Talk:Quentin Tarantino

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I've got an issue on this article, and I'd like to hear some opinions about it. In the short text you easily find words that are too prejudiced to be in an article, in my opinion, for instance: A stylish, witty yet bloody heist movie and later a highly stylized revenge flick. Does it give the reader any liberty at all? I mean, it breaks with every hermeneutic principle that I know of.. Just a thought.. - Sigg3.net 21:22, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)

You are free to edit as you please in order to bring the article to a NPOV. So, be bold. Of course, others may disagree, but this is a process. Dori | Talk 21:25, Nov 29, 2003 (UTC)

I think that I know too little about this man in order to write anything. I've seen quite a lot of his films, but as we all know we interpret them in our own ways, so my opinion in this matter must be that one should only state what films he has directed (etc.) and not what they are about.. Or how they are.. - Sigg3.net 21:45, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)

...i'm thinking about a paragraph about his influences, like kinji fukasaku. But I don't know enough about him. Help! Vincit 10:19, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC)

someone copied the following twice, not sure if had some new stuff or just a typo, feel free to delete once done checking - Dwarf Kirlston

Contents 1 Early Life section needs expansion 2 CSI: Grave Danger 3 Acting 4 IQ 160 5 Improvement drive 6 Half-Breed 7 Quentin Tarantino presents... 8 Repetitveness 9 Rumors and theories 10 Sex, Lies, and Independent Film 11 uncited Spike Lee claim 12 Early life? 13 Dyslexia 14 Trivia 15 Netherlands references? 16 Trademarks 17 Criticism - Borrowing 18 POV in intro blurb 19 Drugs and violence in real life - conflicting information 20 Trivia relocated here 21 Trivia 22 Creative Genius? 23 Never married? 24 Questionable Trademark...

[edit] Early Life section needs expansion

Overall this is a good article-- but the Early Life section is unusually brief, and expanding it would add interesting dimensions to the overall bio. Tarantino is a fascinating writer and director and I would love to know more about how he grew up.

I'm also curious about his personal philiosophies and political views (although-- on second thought-- the country is so divided right now-- maybe I don't want to know his political views-- because I don't want to see him persecuted either by the Rabid Right or the Lunatic Left).

Sean7phil 19:14, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] CSI: Grave Danger

I'm sure that the real reason the showing of gave danger was posponed in Britain after the 7/7 bombings is that the end of the part 1 involves a suspect blowing himself up. Should this be added to what is already mentioned or should it replace what is already here? Boyinabox

[edit] Acting

I found a mistake of yours: w tarantino also acted in jacky brown ...at least I think he did ..

I'm pretty sure he "acted" in Kill Bill Vol. 2 as Budd in the wedding rehersal scene. This may just be a piece of misplaced rumor, but it would be great if anyone could verify this.--Alfador 08:21, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

I'm a bit concerned about a teeny bit in the acting segment which states Tarantino can "barely be seen" in his extra part on "The Golden Girls". He's actually pretty easy to see. The source linked in the footnote goes to a store selling "Golden Girls" DVDs. Perhaps this link would be better? http://dvd.ign.com/articles/689/689660p1.html What do you think? 70.179.140.34 23:08, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] IQ 160

Does anyone know of a source for the claim that QT has an IQ of 160? I'm sure he's a very smart guy, but it's one of those pieces of netlore that I've seen batted around forever, and I tend to be skeptical of fannish unsourced claims of Einstein-level IQ's for celebrities.--Misterwindupbird 23:31, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Well...If I had to make a guess, I'd say 130...he has a curious taste for special plot context's. But 160...Nah, he's not that nerd. But then again: I don't see him as a celebrity...as just a geeky guy from a basement who has alot of movie knowledge and skills. And that ain't even an insult, just the facts. I'm sure I'd rather believe him be an "Einsten" rather than other's...regardless of "celebrity"-level. A general skepsis is always a bit of prejudice...but perhaps wise sometimes. You go do some research if you care more.--OleMurder 07:02, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, I can't believe that he has an IQ that high. He's probably a smart dude. 160 is just incredibly high. --Eleo 05:50, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't know Tarantino's IQ but I'd like to add this caution about oft misunderstood intelligence rankings--

'IQ's' tend to be combined scores (broadly math and verbal). Many brilliant artists may have a combined math and verbal IQ of say, only 130-- but their verbal IQ by itself may exceed 150.

