Director Quentin "Kill Bill" Tarantino has secured an additional $8.7 million in funding from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), in addition to $1 million already received from regional subsidies Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg/MDM, for his World War II action adventure "Inglourious Basterds".
The film stars actor Brad Pitt who leads a squad of US soldiers behind enemy lines.
The film's ensemble cast includes Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman.
"Basterds" reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning DP Bob Richardson and production designer David Wasco. Also joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard.
Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender is producing the film with Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips. Co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter, with Pilar Savone, associate producer.
The soundtrack is composed by Ennio Morricone.
The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures, through its newly formed International Studio, are co-financing/co-presenting the film with TWC handling domestic distribution and Universal handling international distribution. The two companies are partners on the project.
Zehnte Babelsberg Film, a subsidiary of Studio Babelsberg AG, produced "Inglourious Basterds", with filming @ Studio Babelsberg, Berlin, Saxony and Paris.
Premise of the film, set in German-occupied France, follows 'Shosanna Dreyfus' (Mélanie Laurent) who witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of 'Colonel Hans Landa' (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner/operator of a cinema.
Elsewhere in Europe, US 'Lieutenant Aldo Raine' (Brad Pitt) organizes a likeable group of degenerate soldiers, aka 'The Basterds' to engage in targeted acts of retribution against the Axis enemy...
Tarantino said his new film was inspired by director Sergio Leone's 'spaghetti' westerns, the features "Where Eagles Dare", "The Dirty Dozen" and the 1977 Italian exploitation film "Inglorious Bastards", starring actors Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson...
