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Tag: Kill Bill

  • Lucy Liu on Mental Health, Motherhood, and the “Very Limiting” Hyphenate Hollywood Should Retire

    On a chilly December evening, the sounds of Lucy Liu’s filmography echoed through an upper Manhattan cineplex. Liu had arrived for a post-screening Q&A in support of her new movie, Rosemead, only to hear dialogue from Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (a special project that combines parts one and two of Quentin Tarantino’s revenge thriller) emanating from a nearby theater. “I couldn’t believe it. I just happened to walk by, and I heard what sounded like my voice,” Liu tells Vanity Fair. “I walked over and it was that scene.”

    You know the one. Liu and Uma Thurman play rival sword-wielding assassins who battle to the former’s death in a snow-covered, blood-soaked blowout. It is one of many impressive moments from Liu’s lengthy career, which has seen her turn a successful late-’90s run on Ally McBeal into a diverse oeuvre of action (two Charlie’s Angels movies, two Kill Bill films), intrigue (seven seasons of the network whodunnit Elementary), and romance (Netflix’s Glen Powell springboard, Set It Up). In 2000 she became the first Asian woman to ever host Saturday Night Live, and nearly two decades later, Liu became only the second Asian American actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, following in the footsteps of Chinese American actress Anna May Wong, one of the few Asian performers to break through in Hollywood’s golden age.

    Liu in Kill Bill, 2003.© Miramax/Everett Collection.

    Liu is one of the most recognizable Asian women in film history, but grows weary when reminded of it. “I would love to get rid of the hyphenates. I would really love to just be an artist. I find it really strange that I have to have a title before my craft. I think it’s very limiting,” she says. “I don’t know that anyone’s saying, ‘This is an Australian actress’ or ‘This is an English-slash-Spanish [actor].’ It’s kind of like if you’ve been attached to somebody, and then you have to carry their last name because you were married to them.”

    As Liu, now age 57, explains: “I find it to be very imprisoning. Not for me, but for them. Because I don’t walk around looking at myself and saying it out loud. I’m proud of who I am, but I don’t need to always label myself as something.”

    Liu’s recent double feature seems to have paid off: Rosemead generated more than $50,000 in ticket sales from a single venue during that aforementioned weekend, netting one of the biggest per-theater openings of last year. Based on a 2017 Los Angeles Times column by Frank Shyong, the film dramatizes the tragic true story of a single Taiwanese American mother named Irene, who secretly undergoes cancer treatment while navigating her teenage son Joe’s (Lawrence Shou) recent schizophrenia diagnosis. Rosemead, which she also produced, marks a rare dramatic leading role for Liu, who adopted a Mandarin accent and shrunken physical posture to play a terminally ill Irene.

    Savannah Walsh

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  • Quentin Tarantino Reveals the Best Director at Brutality in Martial Arts Movies

    Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to violence in films, with the director employing some of the most iconic, old-school techniques in his films. He is also a connoisseur of old-school martial arts films, something that was visible in his approach to his two-part Uma Thurman starrer, Kill Bill. In a recent interview, the veteran director has singled out one martial arts director whom he considers can portray violence perfectly.

    Quentin Tarantino praises Lee Tso-Nam’s brutal ‘death blows’ in movies

    Quentin Tarantino is an avid fan of martial arts movies. He has endorsed the genre time and again before. The influence of the genre is also visible in the works of Tarantino, especially in Kill Bill, which heavily leans on the style.

    Even when his films are not related to martial arts, most of them at least employ a healthy dose of violence, even in the most uncommon of ways, like in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

    In his recent appearance on the Pure Cinema Podcast, Tarantino shared his opinion on Martial Arts films and singled out one director above the others. He claimed that Lee Tso-Nam, a veteran director who made many old-school martial arts films in the 1970s and 1980s, was an expert in depicting fight scenes.

    What appealed to Tarantino the most in Tso-Nam’s films was the “fastness” in the fight sequences. Back then, most directors employed the same technique of speeding up the camera to make the fight scenes look more endearing. But Tso-Nam mastered this technique.

    Tarantino also claimed that he was the only director to use this common technique in an “artistic” way, which made Tso-Nam’s films visually appealing.

