Uma Thurman and ‘Pulp Fiction’ cast reminisce to celebrate film’s 30th anniversary

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Uma Thurman is fully aware of how important “Pulp Fiction” was to Hollywood.

The TCM Classic Film Festival kicked off recently with a 30th anniversary screening of “Pulp Fiction” at the TCL Chinese Theatre over the weekend. Prior to the screening, Thurman was joined on stage by fellow cast members Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel and John Travolta to share some memories.

The group reunited to talk with moderator and Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about the film that Thurman said “changed cinema.”

“I feel like I’ve had an evolving and beautiful and growing relationship with ‘Pulp Fiction’ throughout my life,” Thurman said on stage during the panel, which is now available for viewing on YouTube. “It changed cinema, and it changed every filmmaker that I’ve ever met.”

Earlier Thurman had joked that “Pulp Fiction” was probably “the last film [director and writer] Quentin [Tarantino] made that was on schedule.”

The famed director wasn’t present for the reunion, but there was plenty of conversation about him.

Jackson said that when he first read the script, he found it so “amazing” that he had to reread it to make sure it was as great as he thought and it wasn’t just that he so desperately wanted to make the film.

For Travolta, the movie had a huge effect on his career which had hit a lull.

“I had a great first chapter, and I was desperately looking for a second one. And [Tarantino] took me to the moon and back,” Travolta said. “After that, it was mind-boggling, the opportunities that came my way. I mean, an actor can only fantasize about what happened after that for me. It was next level, and I could go on for hours about what it specifically meant.”

Likewise for Jackson.

“I was floating along doing well and this film was a great boost to me just working and doing it,” he said. “Right after this film I went to ‘Die Hard With a Vengeance’ with Bruce [Willis].”

Willis, who also starred in “Pulp Fiction,” is living with the progressive brain disorder frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and was not present at the festival. His wife Emma Heming Willis and daughter Tallulah Willis attended the event.

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