The Jhonghua Dam on the Dahan River in Taoyuan County, Taiwan.

A reservoir (etymology: from French réservoir a "storehouse" ^[1]), artificial lake or impoundment from a dam^[2] is used to store water. Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.

The term reservoir may also be used to describe naturally-occurring underground reservoirs such as those beneath an oil or water well.

Types[link]

Valley dammed reservoir[link]

Lake Vyrnwy Reservoir. The dam spans the Vyrnwy Valley and was the first large stone dam built in the United Kingdom.

Stocks Reservoir in Lancashire, England.

Haweswater in the Lake District, UK supplies water to Manchester.

A dam constructed in a valley relies on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the reservoir. Dams are typically located at a narrow part of a valley downstream of a natural basin. The valley sides act as natural walls with the dam located at the narrowest practical point to provide strength and the lowest practical cost of construction. In many reservoir construction projects people have to be moved and re-housed, historical artifacts moved or rare environments relocated. Examples include the temples of Abu Simbel^[3] ( which were moved before the construction of the Aswan Dam to create Lake Nasser from the Nile in Egypt ) and the re-location of the village of Capel Celyn during the construction of Llyn Celyn.^[4]

Construction of a reservoir in a valley will usually necessitate the diversion of the river during part of the build often through a temporary tunnel or by-pass channel.^[5]

In hilly regions reservoirs are often constructed by enlarging existing lakes. Sometimes in such reservoirs the new top water level exceeds the watershed height on one or more of the feeder streams such as at Llyn Clywedog in Mid Wales.^[6] In such cases additional side dams are required to contain the reservoir.

Where the topography is poorly suited to a single large reservoir, a number of smaller reservoirs may be constructed in a chain such as in the River Taff valley where the three reservoirs Llwyn-on Reservoir, Cantref Reservoir and Beacons Reservoir form a chain up the valley.^[7]

Bank-side reservoir[link]

Where water is taken from a river of variable quality or quantity, bank-side reservoirs may be constructed to store the water pumped or siphoned from the river. Such reservoirs are usually built partly by excavation and partly by the construction of a complete encircling bund or embankment which may exceed 6 km in circumference.^[8] Both the floor of the reservoir and the bund must have an impermeable lining or core, often made of puddled clay. The water stored in such reservoirs may have a residence time of several months during which time normal biological processes are able to substantially reduce many contaminants and almost eliminate any turbidity. The use of bank-side reservoirs also allows a water abstraction to be closed down for extended period at times when the river is unacceptably polluted or when flow conditions are very low due to drought. The London water supply system is one example of the use of bank-side storage for all the water taken from the River Thames and River Lee with many large reservoirs such as Queen Mary Reservoir visible along the approach to London Heathrow Airport.^[8]

Service reservoir[link]

Service reservoirs^[9] store fully treated potable water close to the point of distribution. Many service reservoirs are constructed as water towers, often as elevated structures on concrete pillars where the landscape is relatively flat. Other service reservoirs are entirely underground, especially in more hilly or mountainous country. In the United Kingdom, Thames Water has many underground reservoirs built in the 1800s by the Victorians, most of which are lined with brick. A good example is the Honor Oak Reservoir, constructed between 1901 and 1909. When it was completed it was the largest brick built underground reservoir in the world^[10] and is still one of the largest in Europe.^[11] The reservoir now forms part of the Southern extension of the Thames Water Ring Main. The top of the reservoir has been grassed over and is now the Aquarias Golf Club.^[12]

Service reservoirs perform several functions including ensuring sufficient head of water in the water distribution system and providing hydraulic capacitance in the system to even out peak demand from consumers enabling the treatment plant to run at optimum efficiency. Large service reservoirs can also be managed to so that energy costs in pumping are reduced by concentrating refilling activity at times of day when power costs are low.

History[link]

Five thousand years ago, the craters of extinct volcanoes in Arabia were used as reservoirs by farmers for their irrigation water.^[13]

Dry climate and water scarcity in India led to early development of water management techniques, including the building of a reservoir at Girnar in 3000 BC.^[14] Artificial lakes dating to the 5th century BC have been found in ancient Greece.^[15] An artificial lake in present-day Madhya Pradesh province of India, constructed in the 11th century, covered 650 square metres (7,000 sq ft).^[14]

In Sri Lanka large reservoirs have been created by ancient Sinhalese kings in order to save the water for irrigation. The famous Sri Lankan king Parākramabāhu I of Sri Lanka stated " do not let a drop of water seep into the ocean without benefiting mankind ". He created the reservoir named Parakrama Samudra(sea of King Parakrama),^[16] which has astonished archaeologists.^{[original research?]}

Uses[link]

Direct water supply[link]

Gibson Reservoir, Montana

Many dammed river reservoirs and most bank-side reservoirs are used to provide the raw water feed to a water treatment plant which delivers drinking water through water mains. The reservoir does not simply hold water until it is needed; it can also be the first part of the water treatment process. The time the water is held for before it is released is known as the retention time. This is a design feature that allows particles and silts to settle out, as well as time for natural biological treatment using algae, bacteria and zooplankton that naturally live within the water. However natural limnological processes in temperate climate lakes produces temperature stratification in the water body which tends to partition some elements such as manganese and phosphorus into deep, cold anoxic water during the summer months. In the autumn and winter the lake becomes fully mixed again. During drought conditions, it is sometimes necessary to draw down the cold bottom water and the elevated levels of manganese in particular can cause problems in water treatment plants.^[17]

Hydroelectricity[link]

Hydroelectric dam in cross section.

A reservoir generating hydroelectricity includes turbines connected to the retained water body by large-diameter pipes. These generating sets may be at the base of the dam or some distance away. Some reservoirs generating hydroelectricity use pumped re-charge in which a high-level reservoir is filled with water using high-performance electric pumps at times when electricity demand is low and then uses this stored water to generate electricity by releasing the stored water into a low-level reservoir when electricity demand is high. Such systems are called pump-storage schemes.^[18]

Controlling watercourses[link]

Reservoirs can be used in a number of ways to control how water flows through downstream waterways.

