David Carradine is Bill—the complex, charismatic master assassin from the critically acclaimed, monstrously successful Kill Bill films. Throughout the filming of Quentin Tarantino's brilliant, violent epic, Carradine kept a daily diary—capturing all the action, the genius, the madness, and the magic that combined to make a masterpiece. More than simply an insider's close-up look at the filmmaking process and the astonishing cast and crew—director Tarantino, star Uma Thurman, and all the other artists whose extraordinary skills helped create something glorious—The Kill Bill Diary illuminates the fine points of the serious actor's craft, as a truly unique talent takes us along with him on a quirky, breathtaking, no-holds-barred, and altogether miraculous journey. It is a must-own volume for anyone who loves the movies.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This journal captures the two years Carradine spent making the two-part feature film Kill Bill with director Quentin Tarantino. As he describes the pre-production, production and promoting of the film, Carradine, who is best known for TV's Kung Fu, gives readers a glimpse into the up-and-down life of a B-list actor. Excited about landing the role of Bill, once ticketed for Warren Beatty, Carradine is simultaneously nervous about canceling the autograph conventions on which he pretty much supports himself. Along with subtly pointing out that he has worked with Martin Scorsese and won a Golden Globe, Carradine also knows that a Tarantino movie is his best shot at stardom, and it's that eternal hope, not his résumé, that pervades the book and makes him a narrator for whom readers will feel genuine affection. Along with laying bare his personal deliberations, Carradine also provides an informative exploration of the world of filmmaking, from what it takes to shoot in China to how many (soon to be bloodied) shirts you need for a fight scene. It's apparent that one of Carradine's longest-running love affairs, however tempestuous it might be, is with Hollywood. And for those who share that feeling, this book will remind them why, for better or for worse, they feel that way. Photos. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Distilled from the diary that Carradine kept during the making of Kill Bill, the film that catapulted him back into the limelight, this book certainly won't satisfy readers looking for dirt or even innuendo about the film's director, Quentin Tarantino. Carradine is an unabashed Tarantino fan, and in this mixture of autobiography, biography, and behind-the-scenes account, the director emerges as a rare and enigmatic talent and a true film genius. Despite the book's diary format, it is surprisingly fluid and graceful; Carradine is a stylish and witty writer. Fans of behind-the-scenes books may be a tad disappointed in this one's lack of technical details--Carradine doesn't spend a lot of time discussing cameras, special effects, and the like--but readers interested in the people who make movies, rather than the moviemaking itself, will be well pleased. Like Tarrantino, Carradine has always had a reputation for being enigmatic, but here he comes off both humble and remarkably multifaceted. Give this one a chance; it will surprise you. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's not bad, it's just very light...,
By
This review is from: The Kill Bill Diary: The Making of a Tarantino Classic as Seen Through the Eyes of a Screen Legend (Paperback)
The Kill Bill Diary is sort of a hard book to review. I ended up giving it four stars because it's well written and engaging, but unfortunately very light. Carradine has done a wonderful job of chronicling his time spent working on the film, as well as shedding some light on both his process as an actor and what it's like as an actor to deal with studios such as Miramax (now the Weinstein Company), but the book tends to be a little off balance if only because it's so guarded. Carradine's prose is very interesting and comfortable, and the book reads very quickly, though in a very nice conversational way.