Also some kinds of IQ are poorly measured by current testing-- for instance certain kinds of "artistic" or "creative" IQs.

IQ is not always such a simple thing...

Sean7phil 19:07, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Improvement drive

A related topic, Pulp fiction, is currently nominated on WP:IDRIVE. Vote for this article.--Fenice 06:51, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Half-Breed

I changed "half-breeds" to "bi-racial characters" in the trivia section. "Half-breeds" sounds like some neo-nazi jargon to me.--Graphic 05:34, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Half Breed's insulting

[edit] Quentin Tarantino presents...

If he doesn't direct these films, what excatly does he do? Just give them money? Or does he contribute with some ideas? could this be explained better?--Jaysscholar 03:17, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, first of all, he's behind the screenplay: Plot writing, sometimes even acting smaller roles. And helping the director. More or less. But you didn't need to me to say this...as soon as you do a little background check on the subject..you'll find out. Quentin (Not "QT", ach, shortings of names) ain't no man with secrets. Open n'honest.--OleMurder 07:02, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

If I'm not mistaken, he didn't do any of these things with regard to Hero. He just attached his name to the movie. With regard to Hostel, where exactly is it said that he's the executive producer? IMDb only lists him as presenter.--Scathane 09:03, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

He puts his name on them so that they are able to get a wider release. Jacknife737 01:23, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, see the Mirimax controversy under the movie Hero.

With the moive Hero - he paid for that to come to the U.S.

Maybe Tarantino could be best described as an unusually powerful screenwriter-- one who has significant influence on the director: A kind of "screen conductor" where the director is one of his star sopranos.

Sean7phil 19:22, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Repetitveness

This article repeats things a lot and needs to be cleaned up. Seems like a fairly easy task so I'll try to get around to it.--Elleohelle

Well, if you know the audience, you know what to say. And if you knew..heh... you wouldn't be sayin' that. But cleanin' up? Why not, go ahead and be a perfectionist ;)--OleMurder 07:02, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, see the Mirimax controversy under the movie Hero.

The article says "Ironically, he has been arrested twice for assault. " and "His only brush with "real" crime was an arrest for shoplifting Elmore Leonard's novel The Switch when he was 15 years old. " Which one is it, neither are cited. Natedogg635 00:03, 13 February 2007

With the moive Hero, he paid for that to come to the U.S. He didn't put his name on that movie to get a wider release. It wouldn't have even ever been released over here if he hadnt have paid for it to be shown in the U.S.

[edit] Rumors and theories

This text [1] was added on January 27th, if someone wants to readd it can you provide sources (you can't add your own theories or rumors). Thanks Arniep 16:46, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sex, Lies, and Independent Film

I added a refrence to Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape because I feel that it is just as pertinent to the 1990s independent film revolution as Pulp Fiction. Before the article read like Pulp Fiction singlehandedly set it off. Also, there is a reference to Pulp Fiction in the Soderbergh article. Any objections? Arbitrary arbiter 21:01, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

You could argue that other films are important too for the independent film revolution (like El Mariachi or The Usual Suspects). I thinks it's hard to say which films really had that big of an influence to it.--Wutschwlllm 12:16, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] uncited Spike Lee claim

A quick google found no such claim by Spike Lee, but if it's true please reinsert this back into Criticism with a citation:

The fact that Jimmie had a black wife was also seen as an insult, specifically by Spike Lee.

-213.219.161.27 02:40, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

something's messed with this article, it appears broken on the page

[edit] Early life?

It looks strange if you comprise events up to 2005 in the section titled 'Early life'. Of course, I wish Tarantino a very long and fruitful life, so that years before 2005 actually be his 'early life', but I think the designations in Wikipedia shoud be (and otherwise actually are) arranged more relatively.

[edit] Dyslexia

Is there any source for the claim that Tarantino is dyslexic? The only mention I've seen of it is on this page and various lists of famous dyslexic people.

[edit] Trivia

In the Trivia section, I found this one: "In spite of the liberal amounts of drug use and violence in his films, Tarantino strongly detests both in real life even though he is well known to smoke copious amounts of marijuana in between making films."

