He is the director of a generation. He makes films no other filmmaker would dare to – and he does it in style. He’s killed Bill, he’s assassinated Hitler, and he’s even shot the Devil. He’s also revived countless careers and he’s done all of this while tip-toeing along a very fine line between homage and plagiarism.
Yes: Quentin Tarantino is a visionary director who has given us unparalleled levels of entertainment. But he didn’t do it all by himself. Here are 10 of his best collaborators who have helped him along his filmmaking journey.
10. Zoë Bell
You might say that Ms. Zoë Bell was Tarantino’s second infatuation (after Uma, of course). An Australian stunt performer whose first big gig was in TV series Xena: Warrior Princess, Tarantino must have seen something he liked, because he soon recruited her to do all of the dangerous stunts for his Bride in both Kill Bill films.
Renowned for favouring a hands-on approach himself (actually strangling Diane Kruger for maximum effect in Inglourious Basterds being one example of many incidents), I can only assume Tarantino appreciated Bell’s rough and ready style.
After the Kill Bill saga and the end of the (professional collaborative) relationship between QT and UT, the excitable director gave his new muse the opportunity to step out from the shadows and take a lead acting role in his next project, Death Proof (albeit playing herself – with her real name to boot).
After Death Proof, Zoë Bell performed stunts for Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds (for both Mélanie Laurent and Diane Kruger’s characters – Shosanna and Bridget von Hammersmark respectively) and she even stars in Django Unchained with a blink and you’ll miss her cameo role.
What she lacks in acting talent she covers in charisma and gusto, so I am confident Zoë Bell will be a staple of many of Tarantino’s future films, even if it is as a bit-part character.
(A Band) Apart Of: 5 Features
Collaborative Influence: 4/10
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6 Comments
The Mrs and I went to see Django a couple of weeks back and in homage to Christoph Waltz (and a reflection of the Mrs’ level of absolute fear of Hans Landa), I mimicked his ‘finger on thigh’ movement he used to such terrifying effect on Bridget von Hammersmark in the Parisian cinema at the very earliest appearance of Dr. Schultz.
Suffice to say, she was terrified again. Perhaps that sums up just how good Waltz is in Inglorious.
…or how good you are at mimmicking him?
Everything I’ve read recently would seem to strongly indicate
that “Kill Bill 3″ will never happen. Now you drop hints that
filming is imminent. Where are you getting this information?
I would love to see a third installment, but should it even be
called “Kill Bill 3″? We can all agree that Bill is dead, can’t
we? So what does killing Bill have anything to do with a threequel?
Everything I’ve read recently indicates that “Kill Bill 3″
will never happen. So now you seem to believe that it will
be QT’s next film. Why is that? I would love to see a third
installment, but should it even be called “Kill Bill 3″?
We can all agree that Bill is dead, can’t we?
The grapevine and little birdies have whispered that Tarantino is still planning to go ahead with a third with Thurman and Daryl Hannah reprising their roles.
But I agree, it shouldn’t be called Kill Bill 3 as Bill is dead. Although QT is more than capable of coming up with an ingenious way in which the title still works.
And is he dead? he only fell to the floor. Maybe he and Pai Mei are fooling the bride and all will become clear in 3?
Good on you for remembering Sally Menke, but where’s Roger Avery, Tarantino’s collaborator on arguably two of his best movies, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, or, for that matter, Robert Rodriguez, who directed Tarantino in From Dusk til Dawn and Planet Terror? I’ve yet to watch a standalone Rodriguez movie, but on both projects where their work has put side-by-side (Four Rooms and Grindhouse), strangely enough I’ve preferred Rodriguez’s contribution.
And the Weinsteins probably owe as much of their fame and success to Tarantino as he does to them, if not more so. Outside of the Scream series, are they that well known for their non-Tarantino projects?