20 Things You Didn't Know About Jackie Brown
12. Louis And Ordell Have A Much RIcher History Than The Film Explores
Louis and Ordell are introduced in the film as longtime friends and ex-cellmates who worked jobs together in the past, but it's never expanded upon. Tarantino was familiar with the two character's backstory, he must have been. After all, he spent a night in jail, his only brush with "real crime" for stealing the novel where they first meet, The Switch.
In the book, Louis and Ordell kidnap a millionaire's wife, only to learn that he doesn't want her back. The plot was then lifted for the 1986 Danny DeVito vehicle Ruthless People. When Louis and Ordell are re-teamed in Rum Punch, they are complaining about the fact that a movie producer stole their idea - though they don't specifically call out the film by name.
It would have been somewhat awkward had they done so in Tarantino's film, given the hand that DeVito had in bringing Pulp Fiction to the screen.