2. Quentin Tarantino was born in Knoxville,
Tennessee March 27, 1963. His mother was
Connie McHugh and his father was Tony
Tarantino, who left him before he was born.
He soon moved to California where he spent
more time studying movies then he did school.
He worked at an adult film theater after
dropping out of school, while also taking acting
classes. He eventually got a job at the Video
Archives in Manhattan Beach California.
3. While working at the Video
Archives Tarantino wrote two
movie scripts, “Natural Born
Killers” and “True Romance”.
After leaving the Video Archives
he got a job working for a
production company called
Cinetel. There he was able to get
his script for “True Romance” to
Director Tony Scott, who bought
it. Then Oliver Stone showed
interest and bought the script to
“Natural Born Killers”.
4. In 1992 Quentin Tarantino releases his
written anddirected independent film,
“Reservoir Dogs” at the Sundance
Film Festival. It was thought of as one
of the best independent films of all
time. When Tarantino was able to get
the script to actor Harvey Keitel, he
came aboard as actor and producer of
the film. “Reservoir Dogs” was a
success in America and overseas,
building a huge buzz around the new
Writer/Director.
5. Two years later in 1994,
premiering at the Cannes Film
Festival, “Pulp Fiction” won the Palme d’Or
award. Then, after being nominated for 7
Academy Awards, Tarantino took home
the award for Best Screenplay. The
success for the film was not only with the
critics, but also financially as it earned
over $108 million in the box office.
6. In 1996 Quentin Tarantino
collaborated with Directed
Robert Rodriguez on the film
“From Dusk Till Dawn”.
Tarantino wrote the screenplay
and also co-starred in the movie
with George Clooney.
7. In 1997 Quentin Tarantino took on Directing the film “Jackie Brown” which
was an adaption of the Elmore Leonard Novel. Despite some criticism for
overusing the derogatory word for African-Americans, the film was
embraced as being a classic and recognized as a more mature film for him. It
was a star studded cast with performances that were thought of as being
spectacular all around.
8. After taking a break from film
making, Tarantino came back to
make the two “Kill Bill” martial-
arts revenge films, which were an
Idea him and Uma Thurman came
up with while filming “Pulp
Fiction”. The film was originally
meant to be a single film, but was
split into two due to the thinking
that it was too much to be
contained in one film. This
decision paid off, as they earned a
combined $130 million.
9. After “Kill Bill”, Tarantino teamed back up with Director and friend, Robert
Rodriguez to help Direct the Comic book adaption “Sin City”, which was his
first attempt at digital filmmaking. The duo collaborated again right after
to make a double feature called “Grindhouse”, which consisted of “Death
Proof”, Directed by Quentin Tarantino and “Planet Terror”, Directed by
Robert Rodriguez. This was a tribute to the 1970’s double feature films
that were seen in theaters, but it ended up flopping in the box office.
10. After years of working on his
World War II script, which he
started before “Kill Bill”, Tarantino
finally released the film
“Inglorious Bastards” in 2009.
The film got mixed reviews and
received some criticism but ended
up getting nominated for 8
Academy Awards.
11. In 2012 Quentin Tarantino
released “Django Unchained”, a
Western film which is his highest
grossing film to date. It was
another international box office
hit receiving an Academy Award
for Best Screenplay and had
several other Oscar nominations.
12. Quentin Tarantino has established himself as a revolutionary
Screenwriter/Director with a style that sets him apart from other
filmmakers. You can recognize his signature style in films when you see
shots directed towards or following feet, cameras shooting out of
briefcases or up towards the cast, and Samuel L. Jackson playing a
badass. Revenge also seems to be a big thing to him where most
violence is used as redemption.
Here’s a clip showing how he likes to focus on feet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Nxp3G7mj8
