Shortly after the Cannes announcement he told the press that his script was finished. Then in an interview regarding an upcoming Kill Bill DVD release, the director mentioned that Inglorious Bastards would probably be released as two films as well. It was exciting news for Tarantino fans, but still little more than talk. However, all the words turned into action this week when Tarantino sent the screenplay out to interested executives at Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony in search of funding. The package included Quentin's regular producing partner Lawrence Bender and ex-Mirimax executive Harvey Weinstein. The decision to seek funding beyond the Weinsteins suggests that the project demands a huge budget and has the potential to be the biggest movie of Tarantino's career. Oh, and there's one other big name on the list: Brad Pitt is supposed to take the lead role.

Pitt's potential casting certainly seems like an oddly mainstream choice for such a left-of-center filmmaker, but upon closer examination it makes sense. For one thing, Pitt has worked with Quentin before, stealing scenes in the Tarantino-scripted True Romance, so there is a precedent there. Another big reason for the decision is the fact that Pitt can use his star power to get funding for risky projects (Babel) and his name could get Tarantino a huge budget from the studios to play with. The match is just crazy enough to work. Over the past few years, Quentin has also claimed that the unfinished screenplay had roles for Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy, but given how long he's worked on it and how much the script has inevitably been edited down, it's unclear if these roles still exist. Since the movie is an ensemble piece, there will inevitably be some odd and intriguing names surrounding Pitt. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.