Vacancy is a 2007 American horror film directed by Nimród Antal and written by Mark L. Smith . It stars Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson as a married couple who book at the motel after their car breaks down and are soon stalked by masked killers for their snuff films . It was released April 20, 2007, by the distributor Screen Gems .
116-860: Frank Joseph Whaley (born July 20, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, musician and comedian. His roles include Brett in Pulp Fiction , Robby Krieger in The Doors , Jim Dodge in Career Opportunities , young Archie "Moonlight" Graham in Field of Dreams , and Guy in Swimming with Sharks . He has also appeared in films and TV series such as Born on the Fourth of July , The Freshman , A Midnight Clear , Swing Kids , Broken Arrow , Luke Cage , Red Dragon and World Trade Center . Whaley
232-436: A Variety list of films in pre-production at TriStar . In June, however, the studio put the script into turnaround . According to a studio executive, TriStar chief Mike Medavoy found it "too demented". There were suggestions that TriStar was resistant to back a film featuring a heroin user; there were also indications that the studio simply saw the project as too low-budget for its desired star-driven image. Avary—who
348-416: A cleaner , Winston Wolfe, who directs Jules and Vincent to hide the body in the trunk, clean the car, dispose of their bloody clothes and take the car to a junkyard. At the diner from the film's prologue, Jules tells Vincent that he plans to retire from his life of crime, convinced that their survival at the apartment was divine intervention . While Vincent is in the bathroom, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny hold up
464-490: A pawnshop . Maynard, the shop owner, captures them at gunpoint and binds and gags them in the basement. Maynard and his accomplice, Zed, take Marsellus into another room and begin to rape him. Butch breaks free and is about to escape, but decides to save Marsellus and arms himself with a katana from the pawnshop. He kills Maynard and frees Marsellus, who shoots Zed in the crotch with Maynard's shotgun. Marsellus tells Butch that they are even, and instructs him to tell no one about
580-447: A twist contest, then return home. While Vincent is in the bathroom, Mia finds his heroin, mistakes it for cocaine , and snorts it, resulting in an overdose. Vincent rushes her to Lance's house, where Lance helps revive her by injecting adrenaline into her heart . Vincent takes Mia home, and they agree never to tell Marsellus about the incident. Butch double-crosses Marsellus by winning the bout, but he accidentally kills his opponent in
696-400: A "spectacularly entertaining piece of pop culture ... a startling, massive success." From Cannes forward, Tarantino was on the road continuously, promoting the film. Over the next few months it played in smaller festivals around Europe, building buzz: Nottingham, Munich, Taormina , Locarno, Norway , and San Sebastián . Tarantino later said, "One thing that's cool is that by breaking up
812-468: A "story by" credit, so the line "Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino" could be used in advertising and onscreen. No film score was composed for Pulp Fiction ; Quentin Tarantino instead used an eclectic assortment of surf music , rock and roll , soul , and pop songs. Dick Dale 's rendition of " Misirlou " plays during the opening credits. Tarantino chose surf music as the basic musical style for
928-432: A $ 20–25 million movie. I wanted it to look like an epic. It's an epic in everything – in invention, in ambition, in length, in scope, in everything except the price tag." The film, he says, was shot "on 50 ASA film stock, which is the slowest stock they make. The reason we use it is that it creates an almost no-grain image, it's lustrous. It's the closest thing we have to 50s Technicolor ." The largest chunk of
1044-473: A cameo via archival footage from the Three Stooges short Brideless Groom (1947), Karen Maruyama appears as "Gawker #1" after Butch's car accident, and Julia Sweeney portrays Raquel, the daughter of the owner of the junkyard in which Marvin's body is disposed of. Producer Lawrence Bender makes a cameo as a victim of the diner robbery, credited as "Long Hair Yuppie-Scum". Jerome Patrick Hoban appears in
1160-427: A chance to do but filmmakers don't: telling three separate stories, having characters float in and out with different weights depending on the story." Tarantino explains that the idea "was basically to take like the oldest chestnuts that you've ever seen when it comes to crime stories – the oldest stories in the book ... You know, 'Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife' – the oldest story about ...
