CineTV is running a contest at the moment, for each of us to write about our favourite directors. Here is a link to read the rules and get involved.
@cinetv/cinetv-contest-your-most-favorite-directors
Choosing one director over another is such a hard decision to make, because of many reasons. Most directors have their own style, sometimes it's hard to be able to choose one over another as it is the equivalent of choosing cheese or peanut butter. Both are great, but for different reasons.
While thinking long and hard about this contest though, I have made my choice.
"Quentin Tarantino"
Someone who I feel is a great director as he took Hollywood by storm in the early 90s and throughout the time has hit the cinemas over and over again with instant classics.
The reason I wanted to talk about Quentin though, more than his filmmaking, Is the fact that the guy didn't go to film school to get to where he is. Instead, he worked in a movie shop and just loved filmmaking that much, that he just went out and did it. It is inspirational for any filmmaker in the early stages of their career to look at people like this who were able to get out there and do it.
Side Note
While looking up how much the budget for Reservoir Dogs was I found out that it was 1.5 million, which they got because the Producer of the project Lawrence Bender gave the script to his acting teacher, whose wife gave the script to Harvey Keitel who liked it so much that he came on as a Co-Producer to help Tarantino and Bender raise the funds to make it.
Here is the Article if you want to read it.
The bottom line is it helps to have connections even if you're a nobody with no experience. But, more than that. It's important to write down the idea to the best quality possible. Because, without a script, your idea can never be picked up by someone willing to bet on you.
Why Do I like Quentin Tarantino
His writing is always great! Every single film of his I watch it grips me and leaves me sitting on the edge of my seat. I have learned so much while watching interviews with him and even reading his scripts online.
He really is a great writer. When I watch a Tarantino film, it doesn't feel like I'm watching a movie. Because of how he directs his actors and writes his scripts. It feels very informal as if you are just watching people talking. To me, they never feel like actors. Samuel L. Jackson has been in a bunch of his films. But, when I see him in Hateful 8 I never think. "Oh, there's Jules." He's the same actor being directed by the same director, reading lines written by the same writer. But, he's a totally different character. That goes for all of the actors in his films.
My First Tarantino Film
I'm sure the first film I saw of his was Pulp Fiction when I was about 13 or 14. I remember being an instant fan of him and then I went on to watch Reservoir Dogs and Dusk Till Dawn plus many more over the following years.
Pulp Fiction though was great, because of its soundtrack on top of everything else. Because, Tarantino is not only a film lover but, he's also a music lover. That first scene with the couple robbing the café and then that song kicking in. It's flawless and lets you know exactly what you're getting into within the first 5 minutes, which is exactly what a film should do.
I've never seen one of his films I don't like. I heard a lot of my friends complain about Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. For being long and boring. But, I thought it was great. I went to see it in the cinema and didn't take my eyes off the screen. I loved even the slow moments when it seems like nothing is happening or being said, which, in a longer film, I think is important. Maybe it wouldn't be one I'd go back and watch every couple of years, but, I will watch it again.
Another Thing I Like About Him
Is his stance on violent media. I'm a fan of Metal, Punk, Rap, and Gaming, as well as Film and Tv. I've loved all of these things since I was old enough to form my own opinion on what I liked and didn't like.
It seems though, that all of these things at one stage or another have been attacked in the media by idiots who say that violent media causes violent people. This is a load of crap in my opinion and Tarantino has taken a lot of flack for his films and has always been quick to talk back on the subject which I think is great, as he is usually able to form a coherent sentence that shoots down the claims, quicker than characters in his films shoot down each other.
One thing I'll say about violence while I'm on the subject. When watching Once Upon A Time in Hollywood that final scene happened with the Hippies being slaughtered by Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio and the whole cinema erupted like a pack of wolves. It was hilarious to me, it honestly felt like. I don't know how to describe it, it felt like I'd imagine the Roman arenas felt like watching the Gladiators fighting. Blood Thirst or something like that, it was crazy. But, I think most of that was because most people who watched the film knew about The Manson Family and Sharon Tate.
I think it was because getting towards the end, we were all nervous thinking, oh no. Please don't do what I think you're going to do Quentin. But, then he did the opposite which is great. Very like Inglorious Bastards, it's a nice way to gain a kind of fantasy what-if version. Which is what films should be.
Conclusion
Those are a few of the reasons why I chose Quentin Tarantino as my pick for my favourite director. It could of just as easily been anyone else, but, I think I made the right choice in choosing him as the subject of this write-up. Hope you enjoyed it.