Downstream water supply – water may be released from an upland reservoir so that it can be abstracted for drinking water lower down the system, sometimes hundred of miles further down downstream

Irrigation – water in an irrigation reservoir may be released into networks of canals for use in farmlands or secondary water systems. Irrigation may also be supported by reservoirs which maintain river flows allowing water to be abstracted for irrigation lower down the river.^[19]

Flood control – also known as an "attenuation" or "balancing" reservoir, flood control reservoirs collect water at times of very high rainfall, then release it slowly over the course of the following weeks or months. Some of these reservoirs are constructed across the river line with the onward flow controlled by an orifice plate. When river flow exceeds the capacity of the orifice plate water builds behind the dam but as soon as the flow rate reduces the water behind the dam slowly releases until the reservoir is empty again. In some cases such reservoirs only function a few times in a decade and the land behind the reservoir may be developed as community or recreational land. A new generation of balancing dams are being developed to combat the climatic consequences of climate change. They are called "Flood Detention Reservoirs". Because these reservoirs will remain dry for long periods, there may be a risk of the clay core drying out reducing its structural stability. Recent developments include the use of composite core fill made from recycled materials as an alternative to clay.

Canals – Where a natural watercourse's water is not available to be diverted into a canal, a reservoir may be built to guarantee the water level in the canal; for example, where a canal climbs to cross a range of hills through locks.^[20]

Recreational-only Kupferbach reservoir near Aachen/Germany.

Recreation – water may be released from a reservoir to artificially create or supplement white-water conditions for kayaking and other white-water sports.^[21] On salmonid rivers special releases (in Britain called freshets) are made to encourage natural migration behaviours in fish and to provide a variety of fishing conditions for anglers.

Flow balancing[link]

Reservoirs can be used to balance the flow in highly managed systems, taking in water during high flows and releasing it again during low flows. In order for this to work without pumping requires careful control of water levels using adjustable sluices. Accurate weather forecasts are essential so that dam operators can plan drawdowns prior to a high rainfall or snowmelt event. Dam operators blamed a faulty weather forecast on the 2010–2011 Queensland floods. Examples of highly managed Reservoirs are Burrendong Dam in Australia and Llyn Tegid in North Wales. Llyn Tegid is a natural lake whose level was raised by a low dam and into which the River Dee flows or discharges depending upon flow conditions at the time as part of the River Dee regulation system. This mode of operation is a form of hydraulic capacitance in the river system.

Recreation[link]

The water bodies provided by many reservoirs often allow some recreational uses such as fishing, boating, and other activities. Special rules may apply for the safety of the public and to protect the quality of the water and the ecology of the surrounding area. Many reservoirs now support and encourage less informal and less structured recreation such as natural history, bird watching, landscape painting, walking and hiking and often provide information boards and interpretation material to encourage responsible use.

Operation[link]

Water falling as rain upstream of the reservoir together with any groundwater emerging as springs is stored in the reservoir. Any excess water can be spilled via a specifically designed spillway. Stored water may be piped by gravity for use as drinking water, to generate hydro-electricity or to maintain river flows to support downstream uses. Occasionally reservoirs can be managed to retain high rain-fall events to prevent or reduce downstream flooding. Some reservoirs support several uses and the operating rules may be complex.

Spillway of Llyn Brianne dam in Wales.

Most modern reservoirs have a specially designed draw-off tower that can discharge water from the reservoir at different levels both to access water as the reservoir draws down but also to allow water of a specific quality to be discharged into the downstream river as compensation water.

The operators of many upland or in-river reservoirs have obligations to release water into the downstream river to maintain river quality, support fisheries, maintain downstream industrial uses. maintain recreational use or for a range of other requirements. Such releases are known as compensation water.

Terminology[link]

The terminology for reservoirs varies from country to country. In most of the world reservoir areas are expressed in km² whilst in the USA acres are commonly used. For volume either m³ or km³ are widely used with acre feet used in the USA.

The capacity, volume or storage of a reservoir is usually divided into distinguishable areas. Dead or inactive storage refers to water in a reservoir that cannot be drained by gravity through a dam's outlet works, spillway or power plant intake and can only be pumped out. Dead storage allows sediments to settle which improves water quality and also creates hydraulic head along with an area for fish during low levels. Active or live storage is the portion of the reservoir that can be utilized for flood control, power production, navigation and downstream releases. In addition, a reservoir's flood control capacity is the amount of water it can regulate during flooding. The surcharge capacity is the capacity of the reservoir above the spillway crest that cannot be regulated.^[22]

In the United States the water below the normal maximum level of a reservoir is called the conservation pool.^[23]

In the UK top water level describes the reservoir full state whist fully drawn down describes the minimum retained volume.

Modelling reservoir management[link]

There is a wide variety of software for modelling reservoirs, from the specialist Dam Safety Program Management Tools (DSPMT) to the relatively simple WAFLEX, to integrated models like the Water Evaluation And Planning system (WEAP) that place reservoir operations in the context of system-wide demands and supplies.

Safety[link]

In many countries large reservoirs are closely regulated to try to prevent or minimise failures of containment.^[24][25]

Whilst much of the effort is directed at the dam and its associated structures as the weakest part of the overall structure, the aim of such controls is to prevent an uncontrolled release of water from the reservoir. Reservoir failures can generate huge increases in flow down a river valley with the potential to wash away towns and villages and cause considerable loss of life such as the devastation following the failure of containment at Llyn Eigiau which killed 17 people.^[26](see also List of dam failures)

A notable case of reservoirs being used as an instrument of War involved the British Royal Air Force Dambusters raid on Germany in World War II (codenamed "Operation Chastise" ^[27]), in which three German reservoir dams were selected to be breached in order to impact on German infrastructure and manufacturing and power capabilities deriving from the Ruhr and Eder rivers. The economic and social impact was derived from the enormous volumes of previously stored water that swept down the valleys wreaking destruction. This raid later became the basis for several films.

