Quentin Tarantino - Biography

Last Editor: carasanch2				Quentin Tarantino Biography -   Name : Quentin Tarantino Profession : Film director, actor Birth Details : born March 27, 1963 Birth name : Quentin Jerome Tarantino Height : 6' 2½" (1.89 m) Nickname : QT Personal quotes : (at MTV Movie Awards 1994) as he won Best Picture for Pulp Fiction (1994)) "Pop quiz, hotshot: you go to the awards ceremonies all year long; you Trade mark : His main characters drive cars from Chevrolet, such as Jules' 1974 Nova and Vincent's 1960s Malibu. He often frames characters with doorways and shows

Quentin Tarantino Trivia -

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 _"X Files, The" (1993)_ 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 (1978) or the film King Lear (1987) 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 Jeanie" (1965)_ , "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979), Mr. T (_"A-Team" (1983)_ , 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. Director Spike Lee criticized Tarantino for the excessive use of racial slurs in his film Jackie Brown (1997). Quentin said on "Howard Stern Show, The' (1993_. Spike was just mad because "nobody goes to see Spike's films anymore." When Quentin said this in 1998, Spike's movie He Got Game (1998) was currently number one at the box office in the USA. Is widely reported to have helped to write Tony Scott's Crimson Tide (1995). As of the year 2001 he wanted to begin filming the film Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) with Uma Thurman. Production was delayed because of Thurman's pregnancy. Is a big "Three Stooges" fan. 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 (1982), which he references in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). Was the head judge at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where Pulp Fiction (1994) 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 (1965) 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 (1994) 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 (1992). 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" (1955) 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 (1990)_ ), while in an interview with Charlie Rose, he cited his three favorite films as: Blow Out (1981) (dir. Brian De Palma), Rio Bravo (1959) (dir. Howard Hawks) and Taxi Driver (1978) (dir. Martin Scorsese). In the last Sight & Sound Greatest Films Poll (2002), he listed his Top Ten films as: Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) (aka "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Leone), Rio Bravo (1959) (Hawks), Taxi Driver (1976) (Scorsese), His Girl Friday (1940) (Hawks), Rolling Thunder (1977) (Flynn), They All Laughed (1981) (Bogdanovich), The Great Escape (1963) (J. Sturges), Carrie (1976) (De Palma), Coffy (1973) (Hill), Dazed and Confused (1993) (Linklater), _Tian xia di yi quan (1973)_ (aka "Five Fingers of Death," Chang) and Hi Diddle Diddle (1943) (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 (2005) 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" (1992), he told him that his all time favorite James Bond Film is From Russia with Love (1963). 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 (1993) at #75, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) at #73, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) at #26, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) at #25, Reservoir Dogs (1992) at #11, and Pulp Fiction (1994) at #1. Was offered the role of the President of the USA in _Batoru rowaiaru II: Rekuiemu (2003)_ 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 (1992)_ ), David Carradine (_Kill Bill: Vol. II (2004)_ ), Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), Pam Grier (_Jackie Brown (2000)_ ), Robert Forster (_Jackie Brown (2000)_ ), Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003))... even in smaller/cameo roles: Sid Haig (_Jackie Brown (2000)_ , Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)), Edward Bunker (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), and Michael Parks (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) , Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), 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 (1959) his favorite movie. Named his production company, A Band Apart, after the Jean-Luc Godard film Bande à part (1964) (Band of Outsiders). Often references numerous attributes of the works of Jean-Luc Godard, particularly in Pulp Fiction (1994). The disjointed structure of Pulp Fiction (1994) may itself be an homage to Godard's use of jump cuts in À bout de souffle (1960) (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 (2005) as guest director Eli Roth wanted to have the world premiere of Hostel (2005) 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.

