role back in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds

After Isabelle Huppert was fired, Maggie Cheung was given the role of Madame Ada Mimieux. However, her sequence in the movie was eventually cut.

On the other hand, Mélanie Laurent won her role as Shosanna Dreyfus back after being fired following the table read. Quentin Tarantino revealed that she told him that she wasn't well and needed another chance. She also said:

“I will fly myself to Germany and put myself up into a hotel. I know you’re busy, but I will wait until you see me again.”

Tarantino then asked her to attend a three-day workshop before he could decide if “he felt she was his Shosanna Dreyfus.” He further expressed his admiration for Laurent and stated:

"The fact of the matter is, if we were not talking about the making of Inglourious Basterds, I would never think about the table read again for the simple reason Mélanie is my Shosanna. She did a wonderful job."

Quentin Tarantino said that he has "no moral compass" about casting his movies or firing actors. He said that he owes his "film the best actors I can find."

He has also revealed that he wrote the character of Sgt. Donny Donowitz, aka "the Bear Jew," for Adam Sandler. However, Sandler wasn't able to do it because of another movie named Funny People. Eli Roth eventually played that character in Inglourious Basterds.

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