[delichon]

Tarantino wanted to prove that his stunt double character was a bad-ass, so he had him fight Bruce Lee on a movie studio back lot, and win. Tarantino said that Bruce Lee fans dragged him through fire, insisting that Lee would have won. Tarantino said, it's my fantasy damn it, my guy can win if I want him to!

That's consistent with your comment getting down votes.

[gweinberg]

In the flick Tarantino made it seem like Lee was all bluff, that he could just talk tough and make some fancy moves and much bigger guys would all back down. The world doesn't work like that.

[nerdsniper]

> he could just talk tough … and much bigger guys would all back down. The world doesn't work like that.

It kind of does though? I was a bartender at a very, very popular college bar. Often I was the only employee working Monday/Tuesday. I was a very scrawny, nerdy child-looking 20-year old.

I had to learn how to kick out championship D1 football stars, even pro NFL (actual) stars, if they happened to become belligerent those nights. We had all types of customers, including ones who specifically came in with intention to fight.

There was always some specific way to interact with them to make them leave of their own volition. Often with the biggest guys, it was to be aggressive and psychically “larger” than them. The smaller “fighty” dudes were usually the toughest, as they often felt they needed to prove themselves and I had to use a different tactic.

But what you describe “talking tough” was by far the most successful with the “much bigger guys”.

[comfysocks]

On the one hand, in interviews, Tarantino always seems to have contrarian opinions about everything. When Kill Bill came out, he’d verbally knock Lee and praise lesser known movie practitioners.

On the other hand, if you watch the movie until the end, it’s obvious that the movie has an unreliable narrator. We all know how the Tate/Labianca murders actually turned out. Not at all like the movie…

[gweinberg]

That's not unreliable narrator, it's alternative history. Like when his heroes kill Hitler and end the war early saving millions of lives.

[kcplate]

That was supposed to be inspired by a supposedly Hollywood legend that claimed that Gene LeBell easily manhandled Bruce Lee on the set of Green Hornet.

There is also another story where Gene supposedly choked out Steven Segal (who claimed his training would prevent it).

I have no idea if either is true, but personally if I was required to place a bet on a contest between a well trained and experienced grappler/shoot wrestler that outweighed his opponent (Kung Fu practitioner) by 75lbs…my money is on the grappler all day long.

[__alexander]

I’m just going to leave this here

https://youtu.be/3aCMTpJx2cs?si=1roXwjjWxsxQb3P1

[Waterluvian]

You not liking the thing that I like negatively impacts me liking the thing.

[BLKNSLVR]

All too true for too many people these days.

Snowflakes.