Overview (4)

Born March 27, 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Birth Name Quentin Jerome Tarantino Nicknames QT

Q Height 6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (52)

Lead characters usually drive General Motors vehicles, particularly Chevrolet and Cadillac, such as Jules' 1974 Nova and Vincent's 1960s Malibu.



Makes references to cult movies and television



His films usually have a shot from inside an automobile trunk





[The Mexican Standoff] All his movies (including True Romance (1993), which he only wrote and did not direct) feature a scene in which three or more characters are pointing guns at each other at the same time.

His films will often include one long, unbroken take where a character is followed around somewhere.





Widely imitated quick cuts of character's hands performing actions in extreme closeup, a technique reminiscent of Brian De Palma

Long close-up of a person's face while someone else speaks off-screen (close-up of The Bride while Bill talks, of Butch while Marsellus talks).



Extreme violence, much of which is suggested off-screen





Often creates fictional brands of objects due to his dislike of product placement. The Red Apple cigarettes and Big Kahuna burger established in Pulp Fiction (1994) are often referenced in his other films.

Frequently sets his films in Los Angeles, California



Often frames characters with doorways and shows them opening and closing doors.



Minor character dialogue is off-screen in his films



A character cooly talks through an intense situation, either delaying the occurrence of violence or avoiding it through resolution.





Interjects scenes with introduction of a character's background (Hugo Stieglitz is introduced in the middle of the Nazi torture scene in Inglourious Basterds (2009), O-Ren is introduced with an interuption in the main story in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)).

Frequently uses Spanish classical guitar for the soundtracks



Characters frequently use the phrase bingo



Prefers to start most of his films with a scene before the main titles are shown



Most of his films feature one or more scenes in a restaurant



Often shows a relationship between an older experienced character and a younger character in a manner similar to a parent or teacher



His characters often discuss their favorite films or series while carrying out their activities





His films often feature at least one character who is deeply religious or spiritual and tries to reconcile that faith with their actions (Jules in Pulp Fiction (1994), Jacob in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)).

Revenge is a common theme in his films



Usually when giving an interview, he will greet the audience with a peace sign



Many of his protagonists are morally suspect, violent-tempered individuals who ultimately best their antagonists by outmatching them in sheer brutality



Colorful main antagonists with an elaborately thoughtout, vivid but extremely twisted (and often bigoted) world view and philosophy



Scenes are more often than not loaded with homages or visual references to other director's works



Often times, the violence in his films is over exagerrated and rooted in a darkly comic context.



Never includes his name in a director's credit in the opening titles of his films. The credits always end with the name of his producer(s).



Soundtracks often feature dialogue from their respective films.



Almost always uses pre-recorded music for his films



Frantic scenes are often intercut with a character taking their time and behaving methodically



His films usually pay a homage to genres that were highly popular in the 1960s and 1970s such as Heist (Reservoir Dogs), Blaxploitation (Jackie Brown), Kung Fu (Kill Bill), and Spaghetti Western (Django Unchained)



His characters often pretend to be people they are not.



His films often feature a plan that goes horribly wrong.



His films often subvert cliches of certain genres (ex. Reservoir Dogs is a heist movie where the actual heist is never shown).



His films often makes usage of voiceovers or narration.



Recurring theme of honor among criminals



Trivia (126)



Was sued by Don Murphy for $5,000,000, accused of assault. Tarantino attacked Murphy in restaurant, slammed him against the wall and punched him. [November 1997]



Together with Lawrence Bender founded record company called A Band Apart Records. It will focus on film soundtracks and its releases will be distributed through Maverick Records, owned by Madonna . [July 1997]



Was planning to direct an episode of Akte X: Die unheimlichen Fälle des FBI (1993) but refused to join the Director's Guild of America. The Guild refused his request for a waiver so that he could direct the series. [November 1996]



Claims that Tarantino acted in the film Zombie (1978) or the film King Lear (1987) are incorrect. Quentin falsely listed these credits years ago on his acting resume to compensate for his lack of experience and these incorrect credits have subsequently been attributed to him in such places as Leonard Maltin 's Movie and Video Guide and the Cinemania CD ROM.

First noted screenplay was titled "Captain Peachfuzz and the Anchovy Bandit", which was written in 1985.



In all of his original screenplays, the name of a police detective named Scagnetti is referred to at least once. Most of the times, the particular scene was cut out of the final versions.





He was an unlisted screenwriter for Tony Scott 's Crimson Tide - In tiefster Gefahr (1995). He was brought in to punch up the script's dialogue, reportedly adding the Silver Surfer scene, submarine movie scene, racist horse monologue among other polishes.



He delayed production of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) for several months when Uma Thurman became pregnant. He refused to recast her, as he had written the role specifically for her, based on an idea the two conceived on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994).