1276-669: A conversation, Tarantino and Willis took a walk on the beach, and upon their return, Bruce agreed to join the film. Tim Roth, initially interested in the role meant for Willis, suggested Amanda Plummer as a co-star, insisting she should have a gun, a notion Tarantino later incorporated into the script. Principal photography commenced on September 20, 1993. The lead offscreen talent had all worked with Tarantino on Reservoir Dogs – cinematographer Andrzej Sekuła , film editor Sally Menke , production designer David Wasco , and costume designer Betsy Heimann . According to Tarantino, "[W]e had $ 8 million. I wanted it to look like
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#17328554207221392-459: A development deal worth around $ 1 million had been struck: The deal gave A Band Apart , Bender and Tarantino's newly formed production company, initial financing and office facilities; Jersey got a share of the project and the right to shop the script to a studio. Jersey had a distribution and "first look" deal with Columbia TriStar , which paid Tarantino for the right to consider exercising its option. In February, Pulp Fiction appeared on
1508-407: A different route, ending up in the auto garage across from the motel. Meanwhile, a sheriff appears, having responded to Amy's attempted call. Upon searching one of the rooms, he witnesses a snuff film and flees. David and Amy run to him, and they all attempt to leave but find the engine wire to the police car has been cut. When the officer gets out, the masked men kill him. David and Amy run into one of
1624-468: A diner robbery staged by a couple, then begins to shift from one story line to another before returning to the diner for the conclusion. There are seven narrative sequences; the three primary story lines are preceded by intertitles: If the seven sequences were ordered chronologically, they would run: 4a, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 4b, 5. Sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view, as do sequences 2 and 6. According to Philip Parker,
1740-521: A friend, Adam Rifkin. Avary wrote the first element of what would become the film's screenplay in the fall of 1990, titled "Pandemonium Reigns," which eventually expanded into a feature-length screenplay. While Tarantino's short film similarly evolved into a full script, Rifkin never completed his contribution, leaving Pulp Fiction initially uncertain. The initial inspiration was the three-part horror anthology film Black Sabbath (1963), by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava . The Tarantino–Avary project
1856-493: A gang lord at a preschool. It dares Hollywood films to be this smart about going this far. If good directors accept Tarantino's implicit challenge, the movie theater could again be a great place to live in." In Newsweek , David Ansen wrote, "The miracle of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is how, being composed of secondhand, debased parts, it succeeds in gleaming like something new." "You get intoxicated by it," wrote Entertainment Weekly ' s Owen Gleiberman , "high on
1972-533: A gross for Pulp Fiction of $ 9.1 million, claiming that the film was on another 100 screens that had previously been overlooked. Warners then updated their gross to $ 9.3 million, claiming they had made a calculation error. Early Monday morning, Miramax reported a gross of $ 9.3 million with Warners reporting $ 8.9 million for The Specialist , placing Pulp Fiction first but other industry sources did not believe Miramax's numbers. Variety estimated that Pulp Fiction grossed $ 8.6 to $ 9 million for
2088-426: A myriad of clones", writes Fiona Villella. Internationally, according to David Desser , it "not only influenced a British brand of noir, but extended the noir vision virtually around the world". Pulp Fiction ' s effect on film form was still reverberating in 2007, when David Denby of The New Yorker credited it with initiating the ongoing cycle of disordered cinematic narratives. According to Variety ,
2204-435: A negative review on the film's opening weekend. Kenneth Turan wrote, "The writer-director appears to be straining for his effects. Some sequences, especially one involving bondage harnesses and homosexual rape, have the uncomfortable feeling of creative desperation, of someone who's afraid of losing his reputation scrambling for any way to offend sensibilities." Some who reviewed it in the following weeks took more exception to
2320-433: A noise. A mechanic apparently fixes the car but says he is about to close. Soon after leaving, their car breaks down. When they find that there is no cell phone reception , they walk back to the garage, only to find it has already closed. They walk to a nearby motel to seek help. When they arrive at the reception office, they hear a piercing scream coming from the room at the back of the reception, only for it to be coming from
2436-486: A passage from the Bible, before he and Vincent kill Brett. Jules and Vincent give the briefcase to Marsellus, who bribes boxer Butch Coolidge to take a dive in his upcoming match. Vincent purchases heroin from his drug dealer, Lance. He shoots up and drives to meet Marsellus's wife, Mia Wallace , having agreed to escort her while Marsellus is out of town for the night. They eat at a 1950s-themed restaurant and participate in
