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Trivia
Birth name: Quentin Jerome Tarantino
Date of birth: 27 March 1963
Place of birth: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Nickname: QT
Height: 6' 2½" (1.89 m)
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. [14 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.
[30 July 1997]
Was planning to direct an episode of "X Files, The" (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 show. [November 1996]
Claims that Tarantino acted in the film Dawn of the Dead (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.
Tarantino claims that James Best taught him how to act.
Collects old board games having to do with TV shows ("I Dream of
Jeannie" (1965), "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979), Mr. T
("The A-Team" (1983), etc.).
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.
Is widely reported to have helped to write Tony Scott's Crimson Tide
(1995).
As of the year 2001 he wanted to begin filming the film Kill Bill: Vol.
1 (2003) with Uma
Thurman. Production was delayed because of Thurman's pregnancy.
Is a big "Three Stooges" fan.
His father Tony Tarantino (actor and musician) is of Italian descent,
and his mother, Connie McHugh, is half-Irish and half-Cherokee Indian.
Although he uses both elements in his films, QT strongly detests
violence and drugs.
Is listed in the acknowledgments of actor Ethan
Hawke's novel, "Ash Wednesday."
Two of Tarantino's favorite films are _'Manos' the Hands of Fate (1966)_
(which he owns a 35mm copy of) and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982),
which he references in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003).
Was the head judge at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where Pulp Fiction
(1994) won the Palme D'or, the top honor, only ten years earlier.
In just about all his movies, you'll spot "Red Apple"
cigarettes.
Considers Ride in the Whirlwind (1965) one of the finest Westerns ever
made, even writing an extensive article about it in Sight And Sound
Magazine, titled "A Rare Sorrow." The article is featured in
the Pulp Fiction (1994) Special Edition DVD as an extra and also appears
in Paul A. Woods' "Film Geek Files" (pgs. 129-132).
Interestingly, the director of Ride in the Whirlwind, Monte Hellman, was
the executive producer of Reservoir Dogs (1992).
Has an IQ measured at 160, despite dropping out of high school.
He is a good friend of Robert Rodriguez.
He has called Uma
Thurman his "muse."
Named after the Burt Reynolds character Quint Asper from "Gunsmoke"
(1955)
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 Hermosa Beach. As can be immediately
seen, novelistic narrative techniques bear a strong influence on his
distinct filmmaking style.
Back in 1994, while in an interview with Charlie Rose, he cited his three favorite films as: Blow Out (1981) (dir. Brian De Palma), Rio Bravo (1959) (dir. Howard Hawks) and Taxi Driver (1978) (dir. Martin
Scorsese).
In the last Sight & Sound Greatest Films Poll (2002), he listed his Top Ten films as: Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) (aka "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Leone), Rio Bravo (1959) (Hawks), Taxi Driver (1976) (Scorsese), His Girl Friday (1940) (Hawks), Rolling Thunder (1977) (Flynn), They All Laughed (1981) (Bogdanovich), The Great Escape (1963) (J. Sturges), Carrie (1976) (De Palma), Coffy (1973) (Hill), Dazed and Confused (1993) (Linklater), _Tian xia di yi quan (1973)_ (aka "Five Fingers of Death," Chang) and Hi Diddle Diddle (1943) (Stone).
Considers two of his best friends to be Paul Thomas Anderson and Sofia
Coppola.
Dropped out of high school when he was 16.
His mother was only 16 when she gave birth to him.
Once a vocal proponent of celluloid-over-digital film-making, Tarantino
got his first experience with the latter technology by directing a
segment of the film Sin City (2005) with his friend 'Robert Rodriguez'
(I) . Rodriguez, who lauds the technology at every opportunity, made it
his mission to convert Tarantino as well. At the end of shooting,
Tarantino is reported to have said simply, "Mission
accomplished."
In an appearence on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992),
he told him that his all time favorite James Bond Film is From Russia
with Love (1963).
Hates product placement, hence the use of the fictional cigarette brand
Red Apple and defunct cereal Fruit Brute in his films.
Dropped out of Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California at the
age of sixteen to pursue film making.
Has six of his movies mentioned in FHM's (DK) "100 Best Male Movies Ever" (7 October 2004 issue). True Romance (1993) at #75, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) at #73, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) at #26, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) at #25, Reservoir Dogs (1992) at #11, and Pulp Fiction (1994) at #1.
His main characters drive cars from Chevrolet, such as Jules' 1974 Nova
and Vincent's 1960s Malibu. He often frames characters with doorways and
shows them opening and closing doors. Much of the violence and minor
character dialogue is offscreen in his films.
