An article marking Pulp Fiction's 1994 release recalls how the film transformed John Travolta's career, but reveals he had reservations about one of its most notorious scenes. Quentin Tarantino cast Travolta as hitman Vincent Vega against studio wishes, reviving an actor then seen as a has-been, and the film went on to become a cultural phenomenon that redefined 1990s cinema.

Travolta later admitted the scene in which Vega accidentally shoots informant Marvin in the back of a car was "the hardest part of saying yes to the project," partly because of its similarity to the torture scene in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. Pulp Fiction went on to receive seven Oscar nominations, winning Best Original Screenplay, and grossed over $200 million against an $8 million budget, launching a career resurgence for Travolta in films such as Face/Off and Get Shorty before it stalled with 2000's Battlefield Earth.