Vega Brothers Movie
If you're a fan of the films of Quentin Tarantino, you know the Vega brothers. Vic and Vincent Vega play major roles in at least two Tarantino films -- the former as Mr. Blonde in 1992's Reservoir Dogs, the latter in 1994's Pulp Fiction. Played by Michael Madsen (Vic) and John Travolta (Vincent), the two were never in the same film and (according to both film's plots) they are both dead. That's why I always find it strange when Quentin Tarantino or Michael Madsen run their mouths about a possible Vega Brothers film. How in the world could you film it?
Vic and Vincent Vega
The Vega brothers are fairly hardcore gangsters, although Madsen's Vic is far more sinister than Travolta's kitten-like Vincent. Where Vic has an addiction to 70s music and razor blades, Vincent has a more literal addiction to heroin. Vic is the brother you lock in the closet, and Vincent's the brother you beg to go to rehab. They'd make a charming couple of characters in a way only Tarantino could shoot . . . but making the damn movie is just about impossible.
Madsen may have given us a major clue to the nature of any possible Vega brothers film recently, when he said this about the potential blockbuster :
"Well, first [Tarantino] said he would do it, then he said he wasn't going to do it. Then he called me and said, 'You know, I've figured out a way to do it. It can't be a prequel because you and John don't look the same. It wouldn't make sense as a sequel because you're both dead.' And he gave me an idea that would be really outrageous - that John and I would be the twin brothers of Vic and Vincent. We come from Amsterdam to LA to avenge the deaths of our brothers. I think that's pretty interesting. For me, I'd love to do it."
Pretty interesting idea, if not a little bit wacky and overwrought. I'm not nearly as interested in a "twin revenge" plot as I would be in a prequel -- though Tarantino's point about their looks is well taken -- and a "zombie revenge" movie featuring the corpses of the Vega brothers is probably a little too out there even for Quentin. Maybe we could see a short film version of one of these two ideas?
It is unclear whether Travolta would even be interested in making another movie. His last major effort, 2009's The Taking of Pelham 123, was something of a box office success (taking in over $50 million more than its hefty $100 million budget) but a major critical flop, earning Travolta nothing but critical scorn. And Madsen is none too active himself, preferring a literary life to a life in pictures -- sure he's had a few small parts in a few crappy movies, but nothing worth sneezing about.
The Future of Vega Brothers
So the time has likely passed for the making of a Vega brothers movie. 1992 was nearly twenty years ago, and Madsen hasn't aged as well as Travolta. Tarantino is now up to his elbows in the story and script for Kill Bill volume three. Travolta has gone over the deep end with Scientology, and Madsen is busy publishing books of poems. For all these reasons, the likelihood of a Vega brothers film is almost nil.
Still. A boy can dream, can't he?