Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Is a blend of fact and fiction in a revisionist presentation of a specific period in Hollywood. It's 1969, and the largely parallel but occasionally intersecting stories of three Hollywood figures who are trying to maintain their place in the first two cases or establish her name in the last in the annals of Hollywood iconography are told. The first is Rick Dalton, a 1950s television action star who is losing his luster in the eyes of producers as he ages. He is trying to resist what appears to be his only starring opportunities in spaghetti westerns in Italy, that resistance due to what he considers their poor quality. The second is Cliff Booth, Rick's friend and longtime stunt double. In that latter role, Cliff has done the heavy lifting behind the scenes while Rick has gotten all the glory. In the absence of roles for Rick, Cliff has largely become Rick's personal assistant. They may or may not be aware that Rick's association to Cliff is affecting his ability to get roles in Hollywood due to Cliff being Cliff, which is why many believe the rumors that Cliff murdered his wife. The third is starlet Sharon Tate, whose biggest screen credits have her name just below the title, and thus is not a household name as a movie star, but who is arguably better known as Mrs. Roman Polanski, he the hottest director in Hollywood following the success of Rosemary's Baby (1968). In the Polanskis having just moved in next door to him, Rick, who has yet to meet them, believes being in a Polanski film would resurrect his career. What happens to them in these specific stories is affected by their individual interactions with a group of hippies who are "squatting" on a ranch property once used as a filming set.