Kill Bill's Near-Death Incident Forever Ended Tarantino & Uma Thurman Creative Duo

Summary:

• Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino were a brilliant actress-director duo who were friends in real life, but it was ruined by a car accident.
• On the set of Kill Bill: Volume 2, Tarantino convinced Thurman to get into a supposedly defective car to get the perfect shot.
• The ride ended in an accident and injuries to Thurman, who later demanded footage of the incident
• She only received it only 15 years later – Tarantino sided with the studio, which did not want to give the footage to the actress.

Quentin Tarantino has often referred to Uma Thurman as his muse. It seems that the director is the only one who has found the master key to Thurman’s talent – each of their joint endeavors has made a splash in popular culture, thanks to which Uma has become one of the most recognizable femme fatale of the past decades.

Tarantino and Thurman Formed a Brilliant Duo

It was in tandem with Quentin that she received maximum awards and recognition, including an Oscar nomination for Pulp Fiction. Mia Wallace holding a cigarette is perhaps one of the most popular images of the 1990s.

The Kill Bill duology paved the way for a new kind of action movie, but that was the end of the triumphant collaboration between Thurman and Tarantino.

Thurman Got in a Car Accident Because of Tarantino

It turns out that Thurman and Tarantino were at odds for about ten years after the director nearly killed Uma.

On the set of Kill Bill: Volume 2, the director demanded that the actress drive a convertible instead of a stunt car. An on-set technician suggested to the actress that the car might not be fully functional and the seat might not be securely fastened.

Thurman refused to get behind the wheel, and Tarantino insisted that first, the car was in perfect working order, and second, it was necessary for the actress to drive herself down a bad country road of sand and gravel – only then would her hair blow in the right direction.

For 15 Years, Studio and Director Refused to Give Uma a Video of the Incident

It all ended in a car accident and serious injuries to Uma's neck and knees. And when the actress demanded to see a take of the accident, she was first denied and then offered to see the take on the condition that she sign a document stating that she would have no future claims against the Miramax studio.

The actress, of course, refused to sign the document and appealed to the director. Tarantino sided with the studio – Uma could have easily sued both the director and the studio if she had the undeniable proof.

And it was only 15 years after the accident that Tarantino finally sent the video to Uma.

Now Uma Thurman holds no grudge against the director, who called the incident the biggest regret of his life.