"It's well known" sounds a little like "The author thinks" or "The author has heard". I'm not familiar with this and I would like to know if it's a fact or not. Thank you --DocBrown 11:30, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

As far as Wikipedia's concerned, it's not a fact unless it's got a source. Nareek 11:40, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes, right. But I wanted to re check that on the talk page befor I delet it. Maybe the hole triva section should marked as laking sources. --DocBrown 20:36, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Actually I've read an interview where he claimed to use extacy fairly regularly. He also told an anecdote about getting into a pretty serious fight with a stranger, without seeming to show much remorse for it. risk 03:28, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

http://www.playboy.com/arts-entertainment/features/quentintarantino/ - there ya go. risk 03:44, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Quentin has a foot fetish. This is common knowledge to anyone who knows anything about him. Stop deleting it from the Trivia section please.

As far as Wikipedia's concerned, it's not a fact unless it's got a source.Skomorokh 19:54, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Nothing in the Trivia section lists any sources so why not delete it all?

[edit] Netherlands references?

The trivia section states that QT often incorporates references to the Netherlands in his movies (Vincent Vega referring to Amsterdam in Pulp Fiction, Sofie Fatale's ringtone in Kill Bill vol. 1 (which is the Dutch national anthem), The Bride's real name (Beatrix is the Queen of the Netherlands). Fair enough with the first, but SF's ringtone was Auld Lang Syne, not the Dutch national anthem, and surely having the same first name as someone else is fairly tenuous as a "reference" - by that logic, shouldn't you count Vincent Vega as also being a Dutch reference because he has the same first name as Vincent Van Gogh? So perhaps "sometimes" or "occasionally" or "rarely" rather than "often" might be better wording ... Daen 22:50, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trademarks

Isn't one of his trademarks the fact that he always has a small role in his own movies?
Codegrinder 21:35, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Criticism - Borrowing

Almost every statement in this section of the article is uncited and seems to either be original research or opinion. Someone should find references for these statements or they should be deleted. See original research and point of view.

Accusations of "stealing" are pretty common for Tarantino (not that I agree). I added a link to the Anti-Tarantino page that has a couple of videos ("Who Do You Think You're Fooling?" and "You're Still Not Fooling Anyone") juxtaposing scenes from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction with the movies they appear to reference. Is that enough to get rid of most of the citation warnings? 68.8.110.219 00:23, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

"Sadly, Tarantino (and co-director pal Robert Rodriguez) are now attempting to borrow the namesake of the company itself, unoriginally naming his new film Grind House in an apparent attempt to appeal to the huge and growing exploitation film audiences that Grindhouse Releasing has already cultivated and to which Tarantino's new horror / slasher film is aimed at."

The above sentence is clearly someone stating an opinion. In addition, the sentence itself ends with a preposition.

In Raold Dahl's short story, MAN FROM THE SOUTH, which can be found in collected works such as THE BEST OF RAOLD DAHL, there are two characters who make a bet concerning one of the character's lighter. The bet begins from one character's testiment that his lighter never fails. The other man bets his Cadillac and convinces the other character to bet his little finger that his lighter will not light ten times straight. Contrary to Tarantino's final scene in FOUR ROOMS, the lighter lights from the first to the eighth times, after which everyone is interrupted by the wife of the man who is putting up the Cadillac. She politely explains that the man has no Cadillac to bet with; it's hers. And she won it and everything else she has from him, as she holds up a hand with only one finger and a thumb on it. Strikingly similar to Tarantino's story though...

The line that says many scenes from Fellini's "8 1/2" are imitated in "Pulp Fiction" is highly dubious. I love both of these films and I see absolutely no correlation between either of them in any conceivable way. This line should probably be deleted. Additionally, most of these other accusations of plagiarism are unwarranted. Clearly, Tarantino presents his films in uniquely enough that these similarities should be considered allusions and influences, rather than ripoffs. Quentin uses a very wide range of influences when he makes his films, and most of those sources are rather obscure. His films would also dissolve into obscurity if it were not for some sort of individual identity that keeps millions of viewers (including scholars and critics) interested. I guess wherever there is success there will be people to slander those responsible, however baseless their complaints may be. Yeah, I guess you could say I'm a fan. MikeFlynn52 02:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

In other words the only way to be successful in the movie industry is to steal ideas from movies that will never make it to the US and call it borrowing.