Is a huge fan of The Three Stooges



His parents are Tony Tarantino and Connie McHugh. His father is from New York, and Quentin's paternal grandparents, Dominic James Tarantino and Elizabeth Jean Salvaggio, had Italian ancestry. Quentin's mother was born in LaFollette, Tennessee, to Edwin William McHugh and Betty June Woody, was raised in Ohio, and has English and Irish ancestry.

Although he uses both elements in his films, he strongly detests violence and drugs.





Is listed in the acknowledgments of actor Ethan Hawke 's novel, "Ash Wednesday".

President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 57th Cannes International Film Festival in 2004.





He has called Uma Thurman his muse.

Was at one point in his life considering to become a novelist. He said that he tried writing two chapters of a novel about his experiences working at the Video Archives in Manhattan Beach. As can be immediately seen, novelistic narrative techniques bear a strong influence on his distinct filmmaking style.





Despite the constant comparison between them amongst fans, he considers fellow director Paul Thomas Anderson to be one of his best friends. In fact, Tarantino has praised Anderson's work, calling him a "filmmaking artist".

His mother Connie McHugh was only age 16 when she gave birth to him.





A vocal proponent of celluloid-over-digital filmmaking, Tarantino got his first experience with the latter technology by directing a segment of the film Sin City (2005) with his friend Robert Rodriguez . Rodriguez, who lauds the technology at every opportunity, made this his mission to convert Tarantino as well. At the end of shooting, Tarantino is reported to have said simply, "Mission accomplished.".

Hates product placement hence, the use of the fictional cigarette Red Apple and now-defunct cereal Fruit Brute in his films.



His mother reluctantly consented to allow him to drop out of Narbonne High School at age 16 on the condition he get a job. "I wanted him to see that life without education would not be a picnic." She thought he would return more focused and go onto college. Tarantino with a reported 160 IQ wanted to study acting and felt he could learn more following his own path.





He was offered the role of the President of the United States of America in Battle Royale 2 (2003), but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts.

Has stated that he would like to direct a James Bond movie at some point in his career.





Often references numerous attributes of the works of Jean-Luc Godard , particularly in Pulp Fiction (1994). The disjointed structure of Pulp Fiction (1994) may itself be an homage to Godard's use of jump cuts in Ausser Atem (1960), the film that launched the French New Wave of cinema.

Is a huge fan of the Half-Life computer game series, and has considered possibilities of directing a movie adaptation.



Ranked #81 on Premiere magazine's 2004 annual Power 100 List. He was unranked in 2003.



Ranked #8 in Empire (UK) magazine's greatest directors ever 2005 poll.





He was the spokesman for SkyperfecTV, a Japanese based satellite television network, a competitor to the now locally defunct DirecTV endorsed by Arnold Schwarzenegger



Eli Roth wanted to have the world premiere of Hostel (2005) at the 2005 Iceland Film Festival. During the festival, Roth and Quentin Tarantino were made honorary vikings at Viking Village, in a ceremony arranged by Eythor Gudjonsson . Roth's Icelandic name is Eli Sheldonsson, and Tarantino's Icelandic name is Quentin Conniesson.



He was originally offered the chance to direct Men in Black (1997), which he turned down. The task went to Barry Sonnenfeld



He was originally offered the chance to direct Speed (1994), which he turned down. The task went to Jan de Bont



Is godfather to two of Michael Madsen 's sons Hudson and Calvin Michael. Michael and his wife DeAnna joked in OK! magazine about naming Quentin godfather to their newest son Luke Ray as well.

Has stated that he would like to make and star in a film telling the story of John Brown, the abolitionist.





Has named Blutiger Valentinstag (1981) his all-time favorite slasher film.

During his stay in the Philippines, Tarantino got trapped in traffic due to flooding as he was traveling to Malacanang Palace to meet President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and receive a lifetime achievement award. Refusing to give up, he and his partner Tikoy Aguiluz got off their limousine and took a pedicab each to reach the palace. After arriving, Tarantino stated "It was a lot of fun. It just took a long time but it was not bad at all.".



Has two sisters and one brother: Tanya Marie Tarantino (born Pasadena, California, 4 October 1964), Ronnajean Tarantino (born Phoenix, Arizona, 22 June 1969) and Edward James Tarantino (born Simi Valley, California, 3 October 1974).



His father was born in Queens, New York, and has one sister: Diane Tarantino. Their parents are Dominic and Elizabeth Tarantino.



His mother was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 3, 1946. She is the adopted daughter of Ellis and Elizabeth (Betty) Shaffer.



After his parents divorced, his mother married musician Curtis Zastoupil.





As a child, one of his favorite movies was Abbott und Costello treffen Frankenstein (1948). He credits the movie with helping him learn genre distinctions.



He was ex-girlfriend Mira Sorvino 's date the night she received her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Geliebte Aphrodite (1995).



He was offered a chance to direct Westworld (2016), which he turned down.



He wrote the forward for the book "Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi " (2008).

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and was raised in Los Angeles, California.





Resided with Jennifer Beals while getting his first films produced.