    The Pulp Fiction director added that the action scenes in Tso-Nam’s movies are “painful.”

    Lee Tso-Nam remains one of the most prolific directors in the history of the Hong Kong film industry. Many of his films have become cult classics and continue to allure fans around the world.

    Sourav Chakraborty

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  • Quentin Tarantino Never Thought Lost ‘Kill Bill’ Chapter Would Get Made — Until Fortnite Stepped In: ‘I Sent Them the Script’ and They Said, ‘Let’s Do This’

    A two-decade-old dream is finally coming true for director Quentin Tarantino. The “Kill Bill” chapter known as “Yuki’s Revenge” is coming to life in Fortnite.

    The animated short will also head to the big screen as part of an exclusive limited theatrical run of “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.”

    Tarantino’s “The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge” stars Uma Thurman, who returns as The Bride, and runs eight minutes. Tarantino and Thurman worked with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, and used motion capture technology to transfer her performance into the gaming platform.

    Speaking at his Vista Theater in Los Angeles at a special launch event, Tarantino explained how Fortnite and Epic Games came to be the perfect fit for “The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge.”

    He said, “They got together with me to talk about some situation where my characters and Fortnite do something kind of groovy. So I show up at the meeting thinking that we’re just going to talk about that they want to license the characters, and they want to get my ideas about what will be a fun thing to do.”

    As it turns out, the powers that be at Epic Games had other ideas in mind. Rather than license his characters, they wanted to see if he had something in the eight to 12 minute range “that could be good for our purposes and make sure your iconic characters are wrapped up inside this.”

    As it turned out, Tarantino did have something.

    He had an entire chapter that existed in the original first draft of “Kill Bill.” “It never even made second drafts,” Tarantino revealed.

    He explained that in the chapter, Gogo (Chiaki Kuriyama) had a twin sister and had the sniffles that night at the House of Blue Leaves and leaves early.

    Due to pacing concerns, it never made the film. “It was too crazy, too violent, and just too much action,” Tarantino said.

    He sent the script along. Tarantino said. “I actually thought maybe the ship had sailed as far as, like doing new material. I was wrong.” He added, “When I wrote the first draft of the script, there was a lost chapter that, frankly, I just didn’t think we could pull off. And Yuki has been a figment of my imagination for over 20 years.”

    Getty Images for Epic Games

    Thurman surprised audiences when she joined Tarantino to explain how motion capture technology helped her bring The Bride to Fortnite.

    Unreal Engine’s technology renders characters in real time. In capturing performances, it can test poses and expressions and see what reads the best. And when it came to getting the voiceover, the team had facial data from the actors to help animate.

    “It’s so novel to wear the camera on your head, but I completely forgot about it; just started to live in the moments of the scenes we were doing,” said Thurman.

    As for this new way of bringing “Kill Bill” to audiences and telling the story of Yuki’s revenge, Thurman said she found it cool. “This is a new audience for the movie.” She went on to say, “It’s really moving. It’s really great, and I think it’s something meant to be.”

    Getty Images for Epic Games

    Lionsgate opens Tarantino’s‘ “The Whole Bloody Affair,” the four-hour cut (281 minutes with a 15 minute intermission) that combines “Kill Bill Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill Vol. 2″ into a single feature, in theaters on Dec. 5.

    Thurman stars as The Bride, left for dead after her former boss and lover Bill ambushes her wedding rehearsal, shooting her in the head and stealing her unborn child. To exact her vengeance, she must first hunt down the four remaining members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad before confronting Bill himself.

    “The Whole Bloody Affair” stars Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, and David Carradine as Bill. Produced by Lawrence Bender, it’s written and directed by Tarantino, and is based on the character of “The Bride” created by Q&U (Quentin and Uma).

    With the crossover, Tarantino said, “I want both the ‘Kill Bill’ fan and the Fortnite fan to be totally effing happy about this collaboration.”

    Jazztangcay

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  • A Long-Lost Chapter of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ Is Coming to… ‘Fortnite’?

    Quentin Tarantino hasn’t released a feature since 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and fans of the filmmaker are still waiting to hear what his next film (his 10th, and purportedly his last) will be. (We’ve long since stopped speculating about his Star Trek movie.) However, there sure has been a lot of Kill Bill talk lately, hasn’t there?