Environmental impact[link]

Whole life environmental impact[link]

All reservoirs will have a monetary cost/benefit assessment made before construction to see if the project is worth proceeding with.^[28] However, such analysis can often omit the environmental impacts of dams and the reservoirs that they contain. Some impacts such as the greenhouse gas production associated with concrete manufacture are relatively easy to estimate. Other impact on the natural environment and social and cultural effects can be more difficult to assess and to weigh in the balance but identification and quantification of these issues are now commonly required in major construction projects in the developed world ^[29]

Climate change[link]

Depending upon the circumstances, a reservoir built for hydro-electricity generation can either reduce or increase the net production of greenhouse gases. An increase can occur if plant material in the flooded areas decays in an anaerobic environment releasing (methane and carbon dioxide). This apparently counterintuitive position arises because much carbon is released as methane which is approximately 8 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide ^[30]

A study for the National Institute for Research in the Amazon found that Hydroelectric reservoirs release a large pulse of carbon dioxide from above-water decay of trees left standing in the reservoirs, especially during the first decade after closing.^[31] This elevates the global warming impact of the dams to levels much higher than would occur by generating the same power from fossil fuels.^[31] According to the World Commission on Dams report (Dams And Development), when the reservoir is relatively large and no prior clearing of forest in the flooded area was undertaken, greenhouse gas emissions from the reservoir could be higher than those of a conventional oil-fired thermal generation plant.^[32] For instance, In 1990, the impoundment behind the Balbina Dam in Brazil (inaugurated in 1987) had over 20 times the impact on global warming than would generating the same power from fossil fuels, due to the large area flooded per unit of electricity generated.^[31]

A decrease can occur if the dam is used in place of traditional power generation, since electricity produced from hydroelectric generation does not give rise to any flue gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion (including sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide from coal). The Tucurui dam in Brazil (closed in 1984) had only 0.4 times the impact on global warming than would generating the same power from fossil fuels.^[31]

Biology[link]

Dams can produce a block for migrating fish, trapping them in one area, producing food and a habitat for various water-birds. They can also flood various ecosystems on land and may cause extinctions.

Human Impact[link]

Dams can severely reduce the amount of water reaching countries downstream of them, causing water stress between the countries, e.g. the Sudan and Egypt, which damages farming businesses in the downstream countries, and reduces drinking water.

Farms and villages, e.g. Ashopton can be flooded by the creation of reservoirs, ruining many livelihoods. For this very reason, worldwide 80 million people (figure is as of 2009, from the Edexcel GCSE Geography textbook) have had to be forcibly relocated due to dam construction.

Limnology[link]

The limnology of reservoirs has many similarities to that of lakes of equivalent size. There are however significant differences.^[33] Many reservoirs experience considerable variations in level producing significant areas that are intermittently underwater or dried out. This greatly limits the productivity or the water margins and limits the number of species able to survive in these conditions.

Upland reservoirs tend to have a much shorter residence time than natural lakes and this can lead to more rapid cycling of nutrients through the water body so that they are more quickly lost to the system. This may be seen as a mismatch between water chemistry and water biology with a tendency for the biological component to be more oligotrophic than the chemistry would suggest.

Conversely, lowland reservoirs drawing water from nutrient rich rivers, may show exaggerated eutrophic characteristics because the residence time in the reservoir is much greater than in the river and the biological systems have a much greater opportunity to utilise the available nutrients.

Deep reservoirs with multiple level draw off towers can discharge deep cold water into the downstream river greatly reducing the size of any hypolimnion. This in turn can reduce the concentrations of phosphorus released during any annual mixing event and may therefore reduce productivity.

The Dams in front of reservoirs act as knickpoints-the energy of the water falling from them reduces and deposition is a result below the Dams.

Seismicity[link]

The filling (impounding) of reservoirs has often been attributed to reservoir-triggered seismicity (RTS) as seismic events have occurred near large dams or within their reservoirs in the past. These events may have been triggered by the filling or operation of the reservoir and are on a small scale when compared to the amount of reservoirs worldwide. Of over 100 recorded events, early examples include the 60 m (197 ft) tall Marathon Dam in Greece (1929), the 221 m (725 ft) tall Hoover Dam in the U.S. (1935). Most events involve large dams and small amounts of seismicity. The only four recorded events above a 6.0-magnitude (M_w) are the 103 m (338 ft) tall Koyna Dam in India which registered a M_w of 6.3 along with the 120 m (394 ft) Kremasta Dam in Greece which registered a 6.3-M_w as well. Following those two, the next largest were the 122 m (400 ft) high Kariba Dam in Zambia at 6.25-M_w and the 105 m (344 ft) Xinfengjiang Dam in China at 6.1-M_w. Disputes occur over when RTS has occurred due to a lack of hydrogeological knowledge at the time of the event. It is accepted though that the infiltration of water into pores and the weight of the reservoir do contribute to RTS patterns. For RTS to occur, there must be a seismic structure near the dam or its reservoir and the seismic structure must be close to failure. Additionally, water must be able to infiltrate the deep rock stratum as the weight of a 100 m (328 ft) deep reservoir will have little impact when compared the deadweight of rock on a crustal stress field which may be located at a depth of 10 km (6 mi) or more.^[34]

Microclimate[link]

Reservoirs may change the local micro-climate increasing humidity and reducing extremes of temperature. Such effects are claimed by some South Australian winerys as increasing the quality of the wine production.

List of reservoirs[link]

List of reservoirs by area[link]

Lake Volta from space (April 1993).

