Quentin Tarantino is undoubtedly one of the greatest Hollywood directors of all time. His films are often characterized by violence, non-linear storytelling, and pastiches. As a result, the term "Tarantino-esque" has been coined to refer to his style of filmmaking.
Tarantino has vowed to retire after making his 10th film, but fans do hope he changes his mind. While the director's movies are well known, there are several details about his career and personal life that the public isn't familiar with. Here are a few facts about Quentin Tarantino you probably didn't know.
He Taught Himself How To Make Movies
Tarantino learned how to make movies while working as a video store clerk. He would spend hours watching movies while at work and learned a lot from them. According to the director, he discovered his love for French New Wave and Hong Kong crime films while at the store.
He would later incorporate many elements that had been used in these movies while making his own. And he has always been honest about it, saying, "I steal from every great movie ever made." Tarantino, who began working at the store when he was 22, also wrote the scripts for True Romance during his time there.
He Came Up With The Idea Of Death Proof Due To His Fear Of Car Crashes
Even though it bombed at the box office, it is considered a masterpiece by film critics. The movie follows a man named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), who enjoys killing women by crashing into their cars with his modified stunt-proofed vehicle.
Tarantino came up with the idea after buying a brand new Volvo. He opened up to a friend about how his greatest fear is dying in a car crash. The friend then told him that he could simply give the car to a stunt team and for about $15,000 dollars, they could death-proof it for him and make it totally safe.
He Created The Character Of Jules From Pulp Fiction Specifically For Samuel L. Jackson
There is no other actor that Tarantino enjoys working with more than Samuel L. Jackson. The director has cast Jackson in six of his movies to date. But before the two became frequent collaborators, Jackson had auditioned for Tarantino's first movie, Reservoir Dogs, and failed to get his desired part.
Jackson had auditioned for the part of Mr. Orange's trainer, but the role was given to Randy Brooks instead. However, Tarantino still liked Jackson and figured he had the perfect character in mind for him. He then created the Pulp Fiction and called him personally to offer him the role.
Parts Of His First Film Were Destroyed During A Lab Fire
Tarantino’s first film was meant to be My Best Friend’s Birthday. He co-wrote the screenplay with a friend and used his colleagues at the video store as actors. He borrowed a camera from a director friend and used $5,000 that he had saved from his paycheque to pay the cast and crew.
The amateur film took about three years to make. The final cut ended up being about 70 minutes long, but some parts of it were destroyed during a lab fire, leaving only 36 minutes. The surviving footage can only be found on YouTube.
He Is Anti-Streaming
Tarantino isn't a fan of streaming movies. He has confessed to missing the days when movie lovers would go to video stores and think long and hard before selecting a movie because they had dedicated much time, effort, and money into getting it. According to him, people watch anything nowadays.
This means that we are unlikely to get a Netflix original from the director anytime soon. During an interview with The Playlist, he said, "In the video store, you made a tough choice, and maybe you talked to the guy behind the counter first. And he didn’t recommend anything. He gave you the best movie and then gave you a little bit of a sales pitch on it to some degree or another."
He Was Named After A Burt Reynold's Character
Quentin Tarantino was named after the Burt Reynolds character Quint Asper from the western CBS drama, Gunsmoke. The television series is one of the longest-running Hollywood productions of any kind, airing for 20 seasons and 635 episodes from 1955 to 1975.
The director has often stated that being named after one of Reynold's characters was an honor. Reynold's is regarded as one of the best actors of all time. He was voted the number one box office star in the world for five consecutive years (from 1978 to 1982
He Almost Made Casino Royale
Before Martin Campbell was brought on as director and Daniel Craig was cast as Bond, Tarantino was very interested in making Casino Royale. He wanted to keep Pierce Brosnan as Bond and also cast his favorite actress Uma Turman as Bond's lover Vesper Lynd.
Tarantino apparently wanted Casino Royale to pick up where On Her Majesty’s Secret Service left off. Bond would be mourning the death of his wife then he'd meet Vesper. He pitched his idea to the Broccolis, but they turned him down and rebooted the franchise instead.
He Has A Very High IQ
Yahoo did a ranking of all celebrities who have ever taken an IQ test and Quentin Tarantino is up there with a score of 160. That makes him tied with Stephen Hawking. It's now understandable why the movies he makes are often so out-of-the-box.
Despite being very intelligent, Tarantino hated school. He once told Entertainment Weekly that he only liked history as a subject "because it was kind of like the movies." We can all agree that he made the right life choice, either way.
He Wrote The Script For Inglourious Basterds In The 90s
Inglourious Basterds had one of the best plots in Tarantino's catalog. The film was widely praised by critics and ended up being nominated for eight Oscars and numerous other awards from different organizations. It also grossed $340 million at the box.
Interestingly, Tarantino was reluctant to make it at first. He wrote the screenplay in 1998 but shelved it. He chose to make Kill Bill instead. Eleven years would before the film hit theaters. Lesson: what you are sitting on might just be a game-changer.
He Lives In Israel
Yout must have thought that Tarantino spends his free time inside a mansion in Beverly Hills, but this is not the case. The director relocated to Ramat Aviv Gimel, Israel, where he lives with his wife, Israeli model, Daniella Prick. The two welcomed a child early this year.
In an interview with The Jewish News Syndicate, he said, “I love the country, and the people are really nice, very nice to me, and they seem excited that I’m here.” The directly makes frequent trips to the US and other countries for work purposes.