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#17328554207222552-549: A set-up "as simple and stark as an urban legend ." However, he was careful to mention, "I don't want to oversell the thing. There's no agenda in Vacancy other than to keep you in a state of nervous collapse for 85 minutes", and he criticized the film's ending, which he called "a disappointment", writing, "I don't know when I've seen a thriller this unpretentiously well-crafted sputter to so inconsequential an end." Writing for The Guardian , feature writer Rob Mackie favorably compared
2668-454: A show for an improv group a few months prior. He read for the roles of Jules Winnfield and Brett before being cast as Marvin. Tarantino appears as Jules' friend Jimmie, in whose house they clean up a murder. Tarantino was unsure whether to play Jimmie or Lance, choosing Jimmie as he wanted to be behind the camera during Mia's overdose scene. Frank Whaley portrays Brett, who has a briefcase requested by Marsellus. Whaley met Tarantino while he
2784-690: A specific character from a classic Hollywood crime story: "I wanted him to be basically like Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer in Aldrich 's Kiss Me Deadly [1955]. I wanted him to be a bully and a jerk". Tarantino went to work on the script for Pulp Fiction in Amsterdam in March 1992, possibly at the Winston Hotel in the Red Light District . He was joined there by Avary, who contributed "Pandemonium Reigns" to
2900-405: A truck pull into the parking lot. From the window, they attract the driver's attention, but soon realize he is working with Mason. They then discover a trapdoor in the bathroom, leading to various tunnels to different rooms of the motel. They end up in the manager's room. Amy attempts to call the police but is interrupted by Mason. Followed by the masked men, they sneak back into the tunnel and take
3016-426: A wristwatch that makes a dark journey down through the generations... The screenplay by Tarantino and Roger Avary so well-written in a scruffy, fanzine way that you want to rub noses in it – the noses of those zombie writers who take 'screenwriting' classes that teach them the formulas for 'hit films ' ". Richard Corliss of TIME wrote, "It towers over the year's other movies as majestically and menacingly as
3132-475: Is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary . It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence in Los Angeles, California . The film stars John Travolta , Samuel L. Jackson , Bruce Willis , Tim Roth , Ving Rhames , and Uma Thurman . The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during
3248-520: Is certainly not that of the publicly recognized counter-culture featured in Forrest Gump , but is, rather, a more genuinely marginal form of sub-culture based around a lifestyle – surfing, 'hanging' – that is resolutely apolitical." The soundtrack is central, she says, to the film's engagement with the "younger, cinematically knowledgeable spectator" it solicits. Pulp Fiction premiered in May 1994 at
3364-457: Is commendable, the thin characters and B-movie cliches less so." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. Ty Burr of The Boston Globe described the film as "a stripped-down suspense drama" and "the kind of taut B-movie chiller they don't make any more", with
3480-439: Is devoted to monologues and casual conversations with eclectic dialogue revealing each character's perspectives on several subjects, and the film features an ironic combination of humor and strong violence. TriStar Pictures reportedly turned down the script as "too demented". Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was enthralled, however, and the film became the first that Miramax Films fully financed. Pulp Fiction won
3596-407: Is often considered a cultural watershed, influencing films and other media that adopted elements of its style. The cast was also widely praised, with Travolta, Thurman, and Jackson earning high acclaim. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named it the best film since 1983 and it has appeared on many critics' lists of the greatest films ever made . In 2013, Pulp Fiction was selected for preservation in
Frank Whaley - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-623: Is still alive. She goes back to reception, takes the phone cord from Mason's jacket pocket, and connects it to the phone to call 911. She then goes back to David, comforting him while waiting for the police to arrive. In March 2005, it was announced Hal Lieberman would be producing Vacancy written by Mark L. Smith for Screen Gems. Early in the film's development, it was thought Sarah Jessica Parker would star; but, in September 2006, The Hollywood Reporter announced Beckinsale had been signed instead. Vacancy opened at #4 in its first week at
3828-682: Is to empty the artwork of all content, thus avoiding its capacity to do anything except helplessly represent our agonies ... Only in this age could a writer as talented as Tarantino produce artworks so vacuous, so entirely stripped of any politics, metaphysics, or moral interest." Around the turn of the year, Pulp Fiction was named Best Picture by the National Society of Film Critics , National Board of Review , Los Angeles Film Critics Association , Boston Society of Film Critics , Society of Texas Film Critics , Southeastern Film Critics Association, and Kansas City Film Critics Circle . Tarantino
3944-575: The Chicago Reader wrote, "The fact that Pulp Fiction is garnering more extravagant raves than Breathless ever did tells you plenty about which kind of cultural references are regarded as more fruitful – namely, the ones we already have and don't wish to expand." Observing in the National Review that "[n]o film arrives with more advance hype", John Simon was unswayed: "titillation cures neither hollowness nor shallowness". Debate about