    Fresh interest in the Uma Thurman-starring revenge flick—an epic kung fu and yakuza riff that pays homage to Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba, and beyond, with an anime interlude, sword fights, training montages, rock n’ roll sequences, and gore galore—started with the release of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair in theaters. The special presentation edits together the two-part movie (originally released separately in 2003 and 2004) and will soon be hitting theaters nationwide—meaning you don’t have to travel to a Tarantino-owned cinema to get your eyeballs around it.

    But if you crave more Kill Bill and long to witness more slicing blades featuring the Bride and her foes, Fortnite is here to serve. The game, long a curious source of exclusive and/or oddball pop culture content, will be rolling out The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge this weekend.

    “Visionary director Quentin Tarantino had a dream of a Kill Bill chapter that never made it to the silver screen, a chapter known as ‘Yuki’s Revenge,’” explains the official Fortnite blog. “Over 20 years later, Tarantino and Epic have come together to bring the story to life in Fortnite. Built with Unreal Engine and character models from Fortnite, Tarantino’s The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge stars Uma Thurman.”

    And yes, there’s a trailer, which gives us a glimpse of Yuki Yubari herself—the sister of Gogo Yubari, the cute yet terrifying schoolgirl played by Battle Royale standout Chiaki Kuriyama in Kill Bill. It definitely appears that Yuki is just as adorably sadistic as her sister.

    Even with all those weapons… our money’s still on the Bride.

    If you want to watch Yuki’s Revenge in Fortnite, it premieres November 30 at 2 p.m.; as the blog explains, “You’ll be able to find it in the top row of Discover. Doors for the viewing experience open 30 minutes before the show starts.”

    But if gaming’s not your thing, “starting December 5, participating theaters in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom will show Yuki’s Revenge as part of an exclusive limited theatrical run of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.”

    If Tarantino announces Kill Bill: Volume 3 as his swan song, we can say we saw the signs. Either way, the Kill Bill revival is here to wreck your wedding, bury you alive, rev up your Pussy Wagon, and send you on a cross-country mission to get your daughter back while you plan to (see title). Will you be checking out Yuki’s Revenge in Fortnite or making it part of your big-screen re-watch of The Whole Bloody Affair?

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    Cheryl Eddy

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  • Behold, the Bloody Return of ‘Kill Bill’ to Theaters Next Month

    If you need something to look forward to this holiday season, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill duology is being re-released in theaters as a combination film, The Whole Bloody Affair.

    Beginning December 5, the “single, unrated epic” can be seen in either 35 or 70mm film and feature a never-before-seen anime sequence from Production I.G of Ghost in the Shell fame. Being two movies fused into one, Affair will run over four hours long, but don’t worry: Lionsgate is throwing in a 15-minute intermission. It’s also going to live up to its name and be pretty bloody, which you can see in the trailer below.

    Released in 2003 and 2004, the Kill Bill films star Uma Thurman as ex-assassin Beatrix Kiddo, who’s hunting down her fellow Deadly Viper assassins after they try to kill her and her unborn her child on her wedding night. Inspired by 1970s kung fu flicks, the cast includes Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu, and the late David Carradine, and both movies were well-reviewed, with Thurman earning Golden Globes nominations for each movie. They also made a lot of money—$180.9 million for the first and $150.3 million for the second, with the former having the highest-grossing opening weekend of Tarantino’s career when it came out.

    Tarantino previously screened The Whole Bloody Affair a handful of times, but this marks its first-ever nationwide release. He’s also mentioned wanting to do a third movie, saying in 2021 he’d like to bring in Thurman’s real-life daughter Maya Hawke as the grown version of Beatrix’s daughter B.B. as they flee from assassins. But since he’s apparently retiring after his tenth film, that may not be in the cards, ditto a home release for Affair.

    Tickets for Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair should go up soon.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    Justin Carter

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  • ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’ Is Coming to Theaters Everywhere This Year

    For the past decade, the only place to see Quentin Tarantino‘s ultimate version of Kill Bill was in one of Tarantino’s own movie theaters. That is now changing. In huge, surprising news for film nerds everywhere, Lionsgate just announced it will release Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair in theaters nationwide on December 5.

