While this isn’t technically movie news I thought I’d share with you this extensive piece from Vanity Fair looking back at the making of PULP FICTION. One of the reasons why Quentin Tarantino is loved by so many movie buffs is because of how much they can relate to him. This isn’t a guy that went to school to become a director or spent time interning at a studio and worked his way up. Hell, he didn’t even finish high school. But his passion and knowledge for movies are why Quentin Tarantino is where he is today. That appreciation for films is the same reason why sites like this exist, why all of YOU go to these sites every single day, and why we at JoBlo absolutely love what we do.
The article is pretty long and covers Tarantino’s days as a video clerk to his triumphant Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay, but I thought I’d throw in some quotes that caught my eye.
A letter from a studio representative sent to Quentin Tarantino‘s early manager Cathryn Jaymes about his script for TRUE ROMANCE being too vulgar:
“Dear F*cking Cathryn,
How dare you send me this f*cking piece of shit. You must be out of your f*cking mind. You want to know how I feel about it? Here’s your f*cking piece of shit back. F*ck you.”
Typist Linda Chen on Tarantino’s writing:
“His handwriting is atrocious. He’s a functional illiterate. I was averaging about 9,000 grammatical errors per page. After I would correct them, he would try to put back the errors, because he liked them.”
Harvey Keitel on his first meeting with Quentin Tarantino:
“I opened the door, and it was this tall, gawky-looking guy staring at me, and he says, ‘Harvey Kee-tel?’ And I said, ‘It’s Kye-tel,’ ” the actor remembers. “And it began there. I offered him something to eat, and he ate a lot. I said, ‘How’d you come to write this script? Did you live in a tough-guy neighborhood growing up?’ He said no. I said, ‘Was anybody in your family connected with tough guys?’ He said no. I said, ‘Well, how the hell did you come to write this?’ And he said, ‘I watch movies.’ ”
Film producer Richard Gladstein talking about Harvey Weinstein‘s reaction to the script for PULP FICTION:
“He called me two hours later and said, ‘The first scene is f*cking brilliant. Does it stay this good?’ ” remembers Gladstein. He called again an hour later, having read to the point where the main character, the hit man Vincent Vega, is shot and killed. “Are you guys crazy?” he yelled. “You just killed off the main character in the middle of the movie!”
“Just keep reading,” said Gladstein. “And Harvey says, ‘Start negotiating!’ So I did, and he called back shortly thereafter and said, ‘Are you closed yet?’ I said, ‘I’m into it.’ Harvey said, ‘Hurry up! We’re making this movie.’ ”
I could keep going but really you should read it for yourself. There’s a ton of quotes from actors and producers, and just awesome nuggets of information scattered throughout the article. It’s the type of article that I could see Quentin Tarantino reading and loving back when he was stuck behind the counter at Video Archives. Enjoy.