Inside Quentin Tarantino’s unusual Pulp Fiction dinner pitch, according to John Cusack
Before Pulp Fiction was iconic, Quentin Tarantino reportedly floated an unconventional plan to a surprising star—just chatting it over a casual meal.
John Cusack says he never turned down Pulp Fiction — because he never got an offer. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he recalled Quentin Tarantino acting out the entire movie for him at a Denny’s, and despite chatter he was the top choice for the part that ultimately went to Eric Stoltz, nothing formal ever came his way.
The meeting was pure Tarantino theater: no boardroom, no slideshow, no script — just a booth and a one-man performance. Cusack added the conversation drifted into home-tech talk about a new TV and a screening room, with the director geeking out over the setup.
“I do remember meeting with him about that movie, and you know, we went to a Denny’s,” Cusack recalled on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
“He was like kind of geeking out on that stuff and so I thought he was I thought he was it was cool story.”
Host Josh Horowitz noted the long-standing rumor that Tarantino had Cusack atop his list for the role Stoltz played; Cusack emphasized there was never an offer to accept or decline. Horowitz joked Tarantino probably still has Cusack’s number saved, waiting on a callback.
Cliff Booth rides again
While that ’90s diner meeting is a Hollywood what-if, Tarantino’s next move is very concrete: he’ll publish The Adventures of Cliff Booth through HarperCollins on December 8, 2026 . The novel — his third — follows the stuntman played by Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and arrives far quicker than the 2021 novelization that trailed the film by two years.
The book pairs with a film sequel focused on the same character. The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth shares the novel’s 1977 timeline, with Tarantino writing the script and David Fincher directing.
- November 25, 2026 — The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth opens in IMAX theaters.
- December 8, 2026 — The Adventures of Cliff Booth hits shelves via HarperCollins (13 days after the theatrical debut).
- December 23, 2026 — The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth streams on Netflix .