Travolta celebrates Pulp Fiction’s 30th anniversary; $5 milkshake not included

John Travolta, Uma Thurman and more gathered to mark the 30th anniversary of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

Last Updated on April 25, 2024

It may be hard to believe, but it has been 30 years since Pulp Fiction changed the landscape of cinema both independent and mainstream, taking home the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, earning seven Oscar nods and going on to be one of the most heralded American films ever. To celebrate the occasion, some of the cast gathered for an event to help open this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival. One attendee was Vincent Vega himself, John Travolta, who remembered just what Pulp Fiction means to fans and himself.

Speaking with People on the red carpet, John Travolta commended the ongoing support of Pulp Fiction, suggesting it may not have landed in a different era. “It was epic and it evolved. The audiences made this movie what it was, and it wasn’t overnight. It took about a year of evolution. In those days, movies stayed in the theaters for a year. So, by the end of the year of it being, it was planetarily epic.”

Prior to being cast in Pulp Fiction, John Travolta was pretty much just bouncing around talking baby movies. Yet, writer/director Quentin Tarantino fought for him to play the lead (after Michael Madsen couldn’t commit) despite him having fallen from box office grace. “I never had preconceived ideas of actually what I needed or should have, but it kind of found me more than I found it, because Quentin was such a die-hard fan of mine that he had this fantasy of working with me in something.” Interestingly, Travolta was almost cast as Seth Gecko in From Dusk till Dawn – the role that went to George Clooney – but turned that down to focus on Pulp Fiction instead, a role that earned him his second Oscar nomination.

Also in attendance were Samuel L. Jackson (Jules Winnfield), Uma Thurman (Mia Wallace), Harvey Keitel (Winston Wolf; he solves problems), and Eric Stoltz (Lance), which is just a small portion of the ensemble cast. The most notable absence was Bruce Willis (Butch Coolidge), who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023 and has shied away from the public eye. Instead, wife Emma Heming Willis and daughter Tallulah stood in. Curiously, Tarantino was also absent, although maybe he just wanted to avoid press over The Movie Critic being sacked…

Where does Pulp Fiction rank in your top movies ever? What is your favorite scene? Let us know below!