Quentin Tarantino Detailed Biography -

Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and Oscar winning screenwriter who rapidly rose to fame in the early 1990s as a stylish auteur whose bold use of nonlinear storylines, memorable dialogue, and bloody violence brought new life to familiar American film archetypes. He is the most famous of the young directors behind the independent film revolution of the 1990s, well-known for his public persona as a motor-mouthed, geeky hipster with an encyclopedic knowledge of both popular and art-house cinema. Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to Tony Tarantino, an actor and musician of Italian descent, and Connie McHugh of half-Irish and half-Cherokee Indian extraction, who, shortly after his birth married musician Curt Zastoupil with whom Quentin would form a strong bond. He attended kindergarten in San Gabriel Valley from 1968. In 1971 the family moved to El Segundo, in the South Bay area of Los Angeles where Tarantino attended Hawthorne Christian School. Dropping out of Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California at the age of sixteen, he went on to learn acting at the James Best Theatre Company. At the age of 22, he wrote his first script, Captain Peachfuzz and the Anchovy Bandit. In 1984, Tarantino started working at the Manhattan Beach Video Archives where he struck up a friendship with fellow worker Roger Avary with whom he would later collaborate. He continued to study acting at Allen Garfield's Actors' Shelter in Beverly Hills but began to concentrate mainly on script writing. While employed as a video store clerk, Tarantino penned the script for Natural Born Killers. He sold the script to a movie make-up company for $1,500 and the promise to do the make-up on a future film that would turn out to be Reservoir Dogs. His first major break came with the sale of another script called True Romance, written with Roger Avary. It was made into a film starring Patricia Arquette and Christian Slater. He wrote the original screenplay for Natural Born Killers as part of the longer screenplay that True Romance came from. It should be acknowledged that it was changed significantly by subsequent writers (including Oliver Stone), so much so that he declined a Screenwriting credit in lieu of a Story credit. The sale of True Romance (eventually released in 1993) garnered him attention. He met Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party and Bender encouraged Tarantino to go write a film. The end product was Reservoir Dogs (1992), a stylish, witty, and blood-soaked heist movie that set the tone for his later films. The script was read by director Monte Hellman who helped secure funding from Live Entertainment and also Tarantino's directorship of the film. Harvey Keitel heard of the script through his wife, who attended a class with Lawrence Bender (see Reservoir Dogs special edition DVD commentary for the full story). He read the script and also contributed to funding, took an Executive Producer role, and a lead in the movie. Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney are the Gecko brothers in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Following the success of Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino was approached by Hollywood and offered numerous projects, including Speed and Men In Black. He instead retreated to Amsterdam to work on his script for Pulp Fiction. When finally released, the film won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1994 Cannes film festival and practically revolutionised the independent film industry. It was a complexly plotted film with a similarly brutal wit. It featured many critically acclaimed performances, and was noted for reviving the career of John Travolta. Pulp Fiction also earned Tarantino and Avery Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, and it was also nominated for Best Picture. After Pulp Fiction he directed episode four of Four Rooms, The Man from Hollywood, a remake of an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode that starred Steve McQueen. Four Rooms is a collaborative effort with filmmakers Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell and Robert Rodriguez. Tarantino's next film was Jackie Brown (1997), an adaptation of a novel by his mentor Elmore Leonard. An homage to blaxploitation films, it also starred Pam Grier, who starred in many of that genre's films of the 1970s. In 1998, he turned his attention to the Broadway stage, where he starred in a revival of Wait Until Dark. He had then planned to make the war film Inglorious Bastards. However, he postponed that to write and direct Kill Bill (released as two films, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2), a highly stylized "revenge flick" in the cinematic traditions of Wuxia (Chinese martial arts), Japanese film, Spaghetti Westerns and Italian horror or giallo . It was based on a character (The Bride) and plot that he and Kill Bill's lead actress, Uma Thurman had developed during the making of Pulp Fiction. In 2004, Tarantino returned to Cannes where he served as President of the Jury. Kill Bill was not in competition, but it did screen on the final night in its original 3+ hour version. Tarantino is given credit as "Special Guest Director" for his work directing the car sequence between Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro of the 2005 neo-noir film Sin City. On February 24, 2005 it was announced he would direct the season finale of CSI. The two-hour episode, "Grave Danger," was aired on May 19 to stellar ratings and reviews. He also directed an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Although Tarantino is best known for his work behind the camera, he has also appeared on the small screen in the first and third seasons of the TV show Alias. In 2005, Tarantino announced his current project is Grind House, which he is co-directing with Robert Rodriguez. He has stated he will "probably" follow that with Inglorious Bastards, but that he needed to spend another year working on the script before filming, making a 2006 release extremely unlikely. Among his current producing credits are the horror flick, Hostel (which included numerous references to his own Pulp Fiction), the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Killshot (which Tarantino had once written a script for) and Hell Ride (written & directed by Kill Bill star Larry Bishop). In 2005 Quentin Tarantino won the Icon Of The Decade award at the Empire Movie Awards.