Editor’s Note: This article details instances of sexual assault, which may be distressing or triggering for some readers.
The Big Picture
Uma Thurman experienced sexual assault from Harvey Weinstein before filming Kill Bill.
Thurman suffered severe injuries during filming, leading to a strained relationship with Tarantino.
Despite the traumatic incidents, Thurman expressed a willingness to work with Tarantino again.
Kill Bill, starring director Quentin Tarantino’s creative muse and on and off-screen badass Uma Thurman as The Bride, collectively turned out one of the bloodiest and most excellent revenge movies of all time. Ever since she walked barefoot into our lives in Pulp Fiction as Mia Wallace, there is an undeniable creative chemistry between the actor and director. Uma Thurman’s portrayal of the avenging super-assassin is fierce and riveting, perhaps even a once-in-a-lifetime performance, as no Tarantino Universe character since has captured attention quite like her. There is a magic in their relationship that translates beautifully to film, but at what cost? Uma Thurman’s experiences on the Kill Bill set were fraught with grievous personal injury, on-set fights, and a toxicity that would have a long-standing effect on their creative and professional relationship.
Kill Bill Vol. 1
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Release Date October 10, 2003
Runtime 111 minutes
What Happened to Uma Thurman on the Set of ‘Kill Bill’?
Just before filming Kill Bill, Uma Thurman alleges she was the subject of sexual assault at the hands of disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. In a harrowing interview with The New York Times, Thurman describes her experiences with Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel, where he attacked her: “It was such a bat to the head. He pushed me down. He tried to shove himself at me. He tried to expose himself. He did all kinds of unpleasant things.” She further claimed that Weinstein even threatened to derail her career. She had a lot to lose as a new shining star due largely to her work with Miramax. So she stayed mum for a while, afraid for her career, until she took the role of Beatrix Kiddo, a.k.a. The Bride. At a dinner with the director during the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, Quentin Tarantino noticed her “skittish” behavior around Weinstein. The director forced Weinstein to apologize as a condition to Thurman working on the film. As Tarantino told Deadline:
“I knew he was lying, that everything Uma was saying, was the truth. I never bought his story when he tried to wriggle out of it, and how things actually happened. I said, I don’t believe you. I believe her. And if you want to do
Kill Bill
, you need to make this right.”
So, Weinstein apologized — but then the car crash happened.
In the closing days of filming, Uma Thurman was seriously injured on the set of Kill Bill, permanently damaging her neck and knees as a result of the crash. The scene in question shows Thurman driving down a winding sandy road in a convertible the actor thought unsafe. She told the New York Times, “Quentin came in my trailer and didn’t like to hear no, like any director,” she says. “He was furious because I’d cost them a lot of time. But I was scared. He said: ‘I promise you the car is fine. It’s a straight piece of road.'” It is alleged that Tarantino declined Thurman’s request to have a stuntperson do the driving and insisted that she do it, with Thurman accepting, much to her detriment. During the scene, she lost control of the car and crashed into a palm tree. She would be pulled from the twisted wreckage of the car. “I felt this searing pain and thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to walk again,'” Thurman said.
Uma Thurman’s Relationship With Quentin Tarantino Would Never Be the Same
The whole accident was caught entirely on a camera that was mounted on the back of the car she was driving. In the footage, Thurman is obviously having trouble keeping control of the vehicle, wrestling with the steering wheel as the tires bite miserably into the sandy loam of the road. She then crashes into a palm tree as the production crew rush to her aid and pull the dazed actor from the car. When she was finally able to return to the set after a stay in the hospital, she claims she had it out with Tarantino. Thurman asked Tarantino for the footage with the intent of suing the production company, but says that Miramax and the director would not relinquish the footage. She claims that Miramax offered to show her the footage if she waived all rights to sue for her pain and suffering, which she refused to do. The relationship between Tarantino and Thurman would suffer tremendously because of what the actor felt was a massive betrayal of their friendship, according to The New York Times.
Thurman would stay angry with Tarantino for years, publicly fighting with each other at a SOHO party in 2004. Thurman needed that footage and demanded to see it. Tarantino, however, would not even show it to her, claiming that “it was what they all had decided” — which more or less meant that Miramax would not allow her to have it, so she could not pursue legal damages.
So, Thurman says she decided to go to the police to increase the pressure on the director and Miramax. Still, no legal consequences occurred due to Thurman’s investigation into the incident. Without that footage, there really couldn’t be a case. Although it seems a hollow victory, Tarantino would acquiesce nearly 15 years after the incident. But what good would that footage do now, with no recourse and a half-hearted vindication after nearly two decades? Surprisingly, Thurman told Vulture she would work with Tarantino again despite the traumatic incidents, a testament to Thurman’s character and resiliency as an actor.
Kill Bill is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Watch on Netflix