Briefcases and suitcases play an important role in Pulp Fiction (1994),
Reservoir Dogs (1992), Jackie Brown (1997), True Romance (1993), and
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).
Makes references to cult movies and television.
Frequently works with Harvey Keitel.
His films usually have a shot from inside a car trunk.
Frequently casts Tim
Roth
Lead characters usually drive General Motors vehicles, particularly
Chevrolet and Cadillac.
He always has a Dutch element in his films: The opening tune, Little
Green Bag, in Reservoir Dogs (1992) was performed by George Baker and
written by Jan Gerbrand Visser and Benjamino Bouwens who are all Dutch.
The character Freddy Newandyke, played by Tim
Roth is a direct translation to a typical Dutch last name,
Nieuwendijk. The code name of Tim
Roth is Mr. Orange, the royal color of Holland, and the last name of
the royal family. The Amsterdam conversation in PulpFiction, Vincent
Vega smokes from a Dutch tobacco shag (Drum), the mentioning of Rutger
Hauer in Jackie Brown (1997), the bride's name is Beatrix, the name of
the Royal Dutch Queen.
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.
Often uses an unconventional storytelling device in his films, such as
retrospect (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), non-linear (Pulp Fiction (1994)), or
"chapter" format (Kill Bill: Vol.1 (2003) ).
His films will often include one long, unbroken take where a character
is followed around somewhere.
Often casts comedians in small roles: 'Stephen Wright' as the DJ in
Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kathy Griffin as an accident witness and Julia
Sweeney as the junkyard guy's daughter in Pulp Fiction (1994) , 'Chris
Tucker' as Beaumont in Jackie Brown (1997).
Widely imitated quick cuts of character's hands performing actions in
extreme closeup, a technique reminiscent of Brian De Palma.
Long closeup of a person's face while someone else speaks off-screen (closeup
of The Bride while Bill talks, of Butch while Marsellus talks).
Aliases. He uses aliases in nearly all of his movies: Honey Bunny and
Pumpkin from Pulp Fiction (1994), Mr White, Blonde, Orange etc. from
Reservoir Dogs (1992). Bill's team in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) (Black
Mamba, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and California Mountain Snake).
Often plays a small role in his films (Jimmie Dimmick in Pulp Fiction
(1994), Mr. Brown in Reservoir Dogs (1992) and the answering
machinevoice in Jackie Brown (1997))
Frequently casts Michael Madsen.
Frequently casts Uma
Thurman.
Frequently uses Mêlée weapons, such as the samuri sword that Butch
uses it "Pulp Fiction" and the bride uses in the Kill Bill
movies, also the steak attached to a jackhammer used by George Clooney
in "From Dusk Till Dawn".
Was offered the role of the President of the USA in _Batoru rowaiaru II:
Rekuiemu (2003) but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts.
Known for giving comebacks to "forgotten" actors and/or cult actors by giving them important roles in his movies: John Travolta (Pulp Fiction (1994)), David Carradine(Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)), Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown (1997)), Robert Forster (Jackie Brown (1997)), Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003))... even in smaller/cameo roles: Sid Haig (Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)), Edward Bunker (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), and Michael Parks (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) , Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), which QT wrote and co-starred in).
Frequently casts Michael Bowen.
Has stated that he would like to direct a James Bond movie at some point
in his career.
Has named Rio Bravo
(1959) his favorite movie.
Named his production company, A Band Apart, after the Jean-Luc
Godard film Bande à
part (1964) (Band of Outsiders).
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 À bout de souffle
(1960) (Breathless), the film that launched the French New Wave of
cinema.
Is a huge fan of the "Half-Life" (1997) computer game series,
and has considered possibilities of directing a movie adaptation.
Ranked #81 on Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. He was unranked in
2003.
Cites his influences as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Sergio Leone
and Jean-Luc Godard.
President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.
Ranked #8 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors
ever!" [2005]
Was the spokesman for SkyperfecTV, a Japanese based satellite TV
network, a competitor to the now locally defunct DirecTV endorsed by
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He directed one scene for Robert Rodriguez' Sin City (2005) as guest
director
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.
His all-time favorite director is Howard Hawks.
Every one of his movies has someone from the cast of Martin Scorsese's
"Mean Streets." Harvey Keitel is in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp
Fiction, Robert
De Niro is in Jackie Brown, David Carradine is in Kill Bill Vol. 1
and Vol. 2, and David Proval is in Four Rooms.
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