May 25, 2012

Screenwriter of the Week: Quentin Tarantino

by MovieMaker Staff | Published April 2, 2007

It’s nearly impossible to find a moviemaker or film enthusiast who has not heard of Quentin Tarantino. One of the industry’s living legends, his is a career and creative mind many aspire to emulate. While the tale of Tarantino’s road to fame is, by now, tired--weaned on movies as a video store clerk in California, discovered by its patrons, somehow made the right connections and landed himself at Sundance--his movies are anything but. The mind of this man is a complicated, pop-culture sieve, intuitively holding tight to meaty (and not-so-meaty) morsels and relieving itself of the rest. This is how he crafts one clever, absorbing screenplay after another--and the reason so many pay to enjoy them.

His half of the highly-anticipated Grindhouse, in theaters April 6, will undoubtedly do the same, proving that wit and form can prevail over the crowd-pleasing fare dominating the box office of late. It is, however, at times ironic that this type of crowd-pleasing fare is what inspires the screenwriter to new lengths, and has, in the past, helped to earn him nominations and awards from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, BAFTA, Cannes and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Tarantino’s unorthodox dialogue--interlocked with rigorous action sequences--has made Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn, Jackie Brown and Kill Bill: Vols. 1 & 2 critical and popular darlings. When not in the director’s chair himself, Tarantino’s slick imagery has been transformed by the likes of Tony Scott (True Romance) and Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers). All said, this screenwriter’s work has carved out its own niche in the continuum of film studies and already left its mark on the moviemaking community.

Sound off: Quentin Tarantino is well-known for his controversial subject matter and lightning-fast discourse. Together, they form some of moviemaking history’s best speeches. Which of this screenwriter’s memorable lines or conversations do you think deserves a top spot on the list? Everyone has got an opinion on this--share yours in our comments sections!
--Mallory Potosky