Quentin Tarantino Overview

Even before he was born, Quentin Tarantino was being prepared for the entertainment business. His mother named him after Quint, the Burt Reynolds' character from "Gunsmoke." By the time he was two she had moved the family from Tennessee to the... [more]

Even before he was born, Quentin Tarantino was being prepared for the entertainment business. His mother named him after Quint, the Burt Reynolds' character from "Gunsmoke." By the time he was two she had moved the family from Tennessee to the movie capital of the world, Los Angeles. When he was eight his mother took him to see "Carnal Knowledge" and at nine he was exposed to "Deliverance," an experience that forever entranced him with the moving image. After he'd spent his childhood in the decrepit movie houses of South L.A., the hooks were set and his path in life was determined. At 22 Tarantino got a job at the world-famous Video Archives video store where he and pal Roger Avary spent their working lives watching, discussing, and suggesting videos to the store's patrons. In 1986 he initiated his first film project, 'My Best Friend's Birthday,' but never finished it. Later that same year he wrote his first script, by hand, about a comic-book-store clerk who gets caught up with some seedy characters. That script, called 'True Romance,' would sit on the shelf until he was able to get his career off the ground. Tarantino attended acting classes and even faked some credits; he claimed to have worked in Godard's "King Lear" and in George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." Even though he wasn't having much luck, he wrote a second script, 'Natural Born Killers,' and then in 1990 he hit pay dirt and sold 'True Romance' for $50,000. He planned to use the money to shoot a low-budget, 16mm version of his third script, 'Reservoir Dogs.' Later he claimed that the title was a bastardization of a popular recommendation he made while working in the video store, 'Au Revoir Les Enfants.' He used to refer to it as 'the reservoir movie,' though he has declined repeated requests to elaborate. After selling his script, he quit the video store and got a job at CineTel, where he met Lawrence Bender -- a life-changing encounter. Through a friend of a friend of Bender, he was able to get his script for 'Reservoir Dogs' to Harvey Keitel, who was so impressed he agreed to act in it and help secure better financing. From there he shot some scenes with underground darling Steve Buscemi to be screened at Sundance in 1991. Audiences were excited by the project and the finished film premiered a year later at Sundance '92. Indie distributor Miramax picked up the film and it was hailed as an instant classic upon its release. For the next two years Tarantino toured the world promoting his film, gaining fame, and finishing his next script, 'Pulp Fiction.' In 1994 the film was released amidst a sea of hype and advance publicity. It went on to win the coveted Palm d'Or at Cannes, earn over $100 million worldwide, and receive multiple Academy Award nominations. In the end, Tarantino took the Oscar for best original screenplay. Since that smashing success, Tarantino has appeared as an actor in a number of films, co-written and co-directed a segment for the film 'Four Rooms,' executive produced the re-release of some his childhood favorites, and even directed an episode of the most popular show on TV -- "ER." He has also produced, acted in, and helped write and direct the adaptation of one of his earlier scripts, 'From Dusk Till Dawn,' while Oliver Stone finally made 'Natural Born Killers.' Tarantino's next project was an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's crime classic 'Jackie Brown,' which was released on Christmas Day, 1997. Even though it didn't achieve the commercial or critical success of 'Pulp Fiction,' it proved to many of his critics that his earlier successes weren't flukes. [show less]