The following are the world's ten largest reservoirs by surface area:

1. Lake Volta (8,482 km² or 3,275 sq mi; Ghana) ^[35]
2. Smallwood Reservoir (6,527 km² or 2,520 sq mi; Canada)^[36]
3. Kuybyshev Reservoir (6,450 km² or 2,490 sq mi; Russia)^[37]
4. Lake Kariba (5,580 km² or 2,150 sq mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)^[38]
5. Bukhtarma Reservoir (5,490 km² or 2,120 sq mi; Kazakhstan)
6. Bratsk Reservoir (5,426 km² or 2,095 sq mi; Russia)^[39]
7. Lake Nasser (5,248 km² or 2,026 sq mi; Egypt, Sudan) ^[40]
8. Rybinsk Reservoir (4,580 km² or 1,770 sq mi; Russia)
9. Caniapiscau Reservoir (4,318 km² or 1,667 sq mi; Canada)^[41]
10. Lake Guri (4,250 km² or 1,640 sq mi; Venezuela)

List of reservoirs by volume[link]

Lake Kariba from space.

1. Lake Kariba (180 km³ or 43 cu mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)
2. Bratsk Reservoir (169 km³ or 41 cu mi; Russia)
3. Lake Nasser (157 km³ or 38 cu mi; Egypt, Sudan)
4. Lake Volta (148 km³ or 36 cu mi; Ghana)
5. Manicouagan Reservoir (142 km³ or 34 cu mi; Canada)^[42]
6. Lake Guri (135 km³ or 32 cu mi; Venezuela)
7. Williston Lake (74 km³ or 18 cu mi; Canada)^[43]
8. Krasnoyarsk Reservoir (73 km³ or 18 cu mi; Russia)
9. Zeya Reservoir (68 km³ or 16 cu mi; Russia)

See also[link]

Water portal

• Ab Anbar
• Colourful lakelets (in Poland)
• Drainage basin
• Drought
• Hydroelectricity
• Dam failure
• Mill pond
• Multipurpose reservoir
• Quarry lake
• Spillway
• Coastal sediment supply

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reservoirs

• Department of Water Resources. "Reservoir Information". California Data Exchange Center. State of California. http://cdec.water.ca.gov/misc/resinfo.html. 

Bliss n Eso are an ARIA Award-winning Australian hip hop band based in Sydney, and were originally known as Bliss N' Esoterikizm for their debut EP The Arrival.^[1] Bliss N Eso are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudinski.

History[link]

The trio, American MC Bliss (Jonathan Notley), Australian MC Eso (Max MacKinnon) and DJ Izm (Tarik Ejjamai) of Moroccan heritage, have been friends (and have rapped together) since high school.^[2] Notley moved to Australia in 1992 when he was thirteen and met MacKinnon at the Glenaeon Steiner School in Sydney.

"When I got to Australia, I met Eso (MacKinnon) and he was the only guy at my school into hip-hop. It was so scarce you'd be lucky to find a hip-hop record in a store let alone a whole section." - Jonathan "Bliss" Notley^[3]

"Back then hip hop was basically non-existent; there was no urban or hip-hop section in the CD stores. You'd be lucky to find a couple of albums like a Public Enemy album or something if you went to the CD stores. So I guess that's one of the reasons why Max, who's Eso, and I kinda bonded at high school, I think, because he was really the only other guy in the school who was into hip-hop." - Jonathan "Bliss" Notley^[1]

MacKinnon later moved to Kuranda State High School, in Queensland, which is where he met Ejjamai.^[4] The group initially went by the name of 'Bliss N Esoterikizm', but that proved to be too much of a mouthful for most people.^[1]

In 2000 they issued their first release, the EP The Arrival, under the name 'Bliss N Esoterikizm',^[5] which was followed by a mixtape CD.^[6] They released their debut album, Flowers in the Pavement on Obese Records in 2004. Bliss N Eso were the winners in the Hip Hop category at the 2003 Music Oz Awards and nominees for Artist of the Year in 2004.^[2][7]

In December 2005 the trio performed as a support act for 50 Cent on his Get Rich or Die Trying tour together with G-Unit and Lil Jon.^[8]

The group then switched labels to Illusive Sounds and released their second official album, Day of the Dog, on 4 March 2006. The album features production from Bliss, Weapon X, Suffa, and MC Motley, among others. It also features guest spots from British emcees MC Motley and Mystro, as well as fellow Sydney MC, Hyjak.^[2][9] Day of the Dog debuted at #43 on the ARIA Albums Chart, making it the first Australian hip-hop release to debut in the top 50. The group undertook a national tour in March and April of that year to support the album.^[10] Day of the Dog was then entirely remixed by Gold Coast producer M-Phazes and released later that year as Day of the Dog: Phazed Out. The album was nominated for Best Urban Release at the 2007 ARIA Awards;^[11] the award was won by the Hilltop Hoods for The Hard Road: Restrung.

The group's third single, "Then Till Now", Produced by Weapon X contains elements from the same Renee Geyer song used by Hilltop Hoods on their track "Riding Under One Banner", received airplay on Triple J,^[12] rage^[13] and Video Hits.^{[citation needed]} "Mad Tight", their fourth single, was played on radio stations Triple J,^[14] 3RRR,^[15] PBS,^[16] and on FBi.^[17] The music video was shown on rage.^[18]

In 2007, Bliss N Eso travelled to North America, playing shows in the northwest of North America, including a performance at the Whistler 2007 Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival.

"We did a small run of the northwest states, around Portland area and then went up to Whistler in Canada and we did a sold out show in Whistler, which was unreal, to go all the way across the world and have a whole bunch of Aussies screaming at you" - Jonathan Notley^[19]

In October 2007 they released the first single of their album "Bullet and a Target", featuring the Connections Zulu Choir (a 21 piece African Choir from South Africa),^[20] which was recorded at Jimmy Barnes' home studio in Sydney and reached #46 on the ARIA Singles Chart.^[21] The track features a remixed version of Citizen Cope's song by the same title. 100% of all profits from the sale of the song goes to The Oaktree Foundation, Australia's only youth-run international aid and development organisation.^[22]

Following up on their collaboration with the choir, Bliss N Eso embarked on a journey in June 2007 with MTV and the Oaktree Foundation to some of the poorest regions in South Africa to complete the track and shoot the video clip for "Bullet and a Target". Bliss N Eso also shot a documentary with Evermore produced by MTV, aimed at creating awareness about the challenges faced by developing communities in Africa. The film clip and 30 minute documentary aired exclusively on MTV and received attention from the media and the public. Recently the group have been nominated for the 'Good Karma Award' for these efforts at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.^[23]