[edit] POV in intro blurb

The introduction blurb seems to be pretty POV.. Maybe I'm wrong here? --Godtvisken 18:48, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

i think it's pretty accurate, but should probably be sourced. AlexOvShaolin 23:01, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Drugs and violence in real life - conflicting information

The 'Personal life' and 'Trademarks' sections contain conflicting information about Tarantino's "known detestment" of drugs and violence in real life. In the 'Personal life' section, it mentions Tarantino's claim that he despises drugs and violence, but goes on to say that he has been arrested for assualt twice and that he stated in an interview that he used drugs while filming. Then in the 'Trademarks' section, it mentions that he is known to detest drugs and violence without any sort of refutement, and in fact stating that he has only been arrested once (for theft, at the age of 15). Yossarianisdead 12:16, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia relocated here

[edit] Trivia

• He has stated that the character of Clarence in True Romance and My Best Friend's Birthday was somewhat autobiographical.
• He is dyslexic.
• Tarantino pushed for Chinese action filmmaker John Woo to make an American film. When a studio executive once said, "I suppose Woo can direct action scenes," Tarantino replied, "Sure, and Michelangelo can paint ceilings!"
• Was smitten with a documentary in development called Freedom's Fury about the Hungarian uprising of 1956. He described it as the "best story never told" and became an executive producer along with Lucy Liu.
• Was asked to play the president of the United States in Battle Royale 2.
• In the early-mid '90s, when Tarantino was bursting onto the scene, the satirical journal Private Eye featured a series of cartoons based on puns around his name. Memorable ones included: a hand holding a gun appearing out of a mug of hot drink saying, "Go to sleep, you fucking fuck!" with a caption "Ovaltarantino" (pun on Ovaltine); a man shouting at a group of four children and their dog, "Why don't you fucks fuck off and have a fucking adventure or something?!" with the caption "Uncle Quentin Tarantino" (referring to Uncle Quentin from Enid Blyton's Famous Five stories), and a spoof of The Telegraph's society column Peterborough, with Quentin Tarantino instead of its usual writer Quentin Letts.
• On an episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien in which Tarantino was a guest, O'Brien showed a mock Three Stooges skit said to be directed by Quentin Tarantino which had the Stooges doing their normal routines with excessive amounts of violence (such as Larry's eyes being gouged out).
• Tarantino is a huge fan of the "Half-Life" computer game series, and has considered possibilities of directing a movie adaptation.
• Tarantino was introduced by screenwriter and director Scott Spiegel to producer Lawrence Bender, who helped Tarantino get Reservoir Dogs made.
• Many fans of the TV series Kung Faux believe that Quentin Tarantino performs an uncredited voice over in a scene with his friend, RZA of the well known hip hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan, although series creator, producer, and director, Mic Neumann, consistently denies the story to be true.Nazamo 20:35, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Creative Genius?

Not to take anything away from his genius, but I would call him a "re-creative genius" first. Some people have criticized is borrowing from other films, but this is what makes his films so spectacular. He utilizes the "best of the best" from all the thousands of great films he has seen.

He has no lesser talent than other "creative geniuses", most of which borrow liberally from their past observations and experience to create a great film. Tarantino is simply more honest in not disguising his great cinematic effects as his own, but instead giving due credit to the many master film-makers of the past. Landroo 19:37, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Never married?

In the Daily News on sunday there's a picture of him with a weddinng band on [2].--69.113.131.124 15:00, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Questionable Trademark...

Okay, the idea of trademarks is somewhat suggestive, since just because it was noticed once or twice in his films, it can't necessarily be considered a "trademark" unless specfically stated so.

But anyway, the worst one was in the middle paragraph, about his "sometimes using biracial characters"; the guy in True Romance "is white, thinks he's black, and claims his mother is an Apache". Okay, it's true that was a white man. And it may also be true that he claims his mother is an Apache, whether or not she really was is irrelevant. When was it EVER stated that he believes himself to be an African-American? Because he kept the company of a large black bodyguard? Because of the 'way he spoke'?

This has 24 hours to be corrected, or I remove it myself. It's just stupid. lepetiterobot