Is mentioned in the cartoon "Courage the Cowardly Dog" as the zombie director Quintin Tarantella in several episodes, the first being "Everyone Wants to Direct".





He screens Rio Bravo (1959) for potential girlfriends as a test of their compatibility.



Thanked by the rock band Nirvana in the liner notes of their album "In Utero" (1993).

His films mainly feature criminals and characters committing horrible crimes involving murder and drugs. The only crime Tarantino has committed was shoplifting from a bookstore when he was a teenager.



He did not become interested in writing and directing until he was in his early twenties.





The character from True Romance (1993), Clarence Worley, personifies Quentin Tarantino's passions in life.

The Big Kahuna burger is mentioned in at least three of Tarantino's films.



Stated on a radio interview that the one thing he cannot stand seeing in movies is real animal and insect death or torture, and that real acts of violence have no place in film, which is about realism through artifice.





Krishnan Guru-Murthy introduced the subject of movie violence during an interview, in the wake of Django Unchained (2012), with Quentin Tarantino on Channel Four News. Tarantino responded memorably that he refused the question, that he had given his opinion exhaustively in other settings and that he was "shutting [Krishnan's] butt down" about the matter.



Cites Jean-Pierre Melville as the greatest director of gangster movies.

As of September 2015, Tarantino's films have grossed $1,407,548,403 worldwide.



First job was collecting quarters and restocking magazines from automated magazine boxes that dispensed pornographic titles.





He worked at Video Archives in Manhattan Beach, California from 1985-1990 with future filmmakers Roger Avary and Daniel Synder. He became well known to local residents for his extensive knowledge of world cinema and eclectic, customer tailored video recommendations. He wrote several screenplays during his time at Video Archives including Reservoir Dogs - Wilde Hunde (1992) True Romance (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). He purchased the entire stores video inventory of 8000 titles when it closed that he prefers watching to using video streaming services, like Netflix.

He got his first job in the film industry at age 16, by lying about his age, as an usher at Pussycat Theater, a porn theater in Torrance, California.



He plans to retire after his 10th major film. Has stated he would like to write novels, books on film history, plays and work as a theater director.





Filmed his latest film The Hateful 8 (2015) using the Ultra Panavision 70 film process This rare film process has not been used for 50 years despite the technical advantages it offers over current technology.

Owns the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, the theater where he often saw double features as a child. He helped the prior owner to keep the theater afloat and stay open with a $5000/mo subsidy. Subsequently, he bought the building in December 2007 to save the revival theater from being redeveloped into a Supercuts. In October 2014, he assumed full ownership and programs the theater's slate personally with kid's matinées, double features nightly, midnight showings on the weekends, vintage shorts/cartoons and a commitment to always show in 35mm celluloid film.



He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 21, 2015.





Among his favorite authors is a Russian poet Boris Pasternak , whose grave Tarantino had visited in June 2004, while visiting Moscow Film Festival.



One of his favorite horror films is the original Jessy - Die Treppe in den Tod (1974). His tradition is to watch the film in his home theater every Christmas season.



Is a huge fan of the cult classic drama film Showgirls (1995) by Paul Verhoeven

Forbids all cell phones on the set when shooting, insisting that all such devices be turned in at point of entry - no exceptions.





Is a huge fan of sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer . He has expressed interest in remaking his film Die Satansweiber von Tittfield (1965).



One of his biggest influences in filmmaking is Kar-Wai Wong 's Chungking Express (1994). He helped get the film distribution in North America.

Insists on being beside the camera at all times during a take. The notion of being in another room watching his actors perform on a video-assist monitor is both anathema and unacceptable to him.



Detests CGI (Computer-generated imagery) trickery, opting not to shoot a sequence at all unless it can be accomplished 'in-camera'. If a chase has to be filmed at 80 mph, it must be captured as it happens and not faked with camera under-cranking.



One of his biggest pet peeves while filming is actors and crew members napping on set. In his words "It always kinda bugged me so I came up with something where it wouldn't bug me." That something was a huge purple dildo named "Big Jerry". When ever an actor or crew member dozes off on set Quentin puts "Big Jerry" as close to the offenders face as he can without waking them and snaps photos that are hung on "The Wall of Shame" on set. Several photos of A-list actors and "Big Jerry" exist. All in good humor and fun according to the director.



President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 67th Venice International Film Festival in 2010.





He planned on making a film based on the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage after Reservoir Dogs - Wilde Hunde (1992), but opted to make Pulp Fiction (1994). His version would have been a period film in which the film would have taken place in 1972, the same year the comic book was first released.



He was asked to direct 8 Mile (2002), but he was busy with his Kill Bill films.



He was asked to direct the crime comedy Schnappt Shorty (1995). He declined, though he did persuade John Travolta to star in the film.



Has signed on to direct a new "Star Trek" film for Paramount, which will be produced by J.J. Abrams . The two conditions he asked for and were granted by the studio were A) he would be able to choose the project's screenwriter, who ended up being "The Revenant" scripter Mark L. Smith, and B) the movie would be R-rated and not edited down to a PG-13 under any circumstances.