Bliss N Eso were one of the Australian hip hop artists featured in the documentary Words from the City, which aired on ABC Television in late 2007.^[24]

The group's third album, Flying Colours, was released on 26 April 2008 - coinciding with a national tour by the group, along with True Live, Funkoars and The Winnie Coopers.^[25] The album debuted a week later at #10 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart,^[26] and it remained in the ARIA Top 100 for the following 12 weeks. The album was nominated for a J Award in August 2008,^[27] and also nominated for an ARIA award for Best Urban Release.^[28]

In August 2008 Bliss N Eso performed at the Splendour in the Grass festival^[4] and at the Trackside Festival in Canberra. In September they went on the road for their most successful national tour to date, with sell out performances across the country, concluding with a sold out home coming show at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney to a capacity crowd of 2500 patrons. They will be touring Canada at the end of the year and are planning to re-release Flying Colours in early 2009, with a bonus DVD. The DVD will contain a live performance that the band plan to film and record at the Metro Theatre in Sydney.^[19]

Bliss N Eso appeared for the first time in a Triple J Hottest 100 with three entries in the 2008 countdown; "Eye of the Storm" at number 40, "The Sea is Rising" at number 61 and "Woodstock 2008" at number 94.^[29][30] "Happy in My Hoody" failed to make the Hottest 100 but did come in at number 136.^[31]

In 2009 the success of Bliss N Eso continued with their Flying Colours album, which remained in the official ARIA charts for over a year. They also performed at the Sound Relief concert in front of 82,000 people at Melbourne's MCG on 14 March 2009. They were the only hip-hop act to perform at the concert, which raised over 8 million dollars for Victoria's bushfire victims.^[32][33]

In April 2009 Bliss N Eso announced a major city Australian tour which includes two shows at Melbourne's iconic festival hall as well as the largest venues they have played to date across the country. Their first show at Festival Hall sold out in four days making it the fastest selling Australian hip hop show of all time selling to a capacity of 5,100 patrons. The early sales of the 'Flying Colours Live Tour' cement Bliss N Eso as one of the best and strongest live acts in the Country.

On Sunday 26 April 2009, Bliss N Eso became the first Australian hip hop act to perform on Rove, where they performed "Woodstock 2008" and "The Sea Is Rising" to a live television audience broadcast nationally on the Ten Network.^[34]

In May 2009 Bliss N Eso received two APRA award nominations in the category, 'Best Urban Works' for "The Sea is Rising" and "Woodstock 2008".^[35] On 14 June "Flying Colours" became only the second Australian hip hop album to be certified gold, after being in the ARIA Charts for 58 weeks.^[34] The group's song "Field of Dreams" has also been included on EA Sports boxing video game Fight Night Round 4.^[34]

"Basically, EA Australia can submit one track that's Australian for an international game. There hadn't been an Australian track on a release for a while actually and the 'Fight Night' opportunity came about and EA Australia really liked "Field of Dreams" and thought it worked well with the theme of the game, so they put it forward to the International EA and it got accepted! The fact that it's out there and a million people are going to be playing this thing - it's obviously a big game and the fact that our song's on there, we're stoked. It's pretty awesome, man!" - Jonathan Notley^[36]

Bliss N Eso released their live album Flying Colours Live in June 2009 to coincide with another national tour of Australia. The album features a bonus track, "On Tour", which has received significant airplay from Triple J and includes a DVD, featuring their MTV nominated documentary, 'Out of Africa', and the group's live performance at Sydney's Metro Theatre.^[37] Following their national tour they will be working in the recording studio on their fourth studio album, with producers M-Phazes and Hattori Hanzo.^[19]

In October 2009 Bliss N Eso became the first Australian hip-hop act to tour the USA. Bliss N Eso embarked on a twenty-one date tour with Canadian hip-hop group, Swollen Members, together with Las Vegas MC BIG B and DJ Klaw. Their tour bus dubbed 'The Black Pearl' was later hit by a train and destroyed while on its way back to California at the end of the tour. Three people were on board but no one was injured.

On 17 May 2010, Bliss N Eso released "Down by the River", the first single off their upcoming fourth studio album, Running on Air. The single premiered on Triple J's "2010" new music show with Richard Kingsmill the night before. "Down by the River" was the fourth most added track to Australian radio on the weekend of 14 May, which included across the board airplay on Triple J nationally, Nova FM, Hot30 and many other community and commercial radio networks. In July 2010 Bliss N Eso released a free track called "Golden Years", also from Running on Air. Following the release of the single the band embarked on the "Down by the River" tour of Australia with sold out shows in major cities across the country.

On 30 July 2010 Bliss N Eso released their fourth studio album Running on Air. The album went straight to number one on the Australian iTunes album chart within minutes of its release. Triple J and Nova FM both featured several tracks from the album in the lead up to its release. The album garnered near perfect reviews across the board, with some even stating that "it may be the genre's finest release" (Time Off).

On 8 August 2010 Bliss N Eso's fourth studio album Running on Air debuted on the Australian ARIA charts at number one. It was the first album to knock Eminem off the top spot in 6 weeks and received significant acclaim for this feat. Bliss N Eso also had 2 albums and 3 singles in the Urban charts during this week. Less than 2 weeks after its release, Running on Air was certified Gold in Australia with sales in excess of 35,000. Shortly afterwards, Bliss N Eso embarked their sold-out Down by the River Australian tour, and before long the trio had their first platinum album in Running on Air. The Album went on to receive multiple awards nominations including the Triple J Album of the Year award, Channel V Australian Artist of the Year award, Independent Music Award, Multiple APRA Awards & two ARIA awards.