There is something to be desired in its Diary approach as the book struggles in this style choice, shifting between some all too expedited daily synopses to some almost uncomfortably personal correspondences (in particular a couple of gushing letters to Tarantino) with not much middle ground in between. Though at times Carradine's voice borders on arrogance (and with his lengthy body of work and his iconic rock star status after Kung Fu, who can blame him), he can just as easily come across as the most humble man on earth, so overall the POV of his experiences on the film come off almost pretty well balanced. At the end of the day though it's not as personal as one would think a "diary" would be, and because it tends towards skirting details it feels like he's holding back. Don't get me wrong, I think the book is very honest, and Carradine has a very positive outlook (I'm not expecting him to dish dirt or anything), but because he tends to hold back a little (either guardedly leaving out names or not really getting into detail) it reads a little flat or more like a blog instead of a book. My biggest gripe with the book though is in its marketing. The back cover blurb makes the book out to be a "making-of" on the Kill Bill film when honestly it's really only about Carradine's time on the set which amounts to about a fourth of the film. If you're looking for some light, behind the scenes reading on the film industry, this book is great, but if you are looking for "...an insider's close-up look at the film-making process and the astonishing cast and crew, ...the fine points of the actor's craft, ...[and a] breathtaking, no-holds-barred ... miraculous journey" (taken from the back cover) then you might be a little disappointed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who Knew Grasshopper Could Write So Well?,
By Bartleby the Scrivener (Mayberry, SC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Kill Bill Diary: The Making of a Tarantino Classic as Seen Through the Eyes of a Screen Legend (Paperback)
David Carradine's KILL BILL DIARY is unlike 90% of celebrity-penned 'behind-the-scenes' books: literate, insightful, witty and downright fun to read. Unlike 98.5% of actors who endeavor to wield a pen and express themselves in words, the man famous for playing "Kung Fu's" Kwai Chang Cain is as gifted a writer as he is a thespian.
True, the book reads like a valentine to KILL BILL director Quentin Tarantino (and to a lesser extent, KB star Uma Thurman); but Carradine's sentiments seem genuine, and therefore, tolerable. Anyone looking for insights into the production of the KILL BILL saga, and into the film business in general, will find them here. Much detail on the actor's life and career beyond the Tarantino film is provided, as well. Carradine's sharp eye for detail and self-deprecating humor make this a truly enjoyable read. One flaw: the inclusion of on-set notes made by blogger Harry "Ain't It Cool" Knowles. Knowles' garbled, self-centered blather is a written version of the sound fingernails make when raked across a chalkboard. The only positive thing about this Knowles intrusion? It helps the reader to appreciate Carradine's graceful, articulate writing even more. Readers: do yourselves a favor and skip over the Harry Knowles pages. Author & Editors: in future editions, dump Knowles. Overall, though, this is a wonderful work by an intelligent, perceptive writer. Let's hope David Carradine will be as prolific an author as he is an actor.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Diary of a Film Masterpiece,
By
This review is from: The Kill Bill Diary: The Making of a Tarantino Classic as Seen Through the Eyes of a Screen Legend (Paperback)
I finally finished this and I'm sad it's over. I can't call it 5-star worthy, because there are obvious flaws, but anyone who would take the time to read this, probably won't care about it. (If you hated the film why on earth would you read the book, right?).
This is actually NOT Carradine's first book (see Endless Highway, which is unfortunately out of print) and since I just started reading it, I can't say which I prefer, but Carradine's friendly narrative is what draws you in and keeps you reading even when the story flags. Like any journal there are some bits that maybe we could have lived without (much to much family stuff, but hey they sound great, so why not go on and on about them?) and of course his experience on Kill Bill was limited to the time he was involved. This is certainly NOT a complete Making of Kill Bill. It's budget prohibited David being on the set except when he was needed so there are definite gaps in the "movie" story. This is more than made up for with Carradine's letters to Tarantino, dozens of "insider" details about his time on the set, his hope that this will revitalize his career and much more. Carradine is a fascianting dude. This more than comes across in the story! The one thing I kept thinking throughout the story and even more so now as I see a cheesy tv commercial featuring Carradine, is that unlike John Travolta, Kill Bill did NOT revitalize Carradine's career in the same way. He has been in very little of note since he made Kill Bill. I'm glad he's working, but what happen to the "Tarantino Revitalization"? This is a somewhat sad footnote to the story that leaves me curious. Bill "was" a career making performance and role. Perhaps it is a continuation of the industry's slight of the film (no Oscar nominations, mixed reviews, no respect, darn it). Very little was made of Uma Thurman's brilliant performance (even more of an Oscar slight in years when very few female performances were Oscar-worthy). Is the industry jealous of Tarantino? Was this there chance to exact a little revenge on the bad boy outsider? But I'll get off my tangent for now (it was afterall inspired by Carradine's optimism). To sum up: Read It! It's fun. It's gossipy. It's insightful. It's never boring! Some great color photos round out the text. Let's hope that Carradine is still acting and writing for some time. Thanks to Tarantino for making it all possible. And how about reprinting "Endless Highway" someone, anyone?
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