As of 2017, engaged to Daniella Pick , an Israeli singer and model. He met her when Inglourious Basterds (2009) was released in Israel and he went to the country for a gala premiere event, and Pick was one of the hostesses for the event.



While he was never accused of being part of Harvey Weinstein 's massive record of sexual assaults, abuse, and harassment, Tarantino spoke publicly about his regrets over his long history of making movies for Weinstein at both Miramax and The Weinstein Company. After having a talk with his friend and outspoken advocate against sexual violence Tony Tamberelli , Tarantino apologized generally by saying "I knew enough to do more than I did." He also said he would make his ninth movie with a different studio, which turned out to be Sony.



Publicly supported President Barack Obama during his last few years in office and spoke out against racial incidents in the United States. The latter activity included him supporting Black Lives Matter and criticizing police for shooting and killing black civilians (though he later clarified that he had no issues with police in general) and lending his voice to the movement to take down Confederate flags and symbols through the United States in the aftermath of Dylann Roof's mass murder of African Americans, with Tarantino referring to the Confederate logo as "an American swastika".

In 2018, Oxford English Dictionary added term "Tarantinoesque" into its collection and described Tarantinoesque films as "characterized by graphic and stylized violence, non-linear storylines, cineliterate references, satirical themes, and sharp dialogue".





In 1986, he got his first Hollywood job, working with Roger Avary as production assistants on Dolph Lundgren 's exercise video "Maximum Potential".



Received his first paid writing assignment in the early 1990s when Robert Kurtzman hired him to write the screenplay for From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).

In December 1999, he was slated to write and direct a film adaptation of Iron Man for New Line Cinema. Nothing came about the project.





Elmore Leonard considered Tarantino's adaptation of Jackie Brown (1997) to be his favorite of the 26 different screen adaptations of his novels and short stories.



Has played an Elvis Presley impersonator in Golden Girls (1985) fourth season episode "Sophia's Wedding: Part 1", which was broadcast on November 19, 1988.

Says he really wishes people would come up with their own ideas about what's in "the briefcase" instead of asking him, because nothing particular was in there in his mind.





Since Django Unchained (2012), his films not includes the classical cast list in ending credits indicating which character each actor plays. Only the actors who don't appear in opening credits, appear in ending credits.



Tarantino hates Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) stating that they ruined the mythology of the first movie to him.



The summer after his 15th birthday, he was grounded by his mother for shoplifting Elmore Leonard 's novel "The Switch" from Kmart.



Has starred in Steven Spielberg 's "Director's Chair", a simulation video game that uses pre-generated movie clips.



His all-time favorite director in Howard Hawks , whom he considers to be "the greatest storyteller in the history of cinema".



He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Pulp Fiction (1994).



Became a father for the first time at the age of 56 when his wife Daniella Pick gave birth to son Leo on February 22nd, 2020. Leo is named after his wife's grandfather and not Tarantino's frequent star Leonardo DiCaprio

Personal Quotes (82)



[at the MTV Movie Awards 1994 as he won Best Picture for Pulp Fiction (1994)] Pop quiz, hotshot: you go to the awards ceremonies all year long; you keep losing to Forrest Gump (1994)! It's really annoying the hell out of you - what do you do? You go to the MTV Awards!

If I've made it a little easier for artists to work in violence, great! I've accomplished something.



When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, "No, I went to films".



[on using surfing music, when hating the surfing culture] It's like surf music, I've always like loved that but, for me, I don't know what surf music has to do with surf boards. To me, it just sounds like rock and roll, even Morricone music. It sounds like rock and roll Spaghetti Western music, so that's how I kind of laid it in.



Movies are my religion and God is my patron. I'm lucky enough to be in the position where I don't make movies to pay for my pool. When I make a movie, I want it to be everything to me; like I would die for it.





[on the comparison between Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)'s group fight and Neo vs. 100 Agent Smiths in Matrix Reloaded (2003)] First off, I've always thought of the black suits as mine, so I don't think of them as Agent Smiths, I think of them as Reservoir Dogs with less cool sunglasses. The similarities between the fight sequences never occurred to me until I had a director's screening and Luc Besson turned up with Keanu Reeves as his guest. I watched Keanu watching and suddenly I felt it.

[on media criticisms of violence in his movies] Sure, Kill Bill is a violent movie. But it's a Tarantino movie. You don't go to see Metallica and ask the fuckers to turn the music down.



[on media criticisms of violence in his movies] What if a kid goes to school after seeing Kill Bill and starts slicing up other kids? You know, I'll take that chance! Violent films don't turn children into violent people. They may turn them into violent filmmakers but that's another matter altogether.



[on collecting movies] If you're a film fan, collecting video is sort of like marijuana. Laser discs, they're definitely cocaine. Film prints are heroin, all right? You're shooting smack when you start collecting film prints. So I kinda got into it in a big way, and I've got a pretty nice collection I'm real proud of.