    “I wrote and directed it as one movie—and I’m so glad to give the fans the chance to see it as one movie,” Tarantino said in a press release. “The best way to see Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is at a movie theater in glorious 70mm or 35mm. Blood and guts on a big screen in all its glory!”

    This version of the film will be different from the one that recently played at the Vista Theater in Los Angeles, CA, too. It will include “a never-before-seen, 7.5-minute animated sequence,” which we assume is in addition to the one already in the film focusing on O-Ren Ishii, played by Lucy Liu.

    Originally released as two films, Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2, The Whole Bloody Affair combines all of that with a few nips and tucks to make it more cohesive. It runs over 250 minutes with an intermission and is a stunning work of cinema. In our mind, it’s Tarantino’s best film.

    That it’s getting this wide release is something of a shock, though. In a recent interview, Tarantino spoke about why he was leaning towards only playing the film at his own movie theaters and never releasing it on Blu-ray. But, it seems, this is a compromise that allows people to see it in the best way imaginable but then also doesn’t force him to release it on physical media. You still have to see it in a theater.

    There’s no word on when fans might be able to buy tickets or just how wide this release will be. All the press release says is that “select presentations of the release will be in 70mm and 35mm, and it is anticipated that the film will play in all major markets.” So keep an eye on your local theaters for this, potentially, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    Germain Lussier

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  • UMG Says You Can’t Listen To Taylor Swift On TikTok

    UMG Says You Can’t Listen To Taylor Swift On TikTok


    Part of the music industry in today’s world involves promoting via social media – especially on platforms with mega-influence like TikTok. Artists will tease songs, new artists will be discovered on the platform, and if a sound goes viral tracks can resurge and soar into popularity. You saw it with songs like “Kill Bill” by SZA and “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus.

    Well, bad news. As of February 1, Universal Music Group (UMG) has taken their artists’ music off TikTok after accusing the social media platform of offering unfair reimbursement to artists and allowing AI to generate recordings using an artist’s voice. In an open letter on its website, UMG states,

    “TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans,”

    And the drama doesn’t stop there. In a brief response, TikTok snaps back with,

    “TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters, and fans.”

    Who Does UMG Represent?

    Screenshot from TikTok Jai Phillips

    Among UMG’s lengthy list of artists are: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Blackpink, The 1975, Beyonce, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey, and Lewis Capaldi. In the heated letter released by the music label, they mention how TikTok began to take the music down of their smaller artists, but kept their bigger names that generate revenue for the app in an effort to control them. As UMG’s response, they took every single artist away.

    What Happens To UMG’s Music On TikTok?

    @noahkahanmusic thanks love you guys #newmusic #stickseason #noahkahan #noahkahanmusic #forever ♬ Angel – Sarah McLachlan

    That means videos using popular songs like Harry Styles’ “As It Was” or Lana Del Rey’s “Say Yes To Heaven” are now met with “This Sound Is Not Available.” The only sounds under names like Olivia Rodrigo and Noah Kahan are fan-made edits and manipulations of songs.

    This means both TikTok and the music industry will change a bit. A lot of artists will have less of an interest in building platforms on TikTok, because it’s not like they can play their music there. TikTok itself will have to focus on edits behind a lot of their “Get Ready With Me” videos and “Target Haul” clips.

    It’s a standoff between the largest record label in music industry history and the biggest social media platform in the world.





    Jai Phillips

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  • Too Early 2024 Grammy Predictions

    Too Early 2024 Grammy Predictions

    The end of the year calls for reflection — hence our 2023 Popdust Music Awards, celebrating all of the great music we heard last year. And now, the beginning of the year indicates a time of anticipation. For that, we have our
    2024 Artists to Watch, which also means that Awards Season is right around the corner.

    Starting with the Golden Globes on January 7, we are about to experience countless red carpet shots, couples debuts (
    still waiting for you, Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan), and teary-eyed acceptance speeches.

    While there are the BAFTAs, the Emmys, the Oscars, and the SAG Awards, my speciality is music. And there is no bigger mecca for musicians than
    the GRAMMY Awards. Held on February 4, 2024, and hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, the GRAMMYs are music’s biggest night.

