| Caption | Tarantino at the Scream Awards, October 19, 2007 |
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| Birth name | Quentin Jerome Tarantino |
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| Birth date | March 27, 1963 |
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| Birth place | Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, actor |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
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Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and occasional actor. In the early 1990s he began his career as an
independent filmmaker whose films used
nonlinear storylines and the
aestheticization of violence. His films include
Reservoir Dogs (1992),
Pulp Fiction (1994),
Jackie Brown (1997),
Kill Bill (2003–2004),
Death Proof (2007) and
Inglourious Basterds (2009). His films have earned him an
Academy Award, a
Golden Globe Award, a
BAFTA and a
Palme d'Or and he has been nominated for
Emmy and
Grammy awards.
Early life
Tarantino was born in
Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Connie McHugh Tarantino Zastoupil, a health care executive and nurse born in Knoxville, and
Tony Tarantino, an actor and amateur musician who was born in
Queens, New York. Tarantino's father is
Italian American and his mother is of
Irish and Cherokee ancestry. He was raised by his mother, as his parents separated before his birth. When he was two years old, he and his mother moved to
Torrance, California, and later to the
Harbor City neighborhood where he went to Fleming Junior High School in Lomita and took drama classes..
Film career
After Tarantino met
Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party, Bender encouraged him to write a screenplay. Tarantino directed and co-wrote a movie called
My Best Friend's Birthday in 1987. The final reel of the film was almost fully destroyed in a lab fire that occurred during editing but its screenplay would form the basis for
True Romance. In January 1992, Tarantino's
Reservoir Dogs screened at the
Sundance Film Festival and was an immediate hit. The film garnered critical acclaim.
Reservoir Dogs was a dialogue-driven
heist movie that set the tone for his later films. Tarantino wrote the script in three and a half weeks and Bender forwarded it to director
Monte Hellman. Hellman helped Tarantino to secure funding from
Richard Gladstein at Live Entertainment (which later became Artisan).
Harvey Keitel read the script and also contributed to funding, taking a co-producer role, and a part in the movie.
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Tarantino's screenplay True Romance was optioned and eventually released in 1993. The second script that Tarantino sold was Natural Born Killers, which was revised by Dave Veloz, Richard Rutowski and director Oliver Stone. Tarantino was given story credit, and wished the film well. Following the success of Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino was approached by Hollywood and offered numerous projects, including Speed and Men in Black. He instead retreated to Amsterdam to work on his script for Pulp Fiction.
After Pulp Fiction was completed, he then directed Episode Four of Four Rooms, "The Man from Hollywood", a tribute to the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode that starred Steve McQueen. Four Rooms was a collaborative effort with filmmakers Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, and Robert Rodriguez. The film was very poorly received by critics and audiences. He appeared in and wrote the script for Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk till Dawn, which saw mixed reviews from the critics yet led to two sequels, for which Tarantino and Rodriguez would only serve as executive producers.
Tarantino's third feature film but evolved dramatically as the project unfolded. Ticket sales were low despite mostly positive reviews.
Among his current producing credits are the horror flick Hostel (which included numerous references to his own Pulp Fiction), the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Killshot (for which Tarantino was credited as an executive producer but with the movie set for release in 2009 he is no longer associated with the project) and Hell Ride (written and directed by Larry Bishop, who appeared in Kill Bill Vol. 2).
Tarantino has been quoted as saying, "When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films.'"
Tarantino's summer 2009 film Inglourious Basterds was the story of a group of guerrilla U.S. soldiers in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Filming began in October 2008. The film opened on August 21, 2009 to very positive reviews and the #1 spot at the box office worldwide. It went on to become Tarantino's highest grossing film, both in the United States and worldwide.
Awards
Reservoir Dogs was given the Critic's Award at the 4th
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in 1993.
Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, winning one for Best Original Screenplay, which was shared jointly by Tarantino and co-writer Roger Avary.
In 2005, Quentin Tarantino won the Icon of the Decade award at the Sony Ericsson Empire Awards.
On August 15, 2007, Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presented Tarantino with a lifetime achievement award at the Malacañang Palace in Manila.
In 2010, his film Inglourious Basterds was nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, winning one for Best Supporting Actor.
In March 2010, Tarantino was awarded the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic along with Lucy Liu and Andy Vajna for producing the 2006 movie Freedom's Fury.
