Pulp Fiction: How Quentin Tarantino Locked In John Travolta For The Role Of Vincent Vega

From 1977 to 1980, John Travolta — who rose to prominence playing Vinnie Barbarino in the hit ABC sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" — had a firm command of the box office with starring roles in the smash hits "Saturday Night Fever," "Grease," and "Urban Cowboy." A career lull followed, apart from his starring role in the hit "Look Who's Talking" films in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Despite Travolta's newfound bankability, it appeared that there was no way talking now-disgraced Miramax movie mogul Harvey Weinstein into casting him in Quentin Tarantino's second feature film, "Pulp Fiction." In an oral history about the making of "Pulp Fiction" featured in Vanity Fair, Tarantino and his longtime agent, Mike Simpson, recalled the troubles they had getting Weinstein to sign off on Travolta.

According to the publication, Tarantino originally intended on casting his "Reservoir Dogs" star Michael Madsen as hitman Vincent Vega in "Pulp Fiction," but since Madsen was committed to the Kevin Costner film "Wyatt Earp" the director pursued and eventually locked in Travolta for the role.

Tarantino told Vanity Fair that Simpson provided Weinstein his terms for directing "Pulp Fiction," which included he had final cut of the film and a final say on its runtime. Weinstein said yes to both demands, as well as Tarantino's final list of actors he wanted in the film. "And it came back: 'The entire list is approved ... except for John Travolta.' So, I got together with Harvey, and he's like, 'I can get Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, William Hurt,'" Tarantino recalled for Vanity Fair.

Word apparently traveled fast, Simpson added, telling Vanity Fair, "Daniel Day-Lewis and Bruce Willis, who was the biggest star in Hollywood, had both gotten their hands on the script and wanted to play Vincent Vega."

Quentin Tarantino and Mike Simpson held firm on their demand to cast John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction," and according to Simpson in the Vanity Fair interview, they finally got what they wanted in a late-night phone call with Harvey Weinstein: "At midnight our time, three in the morning in New York, Harvey said, 'Let's just close the deal, and we'll address that tomorrow in good faith.'" Then, Simpson recalled for the publication, he countered Weinstein by saying, "You're going to agree to it right now, or there's no deal. We've got two other buyers waiting outside to get this."

According to Vanity Fair, one of them was Live Entertainment, the company that produced Tarantino's first feature film, "Reservoir Dogs." And with that, the clock began to rapidly tick on Weinstein and his executive brother, Bob. Recalling their conversation for Vanity Fair, Simpson told Weinstein, "'You've got 15 seconds to agree to it. If I hang up, it's over.' Harvey kept talking, arguing, and I said, 'O.K., 15, 14.' When I got to eight, Bob goes, 'Harvey, we have to say yes.' Harvey says, 'O.K., f*** it.'"

According to Vanity Fair, Richard N. Gladstein — Tarantino's longtime collaborator who served as a co-executive producer on "Pulp Fiction" — recalled hearing Weinstein joke 20 minutes into screening the completed film, saying, "I'm so glad I had the idea to cast John Travolta."

The actor received a best actor Oscar nomination for playing Vincent Vega, but undoubtedly the biggest prize was that "Pulp Fiction" saved Travolta's failing career. As for the film itself, "Pulp Fiction" easily is high on the list of every Tarantino film ranked from worst to best.