Pulp Fiction/Trivia

• Actor Allusion: We've certainly seen John Travolta dancing in a couple of movies... (Saturday Night Fever, Grease) ... as well as winning a dancing contest prize he didn't entirely deserve.
  • Several years earlier, Samuel L. Jackson was instigating an armed robbery at a restaurant.
• All-Star Cast: With Tim Roth, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken and Harvey Keitel. It comes across more so years later because it was a career resurrection or star-making role for several of its cast members.
• Breakthrough Hit: Quentin Tarantino's first big hit as a director.
• Career Resurrection: The film put John Travolta back on the A-list.
• The Danza: Paul Calderón plays Paul.
• Fake Nationality: Portuguese actress Maria de Medeiros plays a French character.
• Hey, It's That Guy!:
  • Kathy Griffin is the woman willing to testify on Marsellus's behalf after Butch ran him over.
  • The Wolf's favored junkyard is run by Roger Corman favorite Dick Miller and daughter Julia Sweeney.
  • The "guy" in the bathroom is Alexis Arquette.
  • One of Brett's friends, Marvin, is Phil LaMarr, who is later shot in the face.
  • The waiter who serves Vincent and Mia is Steve Buscemi.
  • "Ringo" is expert lie detector Lightman
• The Red Stapler: The UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs T-shirt that Vincent wears became a hot seller after appearing in the movie.
• Star-Making Role: For Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman
• Throw It In: Tarantino originally wanted Jules to have an actual afro, but the wig wrangler got a jheri curl wig by mistake. Jackson thought it was perfect for the character and insisted they keep it.
• Urban Legend of Zelda: There's been this popular conception that had been awhile since the film premiered that all clocks in the film are stuck at 4:20. While the events of the film had an Extremely Short Timespan, there's only one scene that ran around 4:20, the pawnshop.
• What Could Have Been: Mainly if you consider the initial casting choices.
  • Vincent Vega: Daniel Day-Lewis actively campaigned for the part, but Tarantino turned him down. He initially wanted Michael Madsen to play the goofy hitman, but the latter chose to pursue other project instead (a decision he later regretted). Now just imagine Vincent being played by those two instead of John Travolta...
  • Jules Winnfield: The quintessential Samuel L. Jackson role, but he almost lost this part to Paul Calderón. He eventually kept it, with Calderón playing Paul (Marsellus's right-hand man) instead.
  • Ringo: Johnny Depp could have taken Tim Roth's part, but unlike Jules or Vincent it was always a fat chance.
  • Lance/Jody: According to Courtney Love, she and Kurt Cobain were offered the role. According to Tarantino however, it's bullshit.
  • Jimmie: Tarantino had written the role with Steve Buscemi in mind but Buscemi had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts. Tarantino himself ended up filling the role and Buscemi was given a cameo appearance as the Buddy Holly waiter at Jack-Rabbit Slims.
  • Butch was written for Mickey Rourke. Rourke turned the role down, since the script was too "out there" and he hadn't seen Reservoir Dogs yet. He has called the decision to pass as the biggest regret of his career. Tarantino next offered the role to Bruce Willis, who was a long shot, as he was still a big-money, A-list star at that point.
• In case you were wondering what Wallace wanted the pliers and blowtorch for: The pliers are used to remove various things, starting with teeth, progressing to fingernails and toenails. Then the fingers and toes themselves. Then you get to the fleshy bits, such as the tongue. Then the ears. What's left of his genitals go next. Due to them being mostly destroyed by the shotgun, the blowtorch might be used to simply burn them away. The blowtorch is used to cauterize the wounds to prevent the victim from bleeding to death. Finally, when you've ripped off as much as you can, the blowtorch is applied to the head. The heat causes the eyes to expand, which sort of half melt, half burst. Finally, the brain basically boils in the cerebral fluid, and the victim, much to his bliss, is dead. This method was a favorite of Saddam Hussein.