Other potential projects
Before
Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino had considered making
The Vega Brothers. The film would have starred
Michael Madsen and
John Travolta reprising their roles of Vic (Mr. Blonde) from
Reservoir Dogs and Vincent from
Pulp Fiction. But in 2007, because of the age of the actors and the onscreen deaths of both characters, he claimed that the project (which he intended to call
Double V Vega) is "kind of unlikely now".
In a 2007 interview with The Daily Telegraph, he discussed an idea for a form of spaghetti western set in America's Deep South which he called "a southern",
In 2009, in an interview for Italian TV, after being asked about the success of the two Kill Bill films, Tarantino said "You haven't asked me about the third one", and that he would be making a third Kill Bill film with the words "The Bride will fight again!" Later that year, at the Morelia International Film Festival, Tarantino announced that Kill Bill: Vol. 3 would be his ninth film, and would be released in 2014. He said he intends to make another unrelated film before that date as his eighth film. He confirmed that he wanted ten years to pass between The Bride's last conflict, to give her and her daughter a period of peace.
Recurring collaborators
Television directing
Tarantino has directed and been called to direct numerous television episodes.
Tarantino directed an episode of then-girlfriend Margaret Cho's 1994 television series, All American Girl.
Tarantino directed the season 20 (1994–1995 season) episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by John Travolta (musical guest: Seal), which featured a sketch called "Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back, Kotter", a hybrid of the 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter and Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs.
Tarantino directed the season 1, episode 24, of ER titled "Motherhood", that aired May 11, 1995.
In 1997, Tarantino was originally slated to direct the
The X-Files episode,
"Never Again" (episode 4x13, which originally aired February 2, 1997), but was prevented from doing so by the
Directors Guild of America. The episode features
Scully heading to Philadelphia, while
Mulder is on vacation, to interview a man who claims his
tattoo talks to him. Although the episode was written specifically for Tarantino to direct, the DGA contended that Tarantino, who is not a member, failed to compensate the union for lost revenue as a result of his directorial work on
ER.
Tarantino directed an April 20, 2004 episode of
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Tarantino earned an Emmy nomination for directing the fifth season finale of the hit show , which first aired May 19, 2005. The highly rated episode, entitled "Grave Danger", shared a very similar situation to one in Tarantino's second Kill Bill film; CSI Nick Stokes is captured and buried alive in a Plexiglas coffin while an Internet camera broadcasts the entire ordeal to CSI headquarters. (In Kill Bill Vol. 2, The Bride was also captured and buried alive in a coffin.) The broadcast was delayed in the UK as the broadcast date coincided with the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London and it was felt that the depiction of a suicide bomber could cause offense. This double-length episode was released on DVD on October 10, 2005.
Appearances on screen and onstage
Although Tarantino is best known for his work behind the camera, he has appeared on the large screen, on the small screen, and onstage, in a variety of roles.
Film actor
In Reservoir Dogs (1992), Tarantino plays the minor role of Mr. Brown.
In Pulp Fiction (1994), Tarantino plays the minor role of Jimmie Dimmick.
In Sleep with Me (1994), Tarantino has a cameo role in which he expounds on the homoerotic subtext of Top Gun.
Tarantino played a cameo role in the 1995 film, Desperado (directed by his friend Robert Rodriguez).
He starred as Johnny Destiny in the film Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995).
In Four Rooms (1995), Tarantino plays the minor role of famous director, Chester Rush.
Tarantino co-starred alongside George Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).
Tarantino appeared briefly in the beginning of Spike Lee's film, Girl 6 (1996).
In Jackie Brown (1997), the voice on Jackie's answering machine is Tarantino's.
Tarantino played a cameo role in Little Nicky (2000), as a crazy, blind, apocalypse preacher.
In the two-part Kill Bill film (2003 and 2004), Tarantino plays a member of the Crazy 88.
In 2007, Tarantino had a small role as Ringo in the Takashi Miike film Sukiyaki Western Django.
Tarantino had substantial screen-time in the two 2007 Grindhouse double-features, Death Proof and Planet Terror, wherein he takes on the roles of Warren, a bartender, and Lewis, aka Rapist #1, an infected member of a rogue military unit, respectively.
