I'm thankful I got a seat to see him do his lecture/talk. I think its just downright wonderful of the man to go all the way out here wanting to do a talk for film students.
Though he did point out no to mobile cameras and explicitly told us "Its either you were here or you weren't" for the talk. I do want to post what he did say, for the curious and those who apparently missed it because of the weather. In his element, this is what he had to say...
On Characters
- Dazed & Confused is the best hang-out movie ever made. Yes there's a plot, but more important to it are the people. You hang out with the characters. You get to like these people like they're your friends. Jackie Brown is my "hang out film"
As a Writer-Director
- I have no problem being both because its my material.
- Its important that the piece start with a blank page that I'm able to create celluloid out of nothing. A blank page.
- Where I'm come the process that is closest to writing is editing... Sally Menke... I only work with one editor. This is how my cinema is. The last draft of the script is the first cut of the movie.
On Planet Terror
I grew up loving these kinds of movie. I wanna give back to the people who love them as well. Also to give the theatrical experience with these kind of movies to a new audience. To give our obsession back.
On Casting
- I try to get to know that I get of sense of them (the actors). Have dinner and hang-out.
- I had to learnover the course of time, its all about my characters. I'm proud of them, they're my babies. I love my characters more than my movies. They're real to me. I'm God and they're my subjects. But they're me. They become my humanity.
- The actors at the end of the day, they have to live up to my characters. I'm in the business of finding the actor that will make the character come alive..
- Sometimes they're so intuned into the characters, I no longer see my words but I hear the actor's voices.
- At casting an oddball comes in... interesting... exciting artistically. I have a crush on them. Its gotta be the right one... If I get turned on by their uniqueness or quirkiness. Sometimes you cast the actor, not the character... If i didn't holdout for the perfect actor, he's not the character.
On being a Writer
I'm coming from a serious writer's place. I'm not saying I deserve it, but that's what I want. I want to be one of the greatest writers in the 20th century.
How do I reinvent myself?
I just come up with the next story I want to tell. I fall in love with the next story, there's never a question. about it. You're in love then you're in loive. That's just the joy! I'm in such love I'm able to commit to what I should do.
On Budget
- For anyone who produces I wanna be a good investment. I don't want you to lose money. But if it happens, its not ideal. Hopefully I can give you $2 back for every dollar.
- Some movies have small audiences. They touch a nerve, I got that with Pulp Fiction. It made $8 million at the time.
-To fashion the budget appropriate to the story I want to tell
On Pulp Fiction
- It gave me a place, a position in this business I'm fortunate to have. I'm lucky in a highly competitive, commercial industry I'm an artist in residence.
- I had a complete smash in a quirky smash, my thing and I was completely rewarded by it.