[on how to take the violence in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) (The final duel with Lucy Liu )] It's supposed to be kind of amusing and poetic at the same time. And also just a teeny-tiny bit solemn. When you see her head, it's funny. And then her line, "That really was a Hattori Hanzo sword," that's funny. But then, the next shot is not funny, when she tips over and Meiko Kaji is singing about revenge on the soundtrack. So it's all together. Funny. Solemn. Beautiful. Gross. All at the same time.

[on becoming famous] Going into a video store and going through the videos, looking at every title they have, trying to find some old Spaghetti Western, that's gone.



I have an idea for a Godzilla movie that I've always wanted to do. The whole idea of Godzilla's role in Tokyo, where he's always battling these other monsters, saving humanity time and again - wouldn't Godzilla become God? It would be called Living Under the Rule of Godzilla. This is what society is like when a big fucking green lizard rules your world.





[on violence in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)] When I was on The View (1997), Barbara Walters was asking me about the blood and stuff, and I said, "Well, you know, that's a staple of Japanese cinema." And then she came back, "But this is America." And I go, "I don't make movies for America. I make movies for planet Earth.".



[on directing the Emergency Room: Die Notaufnahme (1994) episode "Motherhood"] When I was directing ER, I didn't want to stand out. Everyone else is wearing all that crap. I wanted to fit in. I didn't want to be the odd man out. I wanted to be inside, not on the outside. When I was directing the ER thing, the emergency room guys wore the green scrubs. I wore those for a few days. Then, I wore the blue scrubs, which were the surgeons', for a few days. When I wore the nurse's pink scrubs, though, that's when I became a hero on the set. The nurses didn't think I was going to throw in with them. I ended the episode, the last two days, wearing the nurses' scrubs. When I walked on the set all the nurses applauded me. They were like "Oh my God, he's so cool!".



[on Thriller - ein unbarmherziger Film (1973) and its influences on Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)] And that is, of all the revenge movies I've ever seen, that is definitely the roughest. The roughest revenge movie ever made! There's never been anything as tough as that movie.

If you want to make a movie, make it. Don't wait for a grant, don't wait for the perfect circumstances, just make it. - Giving advice to young aspiring filmmakers at the 1994 Independent Spirit Awards.



I hope to give you at least 15 more years of movies. I'm not going to be this old guy that keeps cranking them out. My plan is to have a theater by that time in some small town and I will be the manager - this crazy old movie guy. (March 2005)



I will never do 'Pulp Fiction 2', but having said that, I could very well do other movies with these characters.





I've come to a point where I like Pauline Kael 's reviews of Godard more than Godard's films.

[on making another "Kill Bill" movie] Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my "Dollars Trilogy". I was going to do a new one every ten years. But I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. I've already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale will get all of Bill's money. She'll raise Nikki, who'll take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they're this age.



I'm never going to be shy about anything, what I write about is what I know; it's more about my version of the truth as I know it. That's part of my talent, really - putting the way people really speak into the things I write. My only obligation is to my characters. And they came from where I have been.



The exploitation films were made in such an artless way with these big wide shots of Sunset Boulevard or of Arcadia or downtown L.A. or wherever. In mainstream films, especially in the 1980s, the Los Angeles you saw wasn't the real one; it was a character with this back-lot sort of atmosphere. They tried to luxuriate it. In exploitation films, you see what the place really looked like, you see the bars and mom-and-pop restaurants.



There's only one list that's more illustrious than the list of directors who won the Palme d'Or. It's the list of directors who didn't.



I don't believe in putting in music as a band aid to get you over some rough parts or bad film making. If it's there it's got to add to it or take it to another level.



When I give props to these movies, you have to understand - it's not like they were all good. There's an expression: You have to drink a lot of milk before you can appreciate cream. Well, with exploitation movies, you have to drink a lot of milk-gone-bad before you can even appreciate milk! That's what part of the love of these movies is - going through the rummage bin and finding the jewels.





[on the death of David Carradine ] He was a dream to direct, a fantastic actor, a great character actor and really one of Hollywood's great mad geniuses.



[on the Cannes Film Festival] I just like Cannes. It's like the whole planet is checking your movie out - boom! - at one time, and - bam! - it either works or it doesn't. And especially when I'm there - it's the closest thing to Muhammad Ali having a championship fight. It's just - bam! You're throwing it down.

I've had people write that I've seen too many movies. In what other art form would being an expert be considered a negative? If I were a poet, would I be criticized for knowing too much about Sappho? Or Aristotle?





Some people will like Inglourious Basterds (2009). Some people won't. But it was made with all the passion I've made everything with - except maybe my first film, which was probably made with more passion than I'll ever have again.

When you gotta go out and make a movie to pay for the kid's private school and for the three ex-wives, don't talk to me about your artistry. It's their job. It's not my job. It's my calling.