In the 2009 film
Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino acted minor roles as the first German soldier to be scalped by the titular Basterds, as well as an American GI with a small speaking part portrayed in the propaganda film,
Nation's Pride, that appears within the film. Moreover, In an interview with a German newspaper, he also said that the hands strangling Bridget von Hammersmark (played by
Diane Kruger) were his own; he wanted it to look "as real as possible".
Stage actor
In 1998, Tarantino turned his attention to the Broadway stage, where he starred in a revival of Wait Until Dark.
Talent judge
Tarantino was featured as a guest judge on the televised singing competition, American Idol, for one episode during its third season in 2004.
Television actor
Tarantino appeared in the first and third seasons of the TV show Alias, as McKenas Cole.
Tarantino played an
Elvis impersonator in a season four episode of
The Golden Girls.
In November 2006, an episode of the Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts features Quentin Tarantino interviewing and spending time with singer Fiona Apple.
Television host
Tarantino hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in season 21 (1995–1996 season) with musical guest The Smashing Pumpkins.
Producer
In recent years, Tarantino has used his Hollywood power to give smaller and foreign films arguably more attention than they would otherwise have received. These films are usually labeled "Presented by Quentin Tarantino" or "Quentin Tarantino Presents". The first of these productions was in 2001 with the Hong Kong martial arts film
Iron Monkey which made over $14 million in the United States, seven times its budget. In 2004 he brought the Chinese martial arts film
Hero to U.S. shores. It ended up having a #1 opening at the box office and making $53.5 million. In 2006, the latest "Quentin Tarantino presents" production,
Hostel, opened at #1 at the box office with a $20.1 million opening weekend, good for 8th all time in January. He presented 2006's
The Protector, and is a producer of the (2007) film
. in 2008 he produced the
Larry Bishop helmed
Hell Ride, a revenge biker film.
Election is not one of "Quentin Tarantino presents...", but Tarantino loved the film so much that he still helped the DVD release of the film in some way; his quote "The Best Film Of The Year" is on this film's United States DVD cover.
In addition, in 1995 Tarantino formed Rolling Thunder Pictures with Miramax as a vehicle to release or re-release several independent and foreign features. By 1997, Miramax shut down the company due to "lack of interest" in the pictures released. The following films were released by Rolling Thunder Pictures: Chungking Express (1994, dir. Wong Kar-wai), Switchblade Sisters (1975, dir. Jack Hill), Sonatine (1993, dir. Takeshi Kitano), Hard Core Logo (1996, dir. Bruce McDonald), The Mighty Peking Man (1977), Detroit 9000 (1973), The Beyond (1981, dir. Lucio Fulci) and Curdled (1996).
Influences and style of filmmaking
In an awards ceremony in the
Critics Choice Awards celebrating Tarantino, he said he got his start in filmmaking in his 20s. Music is an important part of his filmmaking style. He said he would listen to music in his bedroom and create scenes that correlated to the music playing.
In the 2002 Sight & Sound Directors' poll, Tarantino revealed his top-twelve films: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Rio Bravo; Taxi Driver; His Girl Friday; Rolling Thunder; They All Laughed; The Great Escape; Carrie; Coffy; Dazed and Confused; Five Fingers of Death; and Hi Diddle Diddle. In 2009, he named Kinji Fukasaku's violent action film Battle Royale as his favorite film released since he became a director in 1992.
In August 2007, while teaching a four-hour film course during the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila, Tarantino cited Filipino directors Cirio Santiago, Eddie Romero, and Gerardo de León as personal icons from the 1970s, citing De Leon's "soul-shattering, life-extinguishing" movies on vampires and female bondage, particularly Women in Cages. "It is just harsh, harsh, harsh," he said, and described the final shot as one of "devastating despair". Michael Winner, whilst appearing on an episode of Piers Morgan's life stories (an ITV production), stated that Quentin Tarantino was a "big fan" of Death Wish.
African American Perspective
Tarantino has been criticized for displaying an overly-familiar attitude towards other cultures. For example,
Spike Lee questions Tarantino's use of racial epithets in his films, particularly the racially offensive epithet, "
nigger". In a
Variety interview discussing
Jackie Brown, Lee said: "I'm not against the word... and I use it, but Quentin is infatuated with the word. What does he want? To be made an honorary black man?" Tarantino retaliated on
The Howard Stern Show by stating Lee would have to "stand on a chair to kiss my ass."