4060-510: The Chicago Tribune , Todd Boyd argued that the word's recurrence "has the ability to signify the ultimate level of hipness for white males who have historically used their perception of black masculinity as the embodiment of cool". In Britain, James Wood , writing in The Guardian , set the tone for much subsequent criticism: "Tarantino represents the final triumph of postmodernism , which
4176-563: The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival . He stars as the villain in the 2007 horror film Vacancy . In 2014 he wrote and directed the film Like Sunday, Like Rain , starring Debra Messing , Leighton Meester and Billie Joe Armstrong . The film won six awards at the 2014 Williamsburg Independent Film Festival including Best Film, Best Director and acting nods for Armstrong, Meester, Messing and Julian Shatkin. It opened in March 2015. In 2014, Whaley appeared as Van Miller in Season One of
4292-645: The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . The furor around the film was still going strong: much of the March issue of Artforum was devoted to its critical dissection. Pulp Fiction garnered four honors at the Independent Spirit Awards , held at the end of the month – Best Feature , Best Director , Male Lead (Jackson), and Best Screenplay (Tarantino). At the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), Tarantino and Avary shared
4408-679: The BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay , and Jackson won for Best Supporting Actor . The film was nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association . The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists Pulp Fiction alongside Citizen Kane , Sunset Boulevard , Dr. Strangelove , Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , The Conversation , Nashville , Taxi Driver , The Elephant Man , In
4524-541: The Cannes Film Festival . The Weinsteins "hit the beach like commandos," bringing the picture's entire cast over to France. The film was unveiled at a midnight hour screening and caused a sensation. It won the Palme d'Or , the festival's top prize, generating a further wave of publicity. The first U.S. review of the film was published on May 23 in industry trade magazine Variety . Todd McCarthy called Pulp Fiction
4640-449: The Disney acquisition, was budgeted at $ 8.5 million, and at the end $ 500,000 was returned, bringing the final budget to $ 8 million. According to Bender, a lower budget meant that the producers could maintain more control over the movie itself. It became the first movie that Miramax Films completely financed. Helping hold costs down was the plan Bender executed to pay all the main actors
4756-412: The Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was a major critical and commercial success. It was nominated for seven awards at the 67th Academy Awards , including Best Picture , and won Best Original Screenplay ; Travolta, Jackson, and Thurman were nominated for Best Actor , Best Supporting Actor , and Best Supporting Actress respectively. As a result of the film's success, Travolta's career
Frank Whaley - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-837: The Showtime series Ray Donovan . In 2016, Whaley had a role in Paramount Animation 's first mostly live-action film, Monster Trucks , and in 2017, he appeared in the teen film The Outskirts . Whaley's other film credits include Red Dragon , Rob the Mob , School of Rock , Broken Arrow , Little Monsters , A Midnight Clear , Janie Jones and I.Q. among others. His television credits include Gotham , The Blacklist , CSI , Curb Your Enthusiasm , Psych , Burn Notice , Ugly Betty , Mrs. Harris , When Trumpets Fade , Boston Legal , Medium , Blue Bloods , Bull , House , MacGyver , Divorce , Elementary , Under
4988-457: The snuff films , and a trailer gallery. It was also released on Blu-ray Disc and UMD for the PSP . Many versions shipped to Australia featured Sony DVD "anti-piracy" technology, which led to them being unreadable on most DVD players, including Sony DVD players. The DVD featured a commentary by Nimrod Antal, Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, all of whom said they thought the film was a great addition to
5104-531: The Bedroom , There Will Be Blood , and Roma as " The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars ". Pulp Fiction quickly came to be regarded as one of the most significant films of its era. In 1995, in a special edition of Siskel & Ebert devoted to Tarantino, Gene Siskel argued that the work posed a major challenge to the "ossification of American movies with their brutal formulas". In Siskel's view,
5220-730: The Dome , the TV mini-series Madoff , Alcatraz and many others. Whaley has maintained his roots in the theater, working frequently with The New Group in New York City. In 2011, he appeared in The New Group's revival of Wallace Shawn 's Marie And Bruce opposite Marisa Tomei . In 2001, Whaley married Heather Bucha Whaley, an actress and writer, and the author of Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing . They have two children: Buster Whaley and Tallulah Whaley. Pulp Fiction Pulp Fiction
5336-573: The Jack Rabbit Slim's segment as an Ed Sullivan impersonator. Susan Griffiths appears alongside Hoban as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. The roots of Pulp Fiction can be traced back to the late 1980s, when Tarantino and Roger Avary worked together at Video Archives , a video store in Southern California. Avary recalls that their initial concept was to create three short films with three different filmmakers—himself, Tarantino, and
