In January of 1992 a film titled Reservoir Dogs hit the Sundance Film festival. The writer-director was a first-timer by the name of Quentin Tarantino. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend in the England, UK and the cult film circuit. Two years later he followed up 'Dogs' with the film Pulp Fiction. 'Pulp' premiered at the Cannes film festival, where it won the coveted 'Palme D'Or' the virtual equal of the Best Picture at the Academy Awards. At the 1995 Academy Awards, 'Pulp' was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, also for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, among others. Tarantino and writing partner Roger Avary came away with the award only for Best Original Screenplay. In 1995, Tarantino directed one fourth of the Anthology Four Rooms with friends and fellow auteurs Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, and Allison Anders. That film was released on December 25th in the United States to very weak reviews. This is mainly due to the heavy cutting of the first two segments and the introduction which make much of the plotline unintelligible, and creates a complete mess out of the second segment, directed by Alexandre Rockwell. The best two segments of the film are Robert Rodriguez's and Tarantino's. Tarantino's next film was From Dusk Till Dawn, a crime/vampire film which he wrote and co-starred with George Clooney. The film did fairly well theatrically.
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 The X-Files 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 or the film King Lear 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, The Dukes of Hazzard, Mr. T (The A-Team, 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. As of the year 2001, he wanted to begin filming the film Kill Bill: Vol. 1 with Uma Thurman. Production was delayed because of Thurman's pregnancy. Is a big fan of The Three Stooges. 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, which he references in Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Was the head judge at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where Pulp Fiction 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 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 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. 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 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 (post-Pulp Fiction), while in an interview with Charlie Rose, he cited his three favorite films as: Blow Out (dir. Brian De Palma), Rio Bravo (dir. Howard Hawks) and Taxi Driver (dir. Martin Scorsese). In the last Sight & Sound Greatest Films Poll (2002), he listed his Top Ten films as: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (aka "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Leone), Rio Bravo (Hawks), Taxi Driver (Scorsese), His Girl Friday (Hawks), Rolling Thunder (Flynn), They All Laughed (Bogdanovich), The Great Escape (J. Sturges), Carrie (De Palma), Coffy (Hill), Dazed and Confused (Linklater), _Tian xia di yi quan (1973)_ (aka "Five Fingers of Death," Chang) and Hi Diddle Diddle (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 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, he told him that his all time favorite James Bond Film is From Russia with Love. 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 at #75, From Dusk Till Dawn at #73, Vol. 2 at #26, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 at #25, Reservoir Dogs at #11, and Pulp Fiction at #1. Was offered the role of the President of the United States of America in Battle Royale II 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), David Carradine(Vol. 2), Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown), Robert Forster (Jackie Brown), Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill: Vol. 1)... even in smaller/cameo roles: Sid Haig (Jackie Brown, Vol. 2), Edward Bunker (Reservoir Dogs) and Michael Parks (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and From Dusk Till Dawn, 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 as one of his favorite films. Named his production company, A Band Apart, after the Jean-Luc Godard film Band of Outsiders (Band of Outsiders). Often references numerous attributes of the works of Jean-Luc Godard, particularly in Pulp Fiction. The disjointed structure of Pulp Fiction may itself be an homage to Godard's use of jump cuts in Breathless (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 as guest director Eli Roth wanted to have the world premiere of Hostel 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. Was originally offered the chance to direct Men in Black, but turned it down. Was originally offered the chance to direct Speed, but turned it down. 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. Is spoofed by a character named "Quentin Tarentino" in the short film Let's Get Real!, which contains several satirical references to Pulp Fiction. Has stated that he would like to make and star in a film telling the story of John Brown, the abolitionist. Named his favorite films of 2005 as Sin City, Domino, Hustle & Flow and The Devil's Rejects.