[on why his characters in Inglourious Basterds (2009) use Native American fighting tactics] I'm actually equating the Jews in this situation, in World War II, with the Indians. It's not nothing that they're doing Apache resistance. It's not about dying. It's about killing. They ambush their guys. They trick the enemy. It's not a straight-up fight. And then they go and they just completely desecrate the bodies to win a psychological war.



[on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993), when asked how he comes up with such good dialog] Well, not to be facetious or anything, but... I'm a good writer!



I think the opening chapter of Inglourious Basterds (2009) is one of the best things I've ever written - before that sequence my best piece of writing would be the Sicilian sequence in the True Romance (1993) script; that was the best thing I'd ever done in a beginning to end piece. And I think I finally matched it, or topped it with that sequence so I knew I couldn't just let it go. I would have been haunted by it and I wouldn't be able to move on to anything else until I had it out of the way.

CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was real cars, real metal, real blasts. They're really doing it and risking their lives. But I knew CGI was gonna start taking over.



Martin Scorsese,

When I first discovered Howard Hawks , I spent a year and a half reading the TV Guide and they played about 80 percent of his entire oeuvre on Los Angeles television. Brian De Palma Sergio Leone and Hawks were a huge influence on me.



[on Avatar - Aufbruch nach Pandora (2009)] I'm not James Cameron and I could never think like that - I don't think he could think like me either - but if I could go into a time machine and think like that and be able to do what he could do, that would be great.





And, yes it would have been easy to make him a cringing coward and it would have been more rah, rah, rah in the audience. It would be like watching "Rocky". But you know, that's too easy for what I'm trying to do.

[on Inglourious Basterds (2009) being a catharsis and multi-layered] - I mean, it would be easy to just set up a situation where we just go oh, kill the Nazis, rah, rah. But I don't play it that easy. Like for instance, on the interrogation scene that you just saw, under any criteria of bravery in warfare, that German passes the test under any criteria.And, yes it would have been easy to make him a cringing coward and it would have been more rah, rah, rah in the audience. It would be like watching "Rocky". But you know, that's too easy for what I'm trying to do.





However, once I did it, the irony was not lost on me at all. But you know, that was one of the things that I actually thought that - it was one of the things that when I was all done. Because I think there are a lot of things like that - not about that issue, but there's a lot of things in this movie that are not used to seeing in other World War II movies. I thought that was one of the aspects that would actually make the movie not just seem like a World War II movie that it's like here and you're looking at it in the eyes of the past. I wanted the film sort of the way "Bonnie and Clyde" worked when it came out. It was an old genre took place in the '30s, but it was actually telling you something about the time today. And that was what I was trying to do with this in this genre.

[on Inglourious Basterds (2009) being the modern strategic history of al-Qaeda] - Yes. ... Now, I've seen people who have seen the movie like three or four times and it never quite sinks into them. But that was never something that I necessarily set out to do. I wasn't trying to make a terrorist Iraq commentary with the film. It was just what made sense for the characters to do at that time. Yes they're strapping bombs on themselves. And they're walking into a theater crowded with evil civilians and they are prepared to blow it up. Even the character, Landa, the Jew hunter, the Nazi character in the film - he even makes a reference to it. He goes your mission - some would call it a terrorist plot - is kaput. It was funny. Again, I wasn't trying to necessarily make a political point in there. It literally was just the next step in the story as far as I was concerned.However, once I did it, the irony was not lost on me at all. But you know, that was one of the things that I actually thought that - it was one of the things that when I was all done. Because I think there are a lot of things like that - not about that issue, but there's a lot of things in this movie that are not used to seeing in other World War II movies. I thought that was one of the aspects that would actually make the movie not just seem like a World War II movie that it's like here and you're looking at it in the eyes of the past. I wanted the film sort of the way "Bonnie and Clyde" worked when it came out. It was an old genre took place in the '30s, but it was actually telling you something about the time today. And that was what I was trying to do with this in this genre.





And that was one of the things - one of the reasons I wanted to do something like that, other than for all the other reasons you said before about - it's a revenge fantasy and this and that. We've never seen it before. I was trying to do like a spaghetti western but using World War II iconography.



So in my re-imagining of this whole thing, I kind of placed the Jews as the Indians in this scenario. And that is part of the whole thing. You know, when they say they ambush a German patrol of six guys and then they scalp them, maybe even take their shoes off, so when they are found there is even less dignity in the death - all these little things that they do.

[on Inglourious Basterds (2009) being not just a revenge fantasy about World War II, but a torture and terrorism fantasy] - Definitely. You took it right out of my mouth. Yes. I mean, basically what they're doing - you described it really, really well. To put in even shorter nutshell, they're actually doing literally the Apache resistance, but against the Nazis, against the Germans.And that was one of the things - one of the reasons I wanted to do something like that, other than for all the other reasons you said before about - it's a revenge fantasy and this and that. We've never seen it before. I was trying to do like a spaghetti western but using World War II iconography.So in my re-imagining of this whole thing, I kind of placed the Jews as the Indians in this scenario. And that is part of the whole thing. You know, when they say they ambush a German patrol of six guys and then they scalp them, maybe even take their shoes off, so when they are found there is even less dignity in the death - all these little things that they do.