    Awards Season brings out everyone’s inner critic. Suddenly, we think we know more than the Recording Academy. Every year, there are viral moments and scandalous decisions. The Recording Academy ultimately outrages the general public in some way or another — and inevitably, fandoms will take to apps like X to become the next Joan Rivers.

    It’s a delicious time of year when your favorite celebrities are forced out of hiding and into the spotlight, and we can’t wait. To get everyone in the spirit of judgment, here are
    some way-too-early GRAMMY predictions for the year!

    Record Of The Year: “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus

    Any Kid Harpoon song is a classic, and Cyrus’ return from a brief hiatus from music was met with high marks. It was Spotify’s most streamed song in a week ever, spent time at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100, and was the fastest song in Spotify history to reach 1 billion streams.

    Album Of The Year: Midnights by Taylor Swift

    She’s won this coveted award three times already, and it’s impossible to discredit the year of Taylor Swift. She is on track for the highest-grossing tour of all time with the Eras Tour, Midnights is Apple Music’s biggest pop album of all time in terms of first-day streaming, and the album is the reason she was all 10 of Billboard’s Top 10 Songs (the first time all women have dominated the charts ever). Give Swift her flowers.

    Song Of The Year: “A&W” by Lana Del Rey

    Another Jack Antonoff production, Lana Del Rey’s album is a spiritual awakening. With an essence of transcendentalism and a hint of gospel, it’s Lana to her core. “A&W” is hailed Song of the Year by many already, and it’s time we recognize her for the artist she is, was, and always will be.

    Best New Artist: Ice Spice


    I haven’t seen many people rise to the top as quickly as Ice Spice, nor have I seen someone garner such a passionate fanbase. The rapper has hits like “Deli” and collabs with rap queen Nicki Minaj on “Barbie World” and Taylor Swift on “Karma”, not to mention her Munchkin drink at Dunkin Donuts.

    Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Jack Antonoff

    Not only is Antonoff the mastermind behind many Taylor Swift albums, including Midnights, but he has Lana Del Rey’s multi-nominated album, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard?,” under his belt. He can’t miss, and for that, he wins.

    Best Pop Solo Performance: “What Was I Made For? [From The Major Motion Picture Barbie]”

    This song is stunning, productionally perfect, and sonically flawless. Billie and Finneas continue to grow as an unstoppable singer-songwriter duo who can make any song fit any moment.

    Best Pop Vocal Album: GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo

    Olivia Rodrigo wanted to have fun with her sophomore album following the immense pressure and success of her debut, SOUR. With GUTS, we had viral singles yet again that promise Rodrigo is here for the long haul.

    Best Dance/Electronic Recording: “Strong” by Romy + Fred again…

    Developing a cult following in the electronic music world, Fred again… is one of the hottest house dance artists in the world right now. Following a successful bout of live shows and reaching fans on almost every platform imaginable, “Strong” is a winner.

    Best Pop Dance Recording: “Rush” by Troye Sivan

    Troye Sivan understands how to make out-of-the-box pop music, and seals it with one hell of a dance number. He’s the embodiment of a popstar, and “Rush” was just an example of the high precedent he’s set.

    Best Rock Performance: “Not Strong Enough” by boygenius

    Compiled of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus, boygenius is a supergroup showing the world how to rock again. “Not Strong Enough” showcases what each member brings to the group in one sound synergy.

    Best Rock Album: Starcatcher by Greta Van Fleet

    Hailed as The Next Led Zeppelin, Greta Van Fleet brings you on a journey with their Starcatcher album. Each song a delight, Greta Van Fleet has developed their sound and found their stride.

    Best R&B Performance: “Kill Bill” by SZA

    SOS is one of the best albums of the year, and while I don’t see it winning in the Big 4 due to competitors like Swift, I still think it wins in general. “Kill Bill” was one of the biggest songs and continues to be one of the most viral.

    Best Rap Performance: “Rich Flex” by Drake & 21 Savage

    The saying “I like what Drake likes” holds true for many…and the collaboration album, Her Loss, with 21 Savage was one of the biggest of the year. “Rich Flex” makes sense for two of the biggest rappers out there right now.