In late August Bliss n Eso announced they would be heading back over to America. The band teamed up with the legendary Kottonmouth Kings for a 26 date run across the USA. This was the bands 2nd US tour. Bliss n Eso have recently played and been announced for various Australian summer festivals including The Big Day Out, Fat as Butter, Southbound, Full Noise, Another World, Time Out, Groovin The Moo Festival and more.

In June & July 2011 Bliss n Eso set out in the record breaking Running On Air Tour, Performing in front of over 50,000 people including 8,000 fans at their sold Brisbane Riverstage show which was recorded as the highest selling local hip-hop show of all time.

Performances and appearances[link]

Headline tours[link]

• Back to the Top Snow Tour - Falls/Hotham/Jindabyne/Buller (AUS 2005/2006/2007/2008)
• Flowers in the Pavement Tour - National (AUS 2004)
• Day of the Dog Tour - National (AUS 2006)
• Get Loose Tour - National (AUS2006)
• Unified Tour - National Uni Campuses (AUS 2008)
• Flying Colours Tour - National (AUS 2008)
• Flying Colours Live Tour - National (AUS 2009) - Highest selling Australian hip-hop tour, including 2 sold out shows at Melbourne's iconic Festival Hall.
• Armed to the Teeth USA/Canada Tour (2009)
• Down by the River Tour - National (AUS 2010)
• Running On Air Tour - National (AUS 2011)

Festivals[link]

• Groovin' the Moo - National (2011)
• MS Fest - Tasmania (2011)
• The Big Day Out - National (2011)
• Southbound Festival - Bussleton (2011)
• Full Noise Festival - Townsville (2010)
• Another World U18's Festival - Melbourne (2010)
• MTV Snow Jam Festival - Thredbo (2010)
• Newton's Nation Festival - Bathurst (2010)
• Stonefest - Canberra (2010)
• Fat as Butter Festival - Newcastle (2010)
• Time Out Festival - Cairns (2010)
• Solar Festival - Melbourne (2010)
• MS Fest - Tasmania (2010)
• Origin Festival - Perth (2010)
• Fresh Fest - Gold Coast(2009)
• Coaster Festival - Central Coast (2009)
• Come Together Festival - Sydney (2009)
• RIPE Noosa - Sunshine Coast (2009)
• Sound Relief - MCG Melbourne (2009)
• Bass in the Grass - Darwin (2009)
• Quicksilver Pro - Duranbah Beach QLD (2009)
• Homebake - The Domain Sydney (2008)
• Trackside - Canberra (2008)
• Southbound - Busselton WA (2008)
• Splendour in the Grass - Byron Bay (2008)
• Dusty Days Festival - Wagga Wagga (2008)
• Oddyssey Festival - Goldcoast (2008)
• Bass in the Dust - Alice Springs (2008)
• Stylewars - Falls Creek (2008)
• Telus World Festival - Whistler Canada (2007)
• Make Poverty History - National (2007)
• The Great Escape - The Barracks Sydney (2007)
• MS Fest - Tasmania (2007)
• Summadayze - Perth (2007)
• Pyramid Rock Festival - Phillip Island Victoria (2007)
• Dusty Days Festival - Wagga Wagga (2007)
• Stylewars - Falls Creek (2007)
• Coastal Vibes (2007)
• Sonic Bloom - Sydney (2007)
• Pushover - Melbourne (2007)
• Narana Festival - Torquay Victoria (2007)
• MS Fest - Tasmania (2006)
• We Love Sounds - Sydney (2006)
• Pyramid Rock Festival - Phillip Island Victoria (2005)
• The Big Day Out - National (2005)

Television[link]

• Angry Boys - music & video usage: episode 3 (2011)
• Hey Hey It's Saturday - album review (2010)
• Dew Tour/Foxtel - music usage (2010)
• Underbelly - music usage episode 8 (2010)
• Rove Live - performance/interview (2009)
• Blokesworld - interview/FMX (2009)
• 9AM show - interview (2008)
• Fuel TV - interview + video game review (2008/2009)
• Channel V - Interview/performance (2006/2008/2009/2010)
• MTV - Interview/performance (2006/2007/2008/2009/2010)
• JTV - Interview/performance (2006/2008)
• Ballistyx Snowboard Show - interview (2008)
• Rage - guest programming (2008)
• Video Hits - interview/snowboarding (2007)

DVDs[link]

• Rhythm and Poetry - Performance/Interview (2007)
• Words from the City - Performance/Interview (2007)
• Flying Colours Live Deluxe Edition - Performance (2009)
• Out of Africa - The MTV Feature Documentary (2008)

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EPs[link]

• The Arrival - Independent (2000)
• Up Jumped the Boogie - Illusive Sounds (2006)

Singles[link]

Compilation appearances[link]

• Culture of Kings (song: "Lyrical Wilderness") (2002) (Australia) Obese Records
• Empirical Records Present... 'Straight from the Art' (2003), Warner Music (Australia) (song: "Greenhouse")
• Triple J Hip Hop Show (2005), ABC Music (song: "This Is for You")
• Triple J Home and Hosed—Bangin' n Breedin' (2006), ABC Music (song: "Then Till Now")^[41]
• Triple J Hottest 100 Vol. 16 (2009) ABC Music (song: "Eye of the Storm")
• Good Gracious (song: "Walk on Clouds") Obese Records (2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

Nominations[link]

• 2006 ARIA Award - Best Urban Release - Day of the Dog
• 2007 ARIA Award - Best Urban Release - Day of the Dog: Phazed Out
• 2008 MTV Video Music Awards - Good Karma Award
• 2008 J Award - Flying Colours
• 2008 Channel V Oz Artist of the Year
• 2009 MTV Video Music Awards - Best Independent
• 2009 APRA Awards - Best Urban Work - "Woodstock 2008"
• 2009 APRA Awards - Best Urban Work - "Sea is Rising"
• 2010 APRA AWARDS - Best Urban Work - "On Tour"
• 2010 ARIA Awards - Best Urban Release - Running on Air
• 2010 ARIA Awards - Best DVD - Flying Colours
• 2010 AIR Awards - Best Single - "Down by the River"
• 2010 Triple J Awards - Album of the Year - Running on Air
• 2010 Channel V Oz Artist of the Year (Top 4)
• 2011 APRA Awards - Best Urban Work

