Quick summary
- Welsh director Jamie Adams says Kylie Minogue and Quentin Tarantino both appear in his new film, Tangled Up in Blue, shot in Wales earlier this year.
- Filming took place in Cardiff and in his hometown of Porthcawl, with rapper RZA also in the cast, according to the BBC.
- There is no release date yet, but Adams is aiming for summer 2027 and hopes to hold a premiere in Cardiff.
- Separately, KFC Australia has launched a drinks range, KWENCH by KFC, with a campaign that rebuilds Kylie’s hit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” from the sounds of sipping.
Kylie Minogue has spent part of this year on a seaside film set in south Wales, and the director behind it is still marvelling at how it came together. Jamie Adams told the BBC this week that Minogue and Tarantino both turned up in Porthcawl to make Tangled Up in Blue, a small improvised feature with a very large cast list.
How a pub in Porthcawl became a film set
Adams, a Welsh filmmaker, told BBC News that the shoot felt like “an out of body experience”. Jamie Adams) used locations that mean something to him, including a pub his father once ran. The bar there is a boat his father brought from Weymouth, where Adams was born.
That meant Tarantino, the director of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, was filmed having a pint with Adams and one of his oldest friends in that bar. Parts of the shoot happened at the Parkway Hotel in June, and most of the rest was in Cardiff.
This is not Adams’s first brush with a famous name. He worked with Jennifer Grey, star of Dirty Dancing, on his 2019 film Bittersweet Symphony.
What the film is about
According to the BBC, Tangled Up in Blue follows a talent manager, played by Tarantino, who has spent 40 years looking after legends. He ends up stranded in a hotel bar, caught between an old flame and a lost soul.
Adams works quickly and in an improvised style, where much of the film is created on the spot rather than read from a script. He says the idea grew out of a week-long shoot in France last year. Tarantino enjoyed that process and compared it to the French New Wave, the film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. Adams then pitched something more personal, shot at home.
The BBC does not say which part Minogue plays, so that remains unconfirmed.
Why Wales was an easy yes for Kylie
Minogue has described herself as “half Welsh”, and the BBC reports that her family comes from near Porthcawl. Her mother, Carol Jones, and her Welsh-speaking grandmother, Millie Jones, emigrated from Maesteg in Bridgend county to Australia in the 1950s.
Adams said Minogue told him she rarely gets to visit Wales, so she jumped at the chance. The BBC notes that Tarantino is better known behind the camera, while Minogue became one of the world’s best-known pop stars after leaving the Australian soap Neighbours in the late 1980s. Adams says he liked showing what both can do beyond what they are known for.
Kylie in the Australian spotlight this week
The film is not the only Minogue story in Australian headlines. KFC has launched KWENCH by KFC, a permanent drinks sub-brand, with a campaign called “It’s All You Can Drink About” from the agency Special, according to B&T.
The music video, directed by Leilani Croucher, recreates “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” using recorded sipping and slurping from the real drinks, produced by the studio Rumble. The range has 11 flavours across four types: Krunch Shakes, Boba Refreshers, Sparkling Lemonades and Frozen Spiders. B&T’s report describes a song recreation, and does not say Minogue herself appears in the video.
Her music also drew a mention from rock band Queens of the Stone Age, who included her on an Apple playlist of favourite Australian artists for Aus Music Month, The Brag reports. Readers who want more on her recent music can see our earlier post on Kylie Minogue’s Light Up nomination.
What happens next
Adams says there is no release date for Tangled Up in Blue. He is aiming for summer 2027 and hopes Cardiff can host a premiere with the cast attending. He told the BBC that people in Porthcawl are still talking about the shoot in the local pub.
For more on screen projects, browse our Movies and Celebrities pages.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kylie Minogue in a Quentin Tarantino film?
According to the BBC, she appears in Tangled Up in Blue, directed by Jamie Adams, alongside Tarantino, who stars as a talent manager. Tarantino is acting in it, not directing.
When will Tangled Up in Blue be released?
There is no confirmed date. The director says he is aiming for summer 2027.
Why did Kylie Minogue film in Porthcawl?
Her family has roots near the town, and she told Adams she rarely gets to visit Wales, so she agreed to the project.
What is the KFC KWENCH campaign?
It is KFC Australia’s launch for a new drinks range, using a rebuilt version of “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” made from the sounds of the drinks.