They were fun and thrilling and exciting and, most amazingly, they had a lot of comedy in them, which really made an impact on me. I mean, for every movie with a sadistic Nazi, there's one with a Nazi who's more of a buffoon or a figure of ridicule.

[on the time spent watching old World War II movies that gave him the confidence to embark on Inglourious Basterds (2009)] - It wasn't that I needed permission. But what really struck me was that these were films made by directors who'd had to flee their country because of Hitler, and yet the movies they made weren't all terror or horror. In fact, while they definitely showed the Nazis and their cruelty, they were adventure films, whether you're talking about Auch Henker sterben (1943) or Reunion in France (1942) or Sein oder Nichtsein (1942) or O.S.S. (1946), an Alan Ladd film that's like a prequel to Der gute Hirte (2006).They were fun and thrilling and exciting and, most amazingly, they had a lot of comedy in them, which really made an impact on me. I mean, for every movie with a sadistic Nazi, there's one with a Nazi who's more of a buffoon or a figure of ridicule.

Here's my problem with this whole influence thing. Instead of critics reviewing my movies, now what they're really doing is trying to match wits with me. Every time they review my movies, it's like they want to play chess with the mastermind and show off every reference they can find, even when half of it is all of their own making. It feels like the critics are IMDB-ing everything I do. It just rubs me the wrong way because they end up using it as a stick to beat me down with.



If there is something magic about the collaborations I have with actors it's because I put the character first.





[on the British film industry] When I first came here in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs - Wilde Hunde (1992) the film industry was very dire. The movies were Verzauberter April (1991) and crap like that. But that has changed, and this year has highlighted how it's changed. You guys actually have a genuine, honest-to-goodness, bona fide film industry again, and that is fantastic.

If I was doing Kill Bill all over again - I'd be tempted to do it in 3D, at least Volume I.



If I wasn't a filmmaker, I'd be a film critic. It's the only thing I'd be qualified to do.





[on the inspiration for Pulp Fiction (1994)] And so I thought the idea that would, in the case of Pulp Fiction, would be kind of cool, was to take three separate stories, and make them the oldest stories in the book, whether it be, um...Vincent's character, the hoodlum, has to go out with the boss's lady, but don't touch her! And there's the whole history of people who *have* touched her, and what happens. Well we've seen that before, a zillion times...and the case of the Bruce Willis story, that the boxer's supposed to throw the fight, and he doesn't, and now the mob's after him...we've seen that story a million times as well. And one of the things I thought about, like, the third story, was basically kind of the beginning of, at that time, almost every Joel Silver movie, which would start off with like a couple hit men showing up, boom boom, alright, 'you wanna witness something witness this!' (makes gun shooting noise, laughs). And then they shoot the guy and it cuts to Arnold Schwarzenegger walking through the forest and eventually he's gonna meet those guys. And so I thought, what happens if we hung out with them? All night long? Or...all day long? After they've killed the guy, what happens with the rest of their day? And so it was like taking these, these chestnuts and putting them together and then, actually having the characters kind of intertwine and it all kind of takes place in one...city, and it's an environment that they all live in, and characters kind of know each other, but you don't know that for a while. And we're just kind of hanging out with them for those two days.

[on once working at an adult movie theater] To me, the greatest job a person could ever have is being an usher at a movie theater. You get to go to a movie theater all day long, and then you get to see all the movies for free. Irony of ironies, I end up getting a job at a movie theater where I could care less about the movies and was totally bored by them.



If you just love movies enough, you can make a good one.





[on Reservoir Dogs - Wilde Hunde (1992)] This movie was never meant to be everything for everybody. And I don't mean that as a slam. I'm just saying I made this movie for myself and everybody else is invited.



[on Pulp Fiction (1994)] Three stories about one story.



[acceptance speech winning the Oscar for Best Screenplay for Pulp Fiction (1994)] Uh thanks! Uh, this has been a very strange year. I can definitely say that. Uh, you know what? I was trying to think...I think this is the only award I'm going to win here tonight, so I was trying to think, maybe I should say a whole lot of stuff, right here right now, just get it out of my system, you know, all year long, everything roiling up, and everything, just blow it all, just tonight, just say everything! But I'm not. Thanks.

[on what his most personal film is] Probably "Kill Bill".



I'm very happy with the way I write. I think I do it good. But I've never really considered myself a writer.



I've always considered myself a filmmaker who writes stuff for himself to do.





If I'm on an airplane, a Kate Hudson movie is what I'm looking for. I'll sit there and I'll cry... I think it's the altitude or something like that.



I've always actually thought of Pulp Fiction (1994) as a Rock 'n' Roll Spaghetti Western.



