20 Things You Didn't Know About Inglourious Basterds
8. The Film Was Nearly Abandoned In Development
Quentin Tarantino had planned his WW2 caper as far back as 1999, yet struggled to complete the screenplay. He told USA Today that it was "some of the best writing I've ever done. But I couldn't come up with an ending." Instead, he shelved the project and made Kill Bill.
Casting was also a problem, feeling that if he couldn't find an actor of the calibre he required to portray the monstrous Hans Landa, he would simply walk away from the project.
He told Variety in 2009 that he was five days away from shutting down the pre-production until Christophe Waltz showed up for an audition.
“I told my producers I might have written a part that was un-playable... I don’t want to make this movie if I can’t find the perfect Landa... When Christoph came in and read the next day, he gave me my movie back.”