Tim Roth Made One Hilarious Demand Before Agreeing To Pulp Fiction
The working relationship between writer and director Quentin Tarantino and actor Tim Roth is excellent, going all the way back to Tarantino's first feature, "Reservoir Dogs." So when it came to his second film, "Pulp Fiction," Tarantino knew he wanted to have Roth involved in some capacity and was going to write a character in the film with him specifically in mind. That character wasn't the now-infamous Pumpkin, however, and the creation of Pumpkin and Amanda Plummer's character Honey Bunny had a whole lot to do with a hilarious request on Roth's part. It's hard to imagine "Pulp Fiction" without Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, who kick off the entire movie with their loving and slightly terrifying conversation immediately before holding up a diner at gunpoint. But according to both Roth and Tarantino, the pairing was somewhat serendipitous.
Apparently Tarantino was at the premiere of Plummer's film "The Fisher King," directed by Terry Gilliam, and he was struck by the idea of writing the two into his next film together. Plummer and Roth were friends and pretty amenable to the idea, but Roth had one very particular request of the rising indie director in order for him to agree to the two of them starring together ... and it involved the petite Plummer packing serious heat.
Plummer's unwieldy weaponry
In Jason Bailey's book "Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino's Masterpiece," it's revealed that Plummer and Roth joined after "The Fisher King" premiere because Tarantino had "a director's moment" and realized he really wanted to put them together in a movie. Roth agreed as long as Plummer had a really big gun, which was, of course, no problem at all. In an interview with GQ, Roth told the whole story in a bit more detail, explaining that the entire situation was a bit of a whirlwind:
"I think [Quentin Tarantino] came at me for a different character, initially, and then he switched tracks. I think it had a lot to do with Amanda Plummer because I knew Amanda, we were off to a premiere of 'Fisher King,' which she was in. And I knew she was always late for everything and is scatterbrained and stuff, so I said, 'Send the car to my house, pick me up first' — because I was going to take her there, I was going to be her date or whatever – 'and then we'll come round and get you.' Came round and got her, she was fast asleep. So we load her into the car and got her there, and she was sort of dizzy, but it was her night. And then Quentin was there, and I said, 'I'd like to work with Amanda as long as she's got a really big f***ing gun in her hand.' And he went, 'Done.' And he built those two characters. I love those characters, absolutely love them."
A "really big f***ing gun" is basically a Tarantino prerequisite, but it's fun (and kind of feminist?) that Roth wanted to make sure Plummer got to wield one.
One zany wedded couple
Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are honestly adorable, in a pulpy criminal kind of way, as their love for one another supersedes just about anything else. Roth and Plummer's behind-the-scenes friendship makes their onscreen marriage feel more authentic, and they both disappear completely into their roles. In a film with a slew of unforgettable characters, they're two of the most compelling, driving the viewer to want things to work out alright for them despite their thieving ways. Plummer ends up with her "big f***ing gun," aiming it at Samuel L. Jackson's Jules and John Travolta's Vincent Vega when the robbery goes sideways and Pumpkin is taken hostage.
"Pulp Fiction" was the only time Plummer and Tarantino worked together, but Roth would return for two more films: 1995's New Year's Eve crime comedy "Four Rooms" and 2015's winter Western "The Hateful Eight." Whether or not he will appear in Tarantino's final film, "The Movie Critic," is anyone's best guess, but their shared fandoms definitely hope so.