Tarantino shows first 17 minutes of Cliff Booth film at AFI Fest

Quentin Tarantino gave an AFI Fest audience an unplanned treat on Friday night, screening the first 17 minutes of "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. According to Deadline, the clip marked the first time the public had seen any of the film.

Tarantino wrote the movie, David Fincher directed it and Brad Pitt plays Cliff Booth again. Deadline reported that Netflix plans to put it in Imax theaters on Nov. 25 and begin streaming it on Dec. 23.

Key facts

• Tarantino screened the opening 17 minutes at AFI Fest on Friday night.
• Fincher directed the film from Tarantino's script, with Pitt back in the lead.
• The story moves ahead to 1977, eight years past the 1969 setting of the first film.
• Netflix opens it in Imax on Nov. 25, with streaming starting Dec. 23.
• About 900 fans filled the Chinese Theatre for the screening, IndieWire reported.

How the surprise unfolded

The evening started as a screening of "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," followed by a Q&A that Rotten Tomatoes' Jacqueline Coley moderated. At the end of that talk, Tarantino offered the crowd a choice. He told them he could keep discussing the new film, "or I could show you the first 17 minutes", Deadline reported.

Before the footage rolled, Tarantino asked everyone to switch off their phones, and security staff kept watch for any glowing screens, USA Today reported. IndieWire said the roughly 900 people in the room became the first audience to get a real look at the film during the 40th edition of the festival.

What the footage showed

The opening finds Cliff running the projector at a movie theater that also serves as his after-hours place of business, according to USA Today. IndieWire placed the opening in June 1977 at the New Beverly Cinema, a theater Tarantino now owns.

The official logline casts Cliff as a Hollywood fixer who pays his bills by tending bar or working as a projectionist. After seeing the clip, IndieWire called the movie a crime story shaped by writers such as Elmore Leonard and Raymond Chandler, with a darker Cliff than the 2019 version.

The cast also features Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Peter Weller, Variety reported.

Background

Pitt won an Oscar for playing Cliff, the stuntman and sidekick of Rick Dalton, in the 2019 film, which drew 10 Oscar nominations. Tarantino said he pictured Cliff as a paperback-style hero who could anchor a run of adventures, USA Today reported.

He also told the crowd that a review describing the original as the first world he had built that he would want to live in stayed with him, and that he loved the character, according to Variety. During the Q&A, Tarantino said Burt Reynolds had rehearsed the part of George Spahn for the first film before his death, and Bruce Dern ended up playing it.

The sequel took shape as a handoff. Tarantino first hoped to direct it himself, but news broke in 2024 that Pitt and Fincher would make it together.

What it means for you

Fans who want the theater experience have a short window. The film gets a two-week global Imax run that starts Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, THR said. It moved into the Thanksgiving Imax slot once held by Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew," which slipped to 2027, Variety reported.

Viewers may find more theaters than usual for a Netflix title. Variety said AMC, a chain that until recently would not book Netflix films, will be among the major chains showing it.

It is not known whether the AFI Fest footage will be posted online.

Practical steps

• Check whether a nearby chain such as AMC is listing showtimes.
• If you plan to stream, note that Netflix starts streaming the film on Dec. 23, Deadline reported.

What happens next

The festival itself continues in Hollywood through Sunday night, IndieWire said. Tarantino's next big project is on the stage: his first play, "The Popinjay Cavalier," starring Sacha Baron Cohen, starts previews Feb. 23 and opens March 18 at the Phoenix Theatre in London. He said rehearsals for the play begin in November, Variety reported.

FAQ

When can I watch "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth"? Netflix opens it in Imax theaters on Nov. 25 and starts streaming it on Dec. 23.

Who directed the film? David Fincher directed it from a Tarantino script, with Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth.

When is the story set? It jumps to 1977 from the 1969 timeline of the first film.

How long will it play only in theaters? It has a two-week global Imax run starting Nov. 25 before it reaches Netflix on Dec. 23, THR reported.

How many people saw the footage? About 900 fans at the Chinese Theatre, IndieWire said.