Quentin Tarantino Has Totally Recreated 1969 LA for his Manson Murders Movie

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ already looks awesome.

No, you’re not experiencing an acid flashback, man—what you see before you is how a several-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard is looking at this very moment. And it’s all thanks to Quentin Tarantino.

The auteur filmmaker is deep into filming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his period drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt that’s not precisely about the Tate-Labianca murders committed by psychopathic hippie guru Charles Manson and his “Family.”

Here’s what we’re looking at, via Vulture:

This week on Hollywood Boulevard, a several-block stretch near Highland was turned back half a century, with era-appropriate cars stacking the streets, redesigned storefronts, and plenty of extras in hippie threads filling the sidewalks. There was also Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio hanging out in and around an old Cadillac. 

In the video below, enjoy the hilarious sight of cars driving back and forth to get into the right position for filming. It gives you a good sense of how much Tarantino’s production team has done with the street, and you can use it for comparison later to see which awnings and storefronts get digitally retouched for the final product. (Fancy restaurant Musso & Frank, which has been in Hollywood for more than a century, will definitely be staying.)

The director told CinemaCon audiences earlier this year that “street by street, block by block, we’ll transform Los Angeles into the Hollywood of 1969,” so you can bet that this is only the first L.A. time warp we’ll see this year.

Last month, Leo dropped the very first image from the film unto the world. Here we see former Western TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double, Cliff Booth (Pitt).

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Other actors who are on board include Margot Robbie, Dakota Fanning, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Emile Hirsch, Burt Reynolds (yes!) and Kurt Russell.

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is currently set to premiere on August 9, 2019—the 50th anniversary of the Manson Family’s murderous rampage.