[on fan expectations] That's not a pressure I ever feel. That should always be there. I want people to expect a lot from me, I want people waiting with great anticipation for my next movie. Growing up I felt that way. The week before Scarface (1983) came out was Scarface week... That kind of excitement is what helps keep a filmmaker alive and vital.

As far as I'm concerned, digital projection is the end of cinema. The fact that most films aren't presented in 35 mm means that the world is lost. Digital projection is just television in cinema. I'm very hopeful that future generations will be much smarter than this generation and realize what they lost.





[in response to criticisms that Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) is overly brutal] Innocent people die along the way because, unfortunately that's the story of revenge. Revenge is messy. It never works out the way you want it to.

[on film violence vs real-life violence] All the movies I'm basing my movies on I saw as a kid and yes, kids go to a movie theater, they can tell the difference. Maybe you couldn't when you were a kid but I could.



I don't want to talk about the implications of violence. The reason I don't want to talk about it is because I've said everything I have to say about it. If anyone cares what I have to say about it they can Google me and they can look for twenty years what I have to say. I haven't changed my opinion one iota.





When people in America talk about the great writer-director auteurs, they don't talk about Pedro Almodóvar enough. For 30 years, he has dwarfed almost all of his American peers. He went through a slightly weak period around the time of Kika (1993) and Alles über meine Mutter (1999). I didn't get Zerrissene Umarmungen (2009), but it was still okay. But the things he's been doing the last seven years, he's been on a magnificent roll. He's a fantastic director. His scripts are wonderful, and he's just money in the bank. And he's so specific, but as opposed to a lot of these specific art-film directors that you're going to get tired of, like Kar-Wai Wong , you never get tired of Almodóvar. Because as much as he has these recognizable elements, it never just seems like the same movie over and over again.



To me, Godard did to movies what Bob Dylan did to music - they both revolutionized their forms.



I think Kate Winslet is one of the best actresses that ever lived, so I would be honored to work with her.

My dialogue are not for everyone. Doesn't matter the quality of the actor, not everyone has timing or humor for the lines I wrote.





[November 23, 2015] I'd really love to work with Kate Winslet , I think she's amazing and does a great job.



[on Johnny Depp - The Playlist, December 30, 2012] We would love to work together. We've talked about it for years. Not that we get together and talk about it for years, but from time to time. We're obviously fans of each other. It just needs to be the right character. I just need to write the right character that I think Johnny would be the right guy to do it with. And if he agrees, then we'll do it. And then it'll be magical. I haven't written the perfect character for Johnny Depp as of yet. Maybe someday I will, maybe someday I won't. We'll see.

[in answer to film critic why his films were always extremely violent] Because it's so much fun, Jan!



[on Kodak's new Super 8 camera and film in general] On film, there's a special magic on a set when you say 'action' and to the point that the take runs until you say 'cut,' that's a sacred time. I've always believed in the magic of movies and to me the magic is connected to film. When you're filming something on film you aren't recording movement, you're taking a series of still pictures and when shown at 24 frames per second through a lightbulb, THAT creates the illusion of movement. That illusion is connected to the magic of making movies. The fact that Kodak is giving a new generation of filmmakers the opportunity to shoot on Super 8 is truly an incredible gift. [2016]



I'm not going to tell you how I believe, but yes, I do believe in God.





To me, one of the things about Rio Bravo (1959) that's so wonderful... well, there's all kinds of things that are really great about it. It's one of the greatest westerns, it's one of the greatest Howard Hawks films, it's one of the greatest John Wayne movies. But it also fits into another genre because I'm all about putting movies into sub-genres, and it's also one of the great "hang-out" movies. There are certain movies where you are hanging out with the characters so much that that it's like they actually become your friends, and it's a really rare quality to have in a film. Movies like that are usually quite long, and it's great to see them again and again. It's like you're just hanging out with John T. Chance, Dude, Stumpy and Feathers.

[2009] When I'm doing a movie, I'm not doing anything else. It's all about the movie. I don't have a wife. I don't have a kid. Nothing can get in my way. The whole fucking world can go to hell and and burst into flames.





[on writing his sprawling screenplays for Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012)] I'd get to the third act. That, I try never to maneuver. By the time it gets to the end, I was open to the characters to drive it. What the characters dictated, that's what happened.

Hopefully, the way I define success when I finish my career, is that I'm considered one of the greatest filmmakers that ever lived. And going further, a great artist, not just filmmaker. [at the 2016 Adobe Max conference]



[on the sexual harassment scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein] For the last week I've been stunned and heartbroken about the revelations that have come to light about my friend for 25 years Harvey Weinstein. I need a few more days to process my pain, emotions, anger and memory and then I will speak publicly about it



[on 35mm film] When you're filming something on film you're not recording movement, you are just taking a series of still pictures. But when shown at 24 frames a second through a light bulb it creates the illusion of movement. So thus as opposed to a recording device, when you're watching a movie, a film print you are watching an illusion, and to me that illusion is connected to the magic of movies.

