JP,

Possibly, but I don't think so.

Tarrantino is smarter than most people give him credit for. Sure, it's an homage, but even though Star Wars was an homage to Flash Gordon serials of the 40s and 50s, it's themetic content is deeper and richer than those originals....I believe this film works the same way. He took the parts he liked, and expounded on those elements to fit within the thematic content of the story. He developed the story with Uma Thurman while filming PF, long before he ever decided to make a martial arts flick.