Awards[link]

• 2003 Musicoz Awards - Best Urban Artist
• 2004 Musicoz Awards - Best Urban Artist
• 2008 ARIA Award - Best Urban Release - Flying Colours
• 2008 Desktop Create Award - Best Packaging Design - Flying Colours
• 2010 EG Award - Best Band

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Rapcella Artist Profile - Bliss n Eso
• Bliss n Eso Interview on Alchemy SBS Radio 2008
• Bliss n Eso Interview on Style43 (June 2007)
• Breezy Music News - Flying Colours Review 2008

Seth Sentry is an Australian hip hop artist from Melbourne. He is best known for his track "The Waitress Song",^[1] which received significant national airplay on Triple J.^[2][3]

Biography[link]

Seth Sentry first appeared on the live circuit in 2003 through performances with local hip hop/drum and bass outfit, D.S.O.L. In 2005 he reached third place in the Revolver Battles competition. He also organized and appeared in weekly hip hop night at The Old Colonial in Fitzroy, which lead to an appearance on the The Forthwrite Mixtape in 2007 and a guest feature on Pez's album, A Mind of My Own, in 2008. After posting a number of songs on Triple J's Unearthed website, he was selected by Home & Hosed host, Steph Hughes, to be an Unearthed Featured Artist.^[2] Sentry went on to have the most downloaded track on Triple J Unearthed^[4][5] which led to a 31-date national tour with Pez and a second single "Simple Game" being added to high rotation on Triple J. In 2009 Sentry was also nominated for an Unearthed J Award^[5] and the "The Waitress Song" reached #31 in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2009^[6] In 2010 Sentry continued to tour and finalise recording of his debut album, with Melbourne producer, Matik. In August 2010 he featured on Horrorshow's "Our Song", ahead of a national tour with them. He also featured in Australian rapper 360's song, 'Closer'. In 2012 Seth Sentry Released Some Free Styles on Youtube.

Discography[link]

• The Waiter Minute EP (2009)

Singles[link]

• The Waitress Song (2009)
• Simple Game (2009)
• My Scene (2012)

References[link]

This article on an Australian musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article related to hip hop music is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2009
Born	Quentin Jerome Tarantino (1963-03-27) March 27, 1963 (age 49) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, actor
Years active	1988–present
Notable work(s)	Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds
Influenced by	Sergio Leone, Brian De Palma, Howard Hawks, John Woo, Jim Jarmusch, Jean-Luc Godard, Elmore Leonard, Samuel Fuller, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Sam Peckinpah, Jack Hill, Douglas Sirk, Jean-Pierre Melville, Enzo G. Castellari, Sergio Corbucci[1]

Quentin Jerome Tarantino^[2] (pronunciation: /ˌtærənˈtiːnoʊ/; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. He has received many industry awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and the Palme d'Or and had been nominated for an Emmy and Grammy.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tarantino was an avid film fan. His career began in the late 1980's, when he wrote and directed My Best Friend's Birthday. Its screenplay would form the basis for True Romance. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing 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 movies are generally characterized by stylistic influences from grindhouse, kung fu, and spaghetti western films. Tarantino also frequently collaborates with his friend and fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.

Early life[link]

Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Tony Tarantino, an actor and amateur musician who was born in Queens, New York, and Connie McHugh, a nurse.^[3] Tarantino's father is of Italian descent and his mother is of Irish and Cherokee ancestry.^[4][5][6] He was raised by his mother, as his parents separated before his birth.^[7] When he was two years old, he 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.^[7] He attended Narbonne High School in Harbor City for his freshman year before dropping out of school at age 15, to attend an acting class full time at the James Best Theater Company in Toluca Lake.^[8] Quentin grew bored with the James Best Acting School and quit after two years, although he made a point of keeping in touch with all his acting friends. Then he landed a job which threatened to interfere with his long-term acting ambitions. ^[9]

As an employee of the Video Archives, a now-defunct video rental store in Manhattan Beach, he and fellow movie enthusiasts, including Roger Avary, discussed cinema and customer video recommendations at length. He paid close attention to the types of films people liked to rent and has cited that experience as inspiration for his directorial career.^[10] Tarantino has been quoted as saying, "When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films.'"^[4]

Film career[link]

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.^[11]

Tarantino has had a number of collaborations with director Robert Rodriguez.

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.^[12] 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. 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 was Jackie Brown (1997), an adaptation of Rum Punch, a novel by Elmore Leonard. A homage to blaxploitation films, it starred Pam Grier, who starred in many of that genre's films of the 1970s. He had then planned to make the war film provisionally titled Inglourious Bastards, but postponed it to write and direct Kill Bill (released as two films, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2), a highly stylized "revenge flick" in the cinematic traditions of Wuxia (Chinese martial arts), Jidaigeki (Japanese period cinema), Spaghetti Westerns and Italian horror. It was based on a character (The Bride) and a plot that he and Kill Bill's lead actress, Uma Thurman, had developed during the making of Pulp Fiction. In 2004, Tarantino returned to Cannes, where he served as President of the Jury. Although Kill Bill was not in competition, Vol. 2 had an evening screening, while it was also shown on the morning of the final day in its original 3-hour-plus version with Quentin himself attending the full screening. Tarantino then went on to be credited as "Special Guest Director" in Robert Rodriguez's 2005 neo-noir film Sin City for his work directing the car sequence featuring Clive Owen and Benicio del Toro.

The next film project was Grindhouse, which he co-directed with Rodriguez. Released in theaters on April 6, 2007, Tarantino's contribution to the Grindhouse project was titled Death Proof. It began as a take on 1970s slasher films,^[13] but evolved dramatically as the project unfolded. Ticket sales were low despite mostly positive reviews.

