However, according to members of the Family, the murders were not committed to start Helter Skelter but as copycat murders of Gary Hinman, to convince police his killer was still at large. Bobby Beausoleil was in jail, charged with the murder. The Family was attempting to get him released. According to Jay Sebring's protege and business partner Jim Markham, the murders were about a drug deal gone bad, not a race war. He believes Manson was at Tate's house the day before the murders to sell drugs to Sebring and Voytek Frykowski, which resulted in the two beating Manson up. In his interview with Truman Capote, Beausoleil said, "They burned people on dope deals. Sharon Tate and that gang."
On the set of Batman, for a crossover episode with The Green Hornet, a fight was scripted with Kato (Bruce Lee) losing to Robin (Burt Ward). When Lee received the script, he refused to do it, so it was changed to a draw. When the cameras rolled, Lee stalked Ward until Ward backed away. Lee laughed and told him he was "lucky it is a TV show." In the film, Cliff Booth reminisces about fighting Lee on the set of The Green Hornet; the fight is interrupted before its conclusion, after each fighter has won one round. Booth refers to Lee as "Kato."
More InfoCharles Manson was convicted of the murders of Tate and four others, despite not being present, due mostly to a theory stating he was trying to instigate an apocalyptic race war, in the end leaving only black Muslims and the Manson Family. The black Muslims would eventually look to Manson to lead them. According to some, Manson referred to the race war as Helter Skelter, getting the name from the song of the same name. Musician and filmmaker Boots Riley criticized the film for not portraying Helter Skelter or depicting the Family as white supremacists.
More InfoThe scenes involving the Tate–Polanski house were not filmed at Cielo Drive, the winding street where the 3,200 square-foot house once stood. The original house was razed in 1994 and replaced with a mansion nearly six-times the size. Scenes involving the Tate-Polanski house were filmed at three different locations around Los Angeles: one for the interior scenes, one for the scenes showing the exterior of the old house, and a Universal City location for the many scenes depicting the iconic cul-de-sac driveway.
More InfoMike Moh, who played Lee, said he was conflicted at first: "Bruce in my mind was literally a god. ... Bruce didn't always have the most affection for stuntmen; he didn't respect all of them." He stated, "Tarantino loves Bruce Lee; he reveres him." Brad Pitt objected to an extended version of the fight, stating, "It's Bruce Lee, man!" according to stunt coordinator Robert Alonzo. According to Lee's friend and The Green Hornet stuntman Gene LeBell, Lee had a reputation for "kicking the shit out of the stuntmen. They couldn't convince him that he could go easy and it would still look great on film." Lee biographer Matthew Polly stated, "Bruce was very famous for being very considerate of the people below him on film sets, particularly the stuntmen. ... So in this scene, Bruce Lee is essentially calling out a stuntman and getting him fired because he's the big star."
More InfoCharles Manson was convicted of the murders of Tate and four others, despite not being present, due mostly to a theory stating he was trying to instigate an apocalyptic race war, in the end leaving only black Muslims and the Manson Family. The black Muslims would eventually look to Manson to lead them. According to some, Manson referred to the race war as Helter Skelter, getting the name from the song of the same name. Musician and filmmaker Boots Riley criticized the film for not portraying Helter Skelter or depicting the Family as white supremacists.
More InfoWe don't show ads. Help us keep it that way.