    Best Rap Album: Heroes & Villains by Metro Boomin’

    Metro Boomin’ is the rapper and producer responsible for countless hits like Migos’ “Ric Flair Drip”. His Heroes & Villains album is a masterclass for high quality rap, intricate detail in production and songwriting, and straight up hits.

    Watch the 2024 Grammy Awards live on February 4, 2024 at 8 PM EST exclusively on Paramount+!

    Jai Phillips

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  • SZA’s “Kill Bill” Remix With Doja Cat Opts to Further Elaborate on (Literally) Attacking “The Other Woman”

    SZA’s “Kill Bill” Remix With Doja Cat Opts to Further Elaborate on (Literally) Attacking “The Other Woman”

    In these la-di-da times, it’s increasingly less “kosher” to “come for” “the other woman” in a cheating scenario. Or a scenario in which one is left for another woman before the infidelity occurs (as if). But Doja Cat seems determined to remind women, including SZA, that it takes two to tango, and, regardless of feminism (“or whatever”), the puta involved can very much be held accountable…in addition to being a source of piled-on contempt. While this mode of behavior has been out of fashion for a while as a result of something like “obligatory female solidarity” (i.e., “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women”), Doja Cat bringing it back may very well be a sign of society’s overall regressive attitude toward women at this moment in history. At the same time, who amongst “the women” hasn’t fallen prey to the incensed flames of jealousy that burn eternal whenever thinking of “that bitch” who took “their” man? As though anyone can truly be owned like so much property. But that’s a story (/anti-capitalist rant) for another assessment.

    The latest example of such a case of “the catfight” making a comeback was the flare-up between Hailey “Bieber” (but really Baldwin) and Selena Gomez. One that was initiated by Kylie Jenner and Bieber as a result of the former posting a screenshot of her and Bieber’s eyebrows from a FaceTime call three hours after Gomez announced to TikTok that she felt her own eyebrows looked too laminated. In terms of “gauntlets thrown,” it’s utterly innocuous, and also passive-aggressive child’s play compared to the shit that Joan and Bette used to get into. But such is the way of our repressed present, where feigning politeness is firmly billed under the category and as an offshoot of wokeness. But it is not woke at all anymore to exhibit hostile behavior toward “the little bitch” whose pussy redirected your man’s attention away from you. Except in the instance of “Kill Bill,” during which SZA casually mentions by the end, “I just killed my ex/Not the best idea/Killed his girlfriend next, how’d I get here?”

    Doja Cat, re-teaming with SZA after 2021’s runaway hit, “Kiss Me More,” chooses to elaborate in more detail on the murder of that new girlfriend via the remix. Which explores the idea of killing said woman in front of her ex for optimal sadism cachet (even though Doja claims it was unintentional to do it in such a manner). Markedly different from the start for wielding Doja Cat’s new verses instead of doling them out in the middle, as is usually the norm for remixes, what truly sets the song apart is Doja’s chipper rehashing of how she ended up killing her ex’s new girl prior to the ex himself. Told over the course of about fifty-five seconds before SZA enters the song to sing her usual chorus, Doja begins, “I know it’s not a really good occasion to be bargin’ in/I couldn’t help but watch you kiss her by the kitchen sink/I swung the door farther open, tippy-toed farther in…” From there, things escalate rather quickly as, per Doja, the other woman turns out to be an uppity bitch about the whole thing, instantly freaking out instead of trying to talk to Doja rationally. And, evidently, the ex stepped out of the room for a moment to add to the other woman’s fear quotient. So it is that Doja continues to describe, “She saw me standin’ by the TV and she wouldn’t stop screamin’/So I tried to be discreet and told her, ‘Calm your tits.’”