Among his 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 although Tarantino was no longer associated with the film after its 2009 release.)^[14] and Hell Ride (written and directed by Larry Bishop, who appeared in Kill Bill Vol. 2).

Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds is the story of a group of guerrilla U.S. soldiers in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Filming began in October 2008.^[15] The film opened on August 21, 2009 to very positive reviews^[16] and the #1 spot at the box office worldwide.^[17] It went on to become Tarantino's highest grossing film, both in the United States and worldwide.^[18]

In 2011, production began on Django Unchained, about the revenge of a slave on his former master. The film stemmed from Tarantino's desire to produce a spaghetti western set in America's Deep South; Tarantino has called the proposed style "a southern",^[19] stating that he wanted "to do movies that deal with America's horrible past with slavery and stuff but do them like spaghetti westerns, not like big issue movies. I want to do them like they're genre films, but they deal with everything that America has never dealt with because it's ashamed of it, and other countries don't really deal with because they don't feel they have the right to".^[19] Tarantino finished the script on April 26, 2011, and handed in the final draft to The Weinstein Company.^[20] Agency William Morris Endeavor reported Christoph Waltz was cast to play a German bounty hunter,^[21] with Stacey Sher, Pilar Savone, and Reginald Hudlin producing. Although Will Smith and Idris Elba were heavily rumored to be up for the title role, Jamie Foxx has since been confirmed to play Django.^[22] Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson will play Stephen, a house slave. Leonardo DiCaprio has also been officially cast in the role of Calvin Candie, the primary antagonist in the film. Kevin Costner had been cast as Ace Woody, a "vile and sadistic trainer of slaves who are forced to fight in death matches for a plantation owner (DiCaprio)" before he later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, and has been replaced by Kurt Russell.^[23] Kerry Washington has been cast as Broomhilda, the "long-suffering slave wife of Django."^[24] Other cast members include Dennis Christopher as Candie family lawyer Leonide 'Leo' Moguy, Laura Cayouette as Candie's sister, Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly, M.C. Gainey and Tom Savini as Big John and Ellis Brittle, two of the slave owners who separate Django and Broomhilda, Anthony LaPaglia and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Australian brothers, Jano and an unnamed character, respectively,^[25] who encounter Django while escorting slaves to a fight.^[26][27] However, Gordon-Levitt has not fully committed to the film, due to possible scheduling issues,^{[28][29][30][31]} and Gerald McRaney and Michael K. Williams in unknown roles. Tarantino-collaborator RZA was cast as a slave named Thadeus. According to ReservoirWatchDogs.com, Sacha Baron Cohen was cast in the role as gambler Scotty Harmony who wishes to purchase Django's wife from Calvin Candie.^[32] Reportedly, Tarantino is also interested in including Lady Gaga in the film to some degree.^[33] The film is said to be inspired by the 1966 film Django, directed by Sergio Corbucci. James Remar is also involved in the film. The film is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2012.

Producer[link]

In recent years, Tarantino has used his Hollywood power to give smaller and foreign films more attention than they might have received otherwise. 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 Hostel: Part II. in 2008 he produced the Larry Bishop helmed Hell Ride, a revenge biker film.^[34]

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, dir. Ho Meng-Hua), Detroit 9000 (1973, dir. Arthur Marks), The Beyond (1981, dir. Lucio Fulci) and Curdled (1996, dir. Reb Braddock).

Other potential projects[link]

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. However 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".^[35]

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 implied that he would be making a third Kill Bill film with the words "The Bride will fight again!"^[36] Later that year, at the Morelia International Film Festival,^[37] Tarantino announced that he would like to film Kill Bill: Vol. 3. He explained that he wanted ten years to pass between The Bride's last conflict, in order to give her and her daughter a period of peace.^[38]

Personal life[link]

Tarantino has been romantically linked with American actress Mira Sorvino,^[39] directors Allison Anders and Sofia Coppola, actresses Julie Dreyfus and comedians Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho.^[40] There have also been rumors about his relationship with Uma Thurman, whom he has referred to as his "muse".^[41] However, Tarantino has stated that their relationship is strictly platonic.^[42] 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."^[43] He also 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 35 mm film in theatres anymore and everything is digital projection, I won't even make it to 60."^[44]

On February 18, 2010, it was announced that Tarantino had bought the New Beverly Cinema. Tarantino allowed the current owners to continue operating the theater, but he will be making programming suggestions from time to time. He was quoted as saying: "As long as I'm alive, and as long as I'm rich, the New Beverly will be there, showing films shot on 35mm."^[45]

Influences and style of filmmaking[link]

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.^[46]

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.^[47] In 2009, he named Kinji Fukasaku's violent action film Battle Royale as his favorite film released since he became a director in 1992.^[48]

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,^[49] 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".^[49] Upon his arrival in the Philippines, Tarantino was quoted in the local newspaper as saying, 'I'm a big fan of RP [Republic of the Philippines] cinema.'

Actor Steve Buscemi has described Tarantino's different style of film making as "bursting with energy" and "focused,"^[50] a style that has earned him many accolades worldwide. According to Tarantino, a recurring hallmark in all his movies is that there is a different sense of humour in all his movies, which gets the audience to laugh at things that aren't funny.^[51] 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.

Racial epithets in Tarantino's work[link]

Spike Lee questioned 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?"^[52] Tarantino responded on Charlie Rose by stating:

As a writer, I demand the right to write any character in the world that I want to write. I demand the right to be them, I demand the right to think them and I demand the right to tell the truth as I see they are, all right? And to say that I can't do that because I'm white, but the Hughes brothers can do that because they're black, that is racist. That is the heart of racism, all right. And I do not accept that ... That is how a segment of the black community that lives in Compton, lives in Inglewood, where Jackie Brown takes place, that lives in Carson, that is how they talk. I'm telling the truth. It would not be questioned if I was black, and I resent the question because I'm white. I have the right to tell the truth. I do not have the right to lie.^[53]

In addition, Tarantino retaliated on The Howard Stern Show by stating Lee would have to "stand on a chair to kiss my ass."^[54] 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: