‘Pulp Fiction’ Reunion on the Red Carpet 30 Years Later; Bruce Willis Absent but Honored
On October 14, 1994, Pulp Fiction aired in theatres across the U.S., stunning audiences with its intertwining stories of violence and crime in LA. The film made the careers of John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Samuel L. Jackson while catapulting Quentin Tarantino to a legendary status among directors. On April 18, the cast gathered at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival to celebrate Pulp Fiction‘s 30th anniversary.
The ‘Pulp Fiction’ cast 30 years later
Pulp Fiction first premiered at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. The movie received seven Oscar nominations at the 67th Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay (Tarantino and Avary), Best Picture, Best Director (Tarantino), Best Actor (Travolta), Best Supporting Actor (Jackson), Best Supporting Actress (Thurman), and Best Film Editing. Since then, the Library of Congress has chosen Pulp Fiction for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
At the 30th anniversary celebration, Jackson, Keitel, Thurman, and Travolta looked lovely in their red carpet wear. Jackson celebrated the anniversary on social media. On his Instagram photos, the 75-year-old shared a photo of his Pulp Fiction character, Jules Winnfield, displayed on white cupcakes.
Thurman, now 53, posted a photo to Instagram of a piece of paper taped on a wall. The paper had the following words scrawled across it: “Hi Q.T. Happy birthday Pulp Fiction. Make yourself a drink. – Uma.” Her caption read, “Happy thirtieth anniversary #PulpFiction, trying to forget anything as intriguing as this would be an exercise in futility.”
Nine years after Pulp Fiction, Travolta, now 70, and Jackson appeared together in another film, 1993’s Basic. Although the mystery-action thriller didn’t perform well at the box office, the actors enjoyed spending time together on another project and remain good friends.
Jackson had already starred in 2004’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2 with his former Pulp Fiction co-star, Thurman. They reunited again for 2023’s The Kill Room, an American black comedy thriller.
Bruce Willis absent from 30th anniversary of ‘Pulp Fiction’
Bruce Willis was noticeably absent from the 30th anniversary celebration. The man behind Pulp Fiction‘s notorious Butch Coolidge was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The Die Hard actor has since retired from entertainment. Bruce’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, and daughter, Tallulah Willis, appeared on his behalf. His daughter wore a black baseball hat with the word “BRUCE” stitched in white across the front. Emma posted to Instagram, “We came out to see Pulp Fiction for its 30 year anniversary and represent. Sweetest date night with my family.”
Jackson mentioned Bruce while he spoke to Variety on the red carpet. “Bruce and I were sitting there watching [Pulp Fiction], and the audience was loving the movie,” Jackson recalled. “And Bruce said, ‘Yeah, this movie is going to make you popular, but Die Hard is going to make you a star.'” Jackson expressed gratitude for Tarantino’s masterpiece, adding that it “changed my life drastically” and “people started thinking I was the coolest motherf—er on the planet.”
Eric Stoltz, who played Lance in Pulp Fiction, shared a special anecdote about Bruce with PEOPLE. “He used to buy everybody pizzas,” the 62-year-old remembered. “We had a lot of night shoots, and suddenly Bruce would show up with 10 pizzas. How could you not love that? I was crazy about the man.” Other cast members walked the red carpet as well. Burr Steers, who played Roger, smiled for cameras with his daughter, and Rosanna Arquette, who portrayed Lance’s wife Jody, looked chic at 64.
Julia Sweeney portrayed Raquel in the 1994 film. Now 64, she’s appeared on many primetime TV shows as a series regular. Phil LaMarr walked the red carpet in honor of his infamous Pulp Fiction character, Marvin. Since then, the 57-year-old has done extensive video game voiceover work in addition to his many TV and movie roles. Frank Whaley, 60, appeared in Pulp Fiction as Brett after meeting Tarantino while filming Reservoir Dogs. He’s gone on to have an extensive TV and film career, too.