    Of course, that’s the last thing the emotionally dainty other woman feels like doing, with Doja elaborating, “She grabbed the kitchen knife so I pulled out the blick/Ain’t got it all the time, so thank god I did for this/‘Cause she was seein’ red, and all I saw was you/It happened in a flash when she charged at me/Y’all crisscrossed, saw her fall to the floor/Then you paused there in horror/But that shot wasn’t for her (was it?).” That parenthetical “was it?” arrives as SZA starts to sing, “I might…” This “subtle” question serving to intimate that yes, maybe all along, the shot was as much meant for the new bia as it was her ex. Because, in her mind, it is this other woman who drove the wedge between them. She’s the one who is really keeping them apart. After all, by naively believing this, a girl like Doja or SZA can go on insisting that there’s still hope for her and her ex to be together again.

    By blame-shifting most of the responsibility onto the other woman, the Doja or SZA of the equation can therefore conserve some semblance of their “loving feeling” for the philandering cad in question. Even if those feelings of murderous rage tend to linger when an “armistice” is reached after he “acts up” (a.k.a. egregiously betrays her). And yes, we all know Beyoncé still has them despite “forgiving” Jay-Z. Unfortunately for her freedom of expression, such a “beacon of feminism” can’t take it out too overtly on “the other woman,” save for thinly-veiled digs like, “He better call Becky with the good hair.”

    Even when fellow “feminist light” Taylor Swift was ultimately denigrating the other woman in 2008’s “You Belong With Me,” it was cloaked behind self-deprecation—talking shit about herself by seeing an apparent lack in what she had (physically) compared to the other girl. Hence, lyrics like, “She wears high heels I wear sneakers/She’s cheer captain, and I’m on the bleachers.” So it was that Taylor played up the vacuous mean girl trope (*cough cough* Hailey Bieber) for her own benefit as well, but through an obfuscated lens.

    On “Kill Bill,” both the original and remix editions, SZA and Doja Cat refuse to play that game. Openly maligning the other woman and unleashing a torrent of rage upon her (“casually delivered” though it may be). Some might call that regressive, while others might be relieved that the floodgate has been reopened to hate on the proverbial other woman. Even if both Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber were too chicken shit to fully capitalize on that “sanction” when the opportunity presented itself.

    Genna Rivieccio

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  • SZA’s “Kill Bill” Video: A Sequel, of Sorts, to the Equally Tarantino-Influenced “Shirt”

    SZA’s “Kill Bill” Video: A Sequel, of Sorts, to the Equally Tarantino-Influenced “Shirt”

    By now, paying homage to Quentin Tarantino movies in music videos and songs has been done to death (no pun intended, or whatever). Among others, there was Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s “Telephone,” Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora’s “Black Widow,” Aminé’s “Caroline” (also featuring the lyrics, “Let’s get gory/Like a Tarantino movie”) and Rob $tone’s “Chill Bill” (complete with what has become known as “the Kill Bill whistle” a.k.a. the Bernard Hermann-composed theme for 1968’s Twisted Nerve). Being that Tarantino himself is the king of delivering postmodern pastiche, he likely isn’t (/can’t be) vexed in the least by all this constant “homage” (often a polite word for stealing someone else’s shit and trying to make the public assume it’s your own). Especially not SZA’s latest, “Kill Bill,” which not only goes whole hog on a Tarantino reference in the song title itself, but also in the music video that goes with it.

    Of course, no one who watched the Dave Meyers-directed “Shirt” video (that was also heavily influenced by Tarantino) can be surprised by the tone of its “follow-up,” of sorts. Granted LaKeith Stanfield isn’t the one to betray her trust in the trailer modeled after Budd’s (Michael Madsen) in Kill Bill: Vol. 2. This time directed by Christian Breslauer (known for videos like Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby,” Tyga and Doja Cat’s “Freaky Deaky” and Anitta’s “Boys Don’t Cry”), SZA spares no detail on really driving the (Pussy Wagon) point home that this is all about showing love for a Tarantino classic that itself shows nothing but love for the idea of killing an ex.

    And, like Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman), SZA only feels obliged to exact that kind of revenge because her erstwhile boyfriend tried to kill her first. In matters of love, that usually tends to be more metaphorical. But by making it literal, SZA (de facto Tarantino) emphasizes how fragile the heart can be. Particularly when handed a note by one’s boo that reads, “I wish it didn’t have to be this way, really I do, but sometimes in life we have to protect our own heart, even if it means ripping it out of our chest. Au revoir mon amour.” In other words, he’s trying to say that 1) he has to be callous now and 2) he’s only hurting himself more than he’s hurting her by deciding to leave—and then summoning a bunch of his goons to shoot up the trailer. Such sentiments echo Bill’s delusions before aiming his gun at Beatrix, assuring her, “I’d like to believe that you’re aware enough even now to know that there’s nothing sadistic in my actions… No Kiddo, at this moment, this is me at my most masochistic.” And then—bang! He thinks he’s killed her.

