“Director Profile: Quentin Tarantino” by Daniel Rester
Name: Quentin Jerome Tarantino
Birthday: March 27, 1963 (age 49)
Main Directorial Efforts: My Best Friend’s Birthday (1987), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012)
Films you must see before you die: Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction
Quick Facts to Know:
- Parents separated before his birth, so he was raised by his mother.
- Named after Burt Reynold’s character Quint Asper from “Gunsmoke.”
- Met Roger Avary while working at Video Archives in Manhattan Beach in the 80s.
- Played an Elvis impersonator on an episode of “The Golden Girls.”
- First directorial effort was My Best Friend’s Birthday, not Reservoir Dogs.
- Wrote the scripts for, but did not direct, True Romance and Natural Born Killers.
- Shook up Sundance in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs – though the film didn’t reach major popularity till later years.
- Pulp Fiction made him one of the most influential directors of modern cinema and won him an Oscar for Original Screenplay.
- Has been nominated for the Best Director Oscar twice (no wins), for Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds.
- Known for films that touch on multiple genres, have offbeat characters, come with flavorful and humorous dialogue, and show lots of bloody and stylish violence.
Famous Quotes:
- “I don’t believe in elitism. I don’t think the audience is this dumb person lower than me. I am the audience.”
- “I steal from every movie ever made.”
- “I want to top expectations. I want to blow you away.”
