Quentin Tarantino is an American director, writer, and actor. His films are characterized by nonlinear storylines; satirical subject matter; an aestheticization of violence; extended scenes of dialogue; ensemble casts consisting of established and lesser-known performers; references to popular culture and a wide variety of other films; soundtracks primarily containing songs and score pieces from the 1960s to the 1980s; and features of neo-noir film. Tarantino’s films have garnered both critical and commercial success. He has received many industry awards, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and the Palme d’Or, and has been nominated for an Emmy and a Grammy. In 2005, he was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. May his quotes inspire you to take action so that you may live your dreams.
1. “I actually think one of my strengths is my storytelling.” Quentin Tarantino
2. “You don’t have to know how to make a movie. If you truly love cinema with all your heart and with enough passion, you can’t help but make a good movie.” Quentin Tarantino
3. “I don’t believe you should stay onstage until people are begging you to get off. I like the idea of leaving them wanting a bit more.” Quentin Tarantino
4. “If you have the passion to do it, and you do it and it doesn’t work out — I worked for 3 years on a 16mm movie that became nothing but guitar picks. And I was very disappointed when I realized it wasn’t any good. But it was my film school — and I actually got away really cheap. When it was all over I knew how to make a movie.” Quentin Tarantino
5. “As a writer, I demand the right to write any character in the world that I want to write. I demand the right to be them, I demand the right to think them and I demand the right to tell the truth as I see they are.” Quentin Tarantino
6. “You should be able to criticize civil servants for what you think is wrongdoing without being painted as a cop-hater. I don’t feel the police are all corrupt, however, I do feel they are suffering from institutional racism and there needs to be a top-to-bottom examination of the way they practice and the way they criminalize young black and brown males.” Quentin Tarantino
7. “Emotion will always win over coolness and cleverness. It’s when a scene works emotionally and it’s cool and clever, then it’s great. That’s what you want.” Quentin Tarantino
8. “If there is something magic about the collaborations I have with actors it’s because I put the character first.” Quentin Tarantino
9. “One of the things about writing a novel is you can do it any way you want. It’s your voice that’s important and I see absolutely no reason why a screenplay can’t be the same. It makes it a hell of a lot easier when you’re the writer and the director.” Quentin Tarantino
10. “In real life there are no bad guys. Everybody just has their own perspective.” Quentin Tarantino
11. “If you want to make a movie, make it. Don’t wait for a grant, don’t wait for the perfect circumstances, just make it.” Quentin Tarantino
12. “There are two ways: my way and the highway.” Quentin Tarantino
13. “If you go out and see a lot of movies in a given year, it’s really hard to come up with a top ten, because you saw a lot of stuff that you liked. A top 20 is easier. You probably get one masterpiece a year, and I don’t think you should expect more than one masterpiece a year, except in a really great year.” Quentin Tarantino
14. “You should be semi-embarrassed about certain people seeing your movie.” Quentin Tarantino
15. “Just because you are a character doesn’t mean you have character.” Quentin Tarantino
16. “Movies are not about the weekend that they’re released, and in the grand scheme of things, that’s probably the most unimportant time of a film’s life.” Quentin Tarantino
17. “I want to risk hitting my head on the ceiling of my talent. I want to really test it out and say: Ok you’re not that good. You just reached the level here. I don’t ever want to fail, but I want to risk failure every time out of the gate.” Quentin Tarantino
18. “The easiest way to kill a cult is to make that cult accessible.” Quentin Tarantino
19. “Violence in real life is terrible; violence in movies can be cool. It’s just another colour to work with.” Quentin Tarantino
20. “The good ideas will survive.” Quentin Tarantino
21. “You always have to be keeping track, especially in this scenario [The Hateful Eight], of where everybody is. They’re pieces on a chess board.” Quentin Tarantino
22. “Trying to make a feature film yourself with no money is the best film school you can do.” Quentin Tarantino
23. “It’s very important that every movie I do makes money because I want the people that had the faith in me to get their money back.” Quentin Tarantino
24. “I am a writer. That’s what I do. It’s a writer’s job not just to write about himself but to look at the rest of humanity and explore it — other people’s way of talking, the phrases they use. And my head is a sponge. I listen to what everyone says, I watch little idiosyncratic behavior; people tell me a joke, and I remember it. People tell me an interesting story in their life, and I remember it.” Quentin Tarantino
25. “I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of. Failure brings great rewards – in the life of an artist.” Quentin Tarantino
26. “It’s nice to get invited to the parties and to be able to hobnob and celebrate a job well done with your colleagues.” Quentin Tarantino
27. “My plan is to have a theatre in some small town or something and I’ll be the manager. I’ll be the crazy old movie guy.” Quentin Tarantino
28. “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.” Quentin Tarantino
29. “There are a lot of bad screenplays so if you write a good screenplay people are going to respond to it.” Quentin Tarantino
30. “Violence is a form of cinematic entertainment.” Quentin Tarantino
31. “That’s when you know you’ve found somebody really special. When you can just be quiet for a minute and comfortably share silence.” Quentin Tarantino
32. “Personality goes a long way.” Quentin Tarantino
33. “There’s a parenthetical downside to it that is completely dwarfed by the upside. The upside that exists today, filmmaking can be a democratic process. In which other people, other than rich white men, can make movies.” Quentin Tarantino
34. “Any actor who shows up at rehearsal without a pen to make notes in their script isn’t professional enough to either be in my movie or worthy enough to be trusted with one of my characters. That’s actually part of rehearsal: to test the actors, and if they’re not up to snuff, get rid of them. That’s my job, making sure I’ve picked the right people.” Quentin Tarantino
Thank you for the inspiration !
My best wishes
Ali
Glad you enjoyed the quotes Ali