Quentin Tarantino is one of the greatest living directors of our time.In a career spanning over 30 years, we have seen him act, direct, produce, and even write screenplays for a plethora of movies. Tarantino has won two Academy Awards for original screenplay.Quentin Tarantino stands out from the rest of the directors working in the Hollywood movie industry today. In his films, the audience is never sure what to expect in the next scene. Tarantino is mainly interested in themes ranging from dark comedies, western spaghetti dramas, crime thrillers, and more. The idea of vengeance is a prominent one in some of his films.Although he has not made more than 10 films, most of Tarantino’s films have been blockbusters. So it is no wonder then that he is currently worth more than 90 million dollars. To think that he made all this fortune without even finishing school!Early Life: Quentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino was born in the town of Knoxville in the state of Tennessee on March 27, 1963. His father, Tony Tarantino, was a struggling actor. He has Italian parentage from his father’s side. Through his mother, Connie Mchugh, he inherited west European and Native American ancestry.Although he did enrol himself in the James Best Theatre Company for acting classes, he left it after two years. When asked later why he did not study film, he famously replied, “I didn’t go to film schools; I went to films.“After leaving acting school, Tarantino found his first job in a video rental shop. It was here that he studied in close range the taste of the customers who came in every day to ask for their favourite movie DVDs. His favourite films included Federico Fellini’s iconic ‘8½’. The dance sequence in ‘Pulp Fiction’ is a tribute to this film. Tarantino read the works of novelist Elmore Leonard around this time and took inspiration from his book ‘Rum Punch’ to make Pam Grier and Robert Forster star in the movie ‘Jackie Brown’ in 1997. Tarantino would go on to use his cinema knowledge to pen screenplays for films such as ‘Natural Born Killers’.Career: Quentin TarantinoIn the earliest days of his Hollywood foray, QT would be going from one audition to the other, looking for small parts to play in films. He did get to play Elvis Presley in the television series, ‘The Golden Girls’.It was at that stage when he was in his late twenties, that he met producer Lawrence Bender at a party. Bender pushed Tarantino to attempt writing a movie screenplay, and this began the latter’s foray into the movie industry. After a few failures, he was able to partially write and direct the first movie of his career, ‘My Best Friend’s Birthday’. This 1987 film was left incomplete, but it would later become the groundwork for ‘True Romance’, a 1993 film that was written by Tarantino. ‘True Romance’ was directed by Tony Scott. Tarantino broke into the big league in 1992 with ‘Reservoir Dogs’. This crime thriller featuring an ensemble cast received raving reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. It had Michael Madsen in one of the leading roles, and the part was originally called Vic Vega in the film. What is interesting is that John Travolta’s character in ‘Pulp Fiction’ is called Vincent Vega. Tarantino later clarified that the two were, in fact, brothers! Furthermore, two QT characters from ‘Death Proof’, Michael Parks and James Parks, can be seen in ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’, ‘Kill Bill’, and ‘From Dusk Till Dawn 2’, all of which were either written or directed by Tarantino. Actor Harvey Keitel, who starred in ‘Reservoir Dogs’, bore a major chunk of the expenses incurred during the making of this movie. Since tasting success with ‘Reservoir Dogs’, Tarantino has gone on to direct several cult movies such as ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Jackie Brown’, ‘Death Proof’, the ‘Kill Bill’ movies. His relatively new films include ‘The Hateful Eight’ and ‘Django Unchained’. The latter starred Jamie Foxx and was very successful in the box office.Early Influences: Quentin TarantinoTarantino has said time and time again that he grew up loving movies. He has also thanked his mother for allowing him to watch movies at home without any restrictions. By the time he was a teenager, Tarantino had already developed a vast knowledge of movies. He knew he was cut out for the world of cinema.Tarantino became friends with Robert Rodriguez when the two of them were looking to showcase their talents in the industry. The two have continued helping each other ever since. Tarantino had directed a little portion of Sin City, directed by Robert Rodriguez, while the latter composed the score for ‘Kill Bill’.Tarantino’s ways are often seen to be unconventional and sometimes problematic. He convinced Uma Thurman to play the part of Mia Wallace in ‘Pulp Fiction’ over a telephone call. He made Leonardo Dicaprio utter racial slurs to such an extent that the actor experienced a nervous breakdown on set. It was only after the intervention of Samuel L Jackson that Dicaprio could continue with the scene.Film Critics: Quentin TarantinoFrom the time that Tarantino arrived in the scene with the critically acclaimed ‘Reservoir Dogs’ (1992), most of his movies have been rated highly by filmgoers and critics alike. Tarantino likes to make movies that involve the active participation of his viewers. For example, we never find out what lies inside the briefcase in the film ‘Pulp Fiction’. Throughout the movie, Tarantino keeps the audience guessing. Since Tarantino movies are generally rated ‘R’, they involve a lot of violence. Take, for example, the movie ‘Kill Bill Vol 1’ or ‘Death Proof’. Some observers view this amount of violence as disturbing for the common people. Tarantino, however, has remained steadfast in his craft, and he views his style as an expression of his artistic mind. Two types of camera angles have become associated with Tarantino because of the rate at which he used them in his films. One is the ’trunk shot’, where the camera is placed inside the boot of the car, and the other is the ‘deadman or unconscious shot’, where the camera is placed on a dead or unconscious person’s body.Tarantino is loved and respected by most actors and actresses who have worked with him. In many instances, the people who have worked with Tarantino have either won or been nominated in the Academy Awards acting categories after playing memorable screen roles. Brad Pitt won for his part in ‘Once Upon a Time in America’; Christoph Waltz won for ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and again for ‘Django Unchained’. Leonardo Dicaprio was nominated for ‘Once Upon a Time in America’; John Travolta for ‘Pulp Fiction’, Uma Thurman and Samuel L Jackson for ‘Pulp Fiction’.One of America’s most loved directors, Tarantino has always stated that he would retire from directing after his 10th film. After which, he plans to turn into a full-time author and writer. Even if he stops making movies, it will not erase the fact that Quentin Tarantino has already created a legacy for himself in the world of cinema.The director has been married to Israeli singer and model Daniella Pick since 2018. They welcomed their first child in 2020.
Quentin Tarantino is one of the greatest living directors of our time.
