Awesomely Opinionated Quentin Tarantino Quotes to Start Your Week
With razor-sharp writing that often turns into profanely poetic dialogue, Quentin Tarantino has Tinseltown in the palm of his hand—so much so that nearly every movie he does becomes an instant cult-classic. Is there an actor who doesn't drop everything to work with him? None that we've heard.
And while of course it's amazing to hear his characters speak the words he's written, this occasional actor is no stranger to the spotlight and is a legendary interview. Here, his greatest hits.
1. “I was kind of excited about going to jail the first time and I learnt some great dialogue.”
2. “Anything that I'm not interested in, I can't even feign interest.”
3. “When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films.’”
4. “I'm not a Hollywood basher because enough good movies come out of the Hollywood system every year to justify its existence, without any apologies.”
5. “To me, movies and music go hand in hand. When I'm writing a script, one of the first things I do is find the music I'm going to play for the opening sequence.”
6. “My plan is to have a theatre in some small town or something and I'll be manager. I'll be the crazy old movie guy.”
7. "I don't think the audience is this dumb person lower than me. I am the audience."
8. “Sure, Kill Bill is a violent movie. But it's a Tarantino movie. You don't go to see Metallica and ask the f***ers to turn the music down."
9. "When I was on The View, Barbara Walters was asking me about the blood and stuff, and I said, 'Well, you know, that's a staple of Japanese cinema.' And then she came back, 'But this is America.' And I go, 'I don't make movies for America. I make movies for planet Earth.'"
10. "When you gotta go out and make a movie to pay for the kid's private school and for the three ex-wives, don't talk to me about your artistry. It's their job. It's not my job. It's my calling."
11. "CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was real cars, real metal, real blasts. They're really doing it and risking their lives."
(Why yes, that is Clooney with a neck tattoo!)
12. "I was trying to do like a Spaghetti Western but using World War II iconography."
13. "Instead of critics reviewing my movies, now what they're really doing is trying to match wits with me. Every time they review my movies, it's like they want to play chess with the mastermind and show off every reference they can find, even when half of it is all of their own making."
14. "This movie was never meant to be everything for everybody. And I don't mean that as a slam. I'm just saying I made this movie for myself and everybody else is invited."
15. "If I'm on an airplane, a Kate Hudson movie is what I'm looking for. I'll sit there and I'll cry. I think it's the altitude or something like that."
16. "It's a standard staple in Japanese cinema to cut somebody's arm off and have red water hoses for veins, spraying blood everywhere."
17. "Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.”
Ethan Wolff-Mann is an editor at Supercompressor. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.