Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino to appear at AFI Fest Oct. 23 for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
AFI will screen Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood at the TCL Chinese Theatre with Quentin Tarantino in conversation, weeks before David Fincher's Cliff Booth film reaches IMAX.
The American Film Institute announced on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 that Quentin Tarantino will take part in a special event at AFI Fest: a screening of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood followed by a conversation with the filmmaker. It is set for Friday, Oct. 23, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
AFI framed the evening as a look back before David Fincher's The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, which stars Brad Pitt and is written by Tarantino. The festival's 40th edition runs Oct. 21–25.
MyNewsLA reported the announcement as made on a Tuesday, which corresponds to Oct. 13. The AFI page reviewed carries no separate announcement date.
What AFI announced
The event is titled "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood With Quentin Tarantino" and is part of AFI Fest 2026, presented by Canva, according to AFI's announcement. The format is a screening of the 2019 film followed by a conversation with Tarantino, whom AFI describes as an Academy Award-winning filmmaker.
The venue has a history with the film. AFI notes that the TCL Chinese Theatre hosted its U.S. premiere in 2019.
AFI's page does not give a start time or a price for the event, and it does not say whether the event requires a separate ticket or is included in festival passes. It lists individual tickets and passes at FEST.AFI.com.
Three pass types are offered. The Star Pass covers all screenings except Red Carpet Premieres. The Patron Pass adds the Red Carpet Premieres and priority screening selection. A new Marquee Pass is also listed, but the page does not describe its benefits.
No other participants are named, so whether any cast members will attend is not stated.
How the evening connects to the Cliff Booth film
AFI describes the screening as a return to the original story of Cliff Booth, the character Pitt played in Tarantino's film, ahead of the Fincher project.
AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale said in the announcement that AFI is proud to "celebrate where it all began." He also called Tarantino "one of the greatest storytellers of our generation."
Netflix has confirmed the release plan for the new film, as reported by Advanced Television. It is set for an exclusive two-week IMAX run starting Nov. 25 and for Netflix streaming on Dec. 23. The Advanced Television article, dated Aug. 27, 2026, gives the dates without a year.
Fincher directs from a screenplay by Tarantino. Pitt returns as Cliff Booth, and the cast also includes Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Peter Weller, among others. Advanced Television gives the setting as 1977 Hollywood and says Tarantino handed the script to Fincher after saying he did not want it to be his final film.
AFI and Advanced Television use The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Where it sits in the festival
AFI Fest's 40th edition runs Oct. 21–25 at the TCL Chinese Theatres and includes 158 films from 50 countries, according to AFI. It opens with the U.S. premiere of Wildwood and closes with Being Heumann.
AFI's breakdown lists 6 Red Carpet Premieres, 12 Special Screenings, 13 Luminaries selections, 18 Discovery titles, 16 World Cinema selections and 17 documentaries. It also lists 3 After Dark films, 45 Short Film Competition entries and 24 AFI Conservatory Showcase films.
AFI says 45% of official selections are directed by women and 32% by BIPOC filmmakers. The lineup includes 12 official submissions for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Awards.
The festival also qualifies Live Action, Animated and Documentary shorts for the Academy Awards. It is also a qualifying festival for consideration for the British short film categories of the BAFTA Film Awards and the British Independent Film Awards.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller are guest artistic directors. Their programme includes "An Evening with Lord and Miller," a Q&A followed by a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also includes Harold and Maude, The Muppet Movie and Rififi.
“AFI describes the screening as a return to the original story of Cliff Booth ahead of the Fincher project.”
What is still open
As of Oct. 14, 2026, the start time, the ticket price for the event and the identity of whoever will lead the conversation have not been published on the AFI page reviewed. The event has not taken place, and no remarks from Tarantino about it were available.
The sources reviewed do not say whether Tarantino will discuss the new film during the conversation. AFI has not published what the discussion will cover.