Yahoo Movies How Stars Honored Bruce Willis at “Pulp Fiction” 30th Anniversary Event: 'We All Wish the Best for Him'
Samuel L. Jackson, Eric Stoltz and others recalled fond memories of their time working with Bruce Willis
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Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis on April 18, 2024; Bruce Willis in "Pulp Fiction" (1994)Bruce Willis's friends and family stepped out in Hollywood to honor the 30th anniversary of Pulp Fiction's release.
On April 18, a star-studded lineup descended upon the TCL Chinese Theatre, and there was plenty of love in the room for the retired actor, whose diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia was revealed in 2023.
Bruce's wife Emma Heming Willis and his daughter Tallulah Belle Willis were both in attendance at the event to support the star, who took on the role of Butch Coolidge in the hit 1994 film.
Notably, Tallulah donned a black baseball-style cap that had the word "BRUCE" stitched in white across the front, a loving homage to her father.
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Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis on April 18, 2024Stacey Sher, who produced Pulp Fiction, told PEOPLE on the red carpet about a specific memory she recalled of Bruce from when they worked together, referring to him as "kind."
"My late father, Sy Sher, who was not an actor, who had never acted or really been on a set except to visit me, is Bruce Willis's boxing coach," Sher explained.
"[Director] Quentin [Tarantino] loved my dad, loved what my dad looked like, and he's the person who wakes him up from the gold watch dream and tells him it's time to go. Bruce was so kind to him. As this man who had never done this before, but revered cinema and was why I loved movies."
She added of Willis, 69, "He is a wonderful person and we all wish the best for him."
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Bruce Willis in 2012Eric Stoltz, who played Lance in the film, also told PEOPLE about his favorite Bruce memory from the time they worked together.
"He used to buy everybody pizzas," he recalled. "We had a lot of night shoots, and suddenly Bruce would show up with 10 pizzas. How could you not love that? I was crazy about the man."
Samuel L. Jackson, who played Jules Winnfield in the film and is a longtime friend of Bruce, recalled to Variety on the red carpet his experiences working on it. He noted that he "was floating along and doing well" and highlighted that Pulp Fiction "was a great boost to me."
He then recalled Bruce's candid take on his career going forward. “Bruce and I were sitting there watching the film and the audience was loving the movie,” he remembered. “And Bruce said, 'Yeah, this movie is going to make you popular, but Die Hard is going to make you a star.' ”
Related: John Travolta Says Pulp Fiction Was ‘Planetarily Epic’ at 30th Anniversary Reunion (Exclusive)
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Harvey Keitel, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta on April 18, 2024Jackson capped things off by highlighting how his role in Pulp Fiction "changed my life drastically," and "people started thinking I was the coolest m-----f---er on the planet."
During the event, TCM primetime anchor Ben Mankiewicz, who emceed the evening, acknowledged Bruce during a panel where he was joined by Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Harvey Keitel.
"I sort of fell hard over Bruce Willis," Mankiewicz said, adding, "It is weird to talk about Pulp Fiction without talking about Bruce."
He then pointed out Emma and Tallulah's attendance at the event, which led to a round of applause from the crowd.
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In an Instagram post shared on April 19, Emma posted a series of images from the event, including red carpet snapshots and videos of Bruce in the film.
In her caption she referred to the evening as the "Sweetest date night with my family" and highlighted how they were there to "represent" Bruce.
The event comes just a month after Emma and Bruce celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary, which the actor's wife commemorated via an Instagram tribute that noted how their "union and connection is probably stronger than ever. "
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