Samuel L. Jackson, who has appeared in both directors' films, defended Tarantino's use of the word. At the
Berlin Film Festival, where
Jackie Brown was being screened, Jackson responded to Lee's criticism by saying:
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Tarantino has defended his use of the word, arguing that black audiences have an appreciation of his blaxploitation-influenced films that eludes some of his critics, and, indeed, that Jackie Brown, another oft-cited example, was primarily made for "black audiences".
According to a 1995 Premiere magazine article, actor Denzel Washington also confronted Tarantino on his usage of racial slurs in his pictures, but mentioned that Tarantino was a "fine artist."
Personal life
Tarantino's mother allowed him to quit school at age 15, to attend an acting class full time. Tarantino gave up acting while attending the acting school, saying that he admired directors more than actors. Tarantino also worked in a video rental store before becoming a filmmaker, paid close attention to the types of films people liked to rent, and has cited that experience as inspiration for his directorial career.
Tarantino has been romantically linked with numerous entertainers, including actress Mira Sorvino, directors Allison Anders and Sofia Coppola, actresses Julie Dreyfus and Shar Jackson and comedians Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho. There have also been rumors about his relationship with Uma Thurman, whom he has referred to as his "muse". However, Tarantino has stated that their relationship is strictly platonic. Tarantino stated "I'm not saying that I'll never get married or have a kid before I'm 60. But I've made a choice, so far, to go on this road alone. Because this is my time to make movies."
One of Tarantino's closest friends is fellow director Robert Rodriguez. Their biggest collaborations have been From Dusk Till Dawn (written by Tarantino, directed by Rodriguez), Four Rooms (they both wrote and directed segments of the film), Sin City and Grindhouse. It was Tarantino who suggested that Rodriguez name the final part of his El Mariachi trilogy Once Upon a Time in Mexico, as a homage to the titles Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone. They are both members of A Band Apart, a production company that also features directors John Woo and Luc Besson. Rodriguez scored Kill Bill: Volume 2 for one dollar, and the favor was returned when Tarantino directed a scene in Rodriguez's 2005 film Sin City for the same fee.
He was thanked in the liner notes of Nirvana's final studio album In Utero although the spelling of his name is incorrect. Tarantino returned the favor by thanking Nirvana on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, along with the message "RIP Kurt". It was thought that Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love rejected an offer to act in Pulp Fiction as Lance & Jody. However Tarantino denied this rumor and claimed he had no real connection to Love and Cobain other than the fact that the couple liked Reservoir Dogs.
Tarantino is a fan of the film Superman Returns. He has stated that he plans to write a 20 page review of the Bryan Singer piece.
Tarantino has said that he plans to retire from filmmaking at age 60, to focus on writing novels and film literature. He also is skeptical of the film industry going digital, saying, "If it actually gets to the place where you can't show 35mm film in theatres anymore and everything is digital projection, I won't even make it to 60."
Filmography
See also
Quentin Tarantino Film Festival, a film festival in Austin, Texas hosted by Tarantino.
References
Further reading
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External links
Main reference sites
Quentin Tarantino at Rotten Tomatoes
Quentin Tarantino discography at Discogs
Quentin Tarantino at Last.fm
Quentin Tarantino on AnyClip
Interviews and Essays
Anatomy of a Tarantino Film at BrokenProjector
FilmFocus Interview
"I call the shots here" by Quentin Tarantino, March 4, 2007
Remaking History: An Interview with Quentin Tarantino by Rene Rodriguez, August 18, 2009
Quentin Tarantino: A Life in Pictures, filmed career retrospective by BAFTA, January 11, 2010
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez discuss their double feature, "Grindhouse", on Charlie Rose April 5, 2007
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Cool: Appropriation and Prospects of Subversion in the Works of Quentin Tarantino
Category:1963 births
Category:American cinematographers
Category:American film actors
Category:American film directors
Category:American film producers
Category:American screenwriters
Category:American people of Cherokee descent
Category:BAFTA winners (people)
Category:Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners
Category:Edgar Award winners
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:Obscenity controversies
Category:American film directors of Italian descent
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Living people
Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee
Category:People from Torrance, California
