‘Kill Bill’: How Uma Thurman Came up With Her Character’s Name 10 Years Before the Movie
Filmmaking is often a collaborative effort, and that was definitely the case with Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill franchise. Initially, the film was a bit of the brainchild between Tarantino and Uma Thurman. Thurman had several ideas for the Kill Bill story that later made it into the actual film. This included what to call her character.
How Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino came up with ‘Kill Bill?’
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Quentin Tarantino confirmed reports that he and Uma Thurman developed Kill Bill through a conversation. In fact, the director remembered the exact moment he and Thurman discussed the idea.
“And I even remember exactly what bar it was, it was in Santa Monica,” Tarantino said. “We were sitting there drinking pints, and I came up with – I said, you know, I’m thinking about doing another movie, Uma. And you would be terrific for it.”
Tarantino would later go on to explain what the movie was.
“But what happened was I started describing it to her about, ‘You’d be the female assassin. You’d be the deadliest woman in the world, and these people have screwed you over and you’re going to track them down and kill them and everything,’” he continued.
Tarantino told the actor how he planned to start the film, with which Thurman added her own input.
“And she’s [Uma Thurman] like, ‘Hey Quentin, I have an idea – what about you see me, my face, it’s all bloody, and then the camera pans back, and you realize I’m in a bridal gown?’” Tarantino recalled. “And that’s where The Bride was born. That’s when she became The Bride.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tarantino also revealed who came up with what in regards to the character’s name.
“Uma came up with the name Beatrix – she worked for somebody with that name. And I came up with Kiddo,” Tarantino shared. “That’s what I call women – when I really like a girl, I call her ‘Kiddo.’”
Uma Thurman didn’t want to wear her yellow tracksuit in ‘Kill Bill’ after giving birth
Although Uma Thurman may have wanted Tarantino to direct Kill Bill, she faced many issues when actual filming began. One of those issues involved wearing the famous yellow tracksuit her character dons in the film’s first volume. In an interview with the Graham Norton show, Thurman explained why she was so bothered about wearing the outfit.
“I had just had my son and anyone that has just had a baby is not going to want to wear a skin-tight onesie, they would have a lot of anxiety,” Thurman said according to Independent.
But Thurman put in a lot of effort to avoid being further embarrassed after putting on the costume.
“So, there was a lot of training, a lot of work, and a lot of brilliant costume work (to) recreate the look of Bruce Lee while covering my belly,” she added.
Quentin Tarantino would cast Uma Thurman’s daughter in a hypothetical ‘Kill Bill Vol. 3’
Since the end of Kill Bill Vol. 2, there have been talks about a possible sequel. The time for a sequel also seems ripe as the actors would match the appropriate ages of their characters. In an interview with Joe Rogan, Tarantino once shared what excited him about a potential Kill Bill sequel.
“I think it’s just revisiting the characters 20 years later and just imagining the Bride and her daughter, Bebe, having 20 years of peace, and then that peace is shattered,” Tarantino told Rogan (via Entertainment Weekly.)
He was also interested in casting Thurman’s real-life daughter in the film.
“And now the Bride and Bebe are on the run and just the idea of being able to cast Uma and cast her daughter Maya in the thing would be f****** exciting,” he said.