    The same goes for SZA’s ex thinking she’s been left for dead in that trailer. But no, she emerges semi-triumphant and determined to take down the bastard who would presume to do such a thing to her as she sings, “I’m still a fan even though I was salty/Hate to see you with some other broad, know you happy/Hate to see you happy if I’m not the one drivin’.” This last line conjures the image of Beatrix herself driving to get to Bill’s house as she vows to the audience, “I am gonna kill Bill.” In a scene that Thurman had to fuck up her back and knees for in order to give Tarantino the shot he wanted. But surely Tarantino would shrug that off as a “hazard of the trade.” And besides, he might add, look at not only the great art it created, but the great art it’s still spawning. Ah, the director when his “ego” is stroked in such a way—with imitation being the sincerest form of allowing one to believe in their continued relevance.

    To further accentuate her commitment to the film, SZA even drags out Vivica A. Fox, who played Vernita Green a.k.a. Copperhead, to serve as her driver (and flash a scandalized look when SZA mellifluously croons, “I just killed my ex/Not the best idea”). The one taking her from her trailer to the dojo where she can quickly practice some swordplay techniques but mainly show us how her tits look in her version of Beatrix Kiddo’s iconic yellow moto jacket and matching pants. Breslauer then cuts to her riding a motorcycle through a tunnel (just as Kiddo did), after which we suddenly see SZA in the same House of the Blue Leaves-esque setting where Kiddo took on the Crazy 88s. This then segues into Breslauer including a scene that mimics the same anime style of Kazuto Nakazawa in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, used when even Tarantino thought the gore would be too cartoonishly over the top, so he actually made it into, well, a cartoon.

    For SZA’s purposes, it was likely less burdensome on the budget to display her taking her final revenge on the man who broke her heart in animated form. And she does so in such a way as to throw the words he used in his note right back in his face by tearing his heart out of his chest. Which we see dripping with blood in “real-life” once she’s extracted it (by briefly making him believe she wants something sexual instead of violent to happen) in her animated guise. Parading it in her hand with calm blitheness, she then licks it—something that, to be honest, feels pulled out of the Jeffrey Dahmer playbook rather than the Beatrix Kiddo one. But hey, creative license and all that rot when reinterpreting someone’s work.

    Which SZA did not only visually, but cerebrally. Specifically by claiming of Bill’s motives, “I feel like he doesn’t understand why he did what he did. He’s void of emotion, but he loved The Bride so much that he couldn’t stand her to be with anyone else. That was really complex and cool to me. It’s a love story.” But there’s nothing “complex” or “cool” about it (which speaks to how Tarantino has normalized psychopathic behavior by making it seem, let’s say, “slick”). What’s more, Bill himself breaks down his straightforward “reasoning” for killing her (or so he thought) by admitting to Beatrix what he was thinking at the time of concocting her murder: “Not only are you not dead, you’re getting married to some fucking jerk and you’re pregnant. I overreacted… I’m a killer. I’m a murdering bastard. You know that. There are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard.” In this scenario, SZA wants to be the murdering bastard. Just as Kiddo did after suffering the “slight” that went on during the Massacre at Two Pines.

    In the end, though, SZA does feel obliged to provide her own little (rope) “twist” on the narrative. Having commenced the video with a snippet of “Nobody Gets Me” (which provides similarly possessive lyrics such as, “I don’t wanna see you with anyone but me/Nobody gets me like you/How am I supposed to let you go?”), SZA closes it with one from “Seek & Destroy.” And all while offering Armie Hammer his wet dream on a platter by featuring a scene of herself tied up in a shibari rope harness. Does it mean she’s the masochist now for having killed her ex? Maybe. Or perhaps this is just how she celebrates a satisfying kill.

    Genna Rivieccio

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