5452-769: The King in 1999, featuring his Doors co-star Val Kilmer and longtime friend and colleague Ethan Hawke in starring roles. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and earned Whaley the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. His second film as writer and director, The Jimmy Show , stars Whaley and Carla Gugino . This film also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Whaley's third film as writer and director, New York City Serenade , starring Chris Klein and Freddie Prinze Jr. , premiered at
5568-546: The United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Pulp Fiction ' s narrative is told out of chronological order and follows three main interrelated stories that each have a different protagonist: Vincent Vega, a hitman; Butch Coolidge, a prizefighter; and Jules Winnfield, Vincent's partner in crime. The film begins with
5684-506: The United States. As Peter Biskind describes, "It was not platformed, that is, it did not open in a handful of theaters and roll out slowly as word of mouth built, the traditional way of releasing an indie film ; it went wide immediately, into 1,100 theaters." In the eyes of some cultural critics, Reservoir Dogs had given Tarantino a reputation for glamorizing violence. Miramax played with the issue in its marketing campaign: "You won't know
5800-559: The book, but of course, Quentin got what he wanted, and he was absolutely right, and the rest is history." Bender noted that during the casting process, while Samuel L. Jackson's initial audition was impressive, another candidate later delivered a performance that "blew them away." This prompted Bender to inform Jackson's agent that they might need to consider the other actor. The agent firmly insisted, "No, no, no, you can’t do that. Sam will come back." Initially hesitant to ask him for another audition, Bender discovered that Jackson believed he
5916-407: The box office grossing $ 7.6 million at 2,551 locations. In its second week, the film had a 45.9% drop-off, falling to a #8 position. The film has grossed a total of $ 35.3 million worldwide. Vacancy was released on DVD on August 14, 2007, in both fullscreen and anamorphic widescreen, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Special features include deleted scenes , a making-of featurette, the full versions of
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#17328554207226032-419: The brooding melancholy and operatic death scenes, would be altogether out of place in the crisp and brightly lit wonderland that Tarantino conjures up. [It is] neither neo-noir nor a parody of noir." Similarly, Nicholas Christopher calls it "more gangland camp than neo-noir", and Foster Hirsch suggests that its "trippy fantasy landscape" characterizes it more definitively than any genre label. Regardless,
6148-548: The budget – $ 150,000 – went to creating the Jack Rabbit Slim's set. It was built in a Culver City warehouse, where it was joined by several other sets, as well as the film's production offices. The diner sequence was shot on location in Hawthorne at the Hawthorne Grill, known for its Googie architecture . For the costumes, Tarantino took his inspiration from French director Jean-Pierre Melville , who believed that
6264-475: The clothes his characters wore were their symbolic suits of armor. Tarantino cast himself in a modest-sized role as he had in Reservoir Dogs . One of his pop totems, Fruit Brute , a long-discontinued General Mills cereal, also returned from the earlier film. The shoot wrapped on November 30. Before Pulp Fiction ' s premiere, Tarantino convinced Avary to forfeit his agreed-on cowriting credit and accept
6380-559: The crimeworld "cleaner" that became the heart of the episode was inspired by a short, Curdled , that Tarantino saw at a film festival. He cast the lead actress, Angela Jones , in Pulp Fiction and later backed the filmmakers' production of a feature-length version of Curdled . The script included a couple of made-up commercial brands that often featured in later Tarantino films: Big Kahuna burgers (a Big Kahuna soda cup appears in Reservoir Dogs ) and Red Apple cigarettes. As he worked on
6496-456: The day of the opening. Janet Maslin called the film a "triumphant, cleverly disorienting journey through a demimonde that springs entirely from Mr. Tarantino's ripe imagination, a landscape of danger, shock, hilarity and vibrant local color ... [He] has come up with a work of such depth, wit and blazing originality that it places him in the front ranks of American film makers." On October 14, 1994, Pulp Fiction went into general release in
6612-495: The diner at that moment because he believes the patrons and employees will be unprepared to stop them. Honey Bunny agrees. Two hitmen, Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, arrive at an apartment to retrieve a briefcase for their boss, influential local gangster Marsellus Wallace, from a business partner, Brett, and his friends. After Vincent checks the contents of the briefcase, Jules shoots one of Brett's friends. Jules rebukes Brett over his attempt to double-cross Marsellus and recites
6728-541: The diner with the briefcase. Bronagh Gallagher plays Jody's friend Trudi who does little but smoke a bong during the scene where Vincent revives Mia. According to author Jason Bailey, "Quentin thought it would be funny to have this casual observer who just happened to be there. All of this was born out of the experience of, when you go to someone's house to buy drugs, there are always people who are just there". Phil LaMarr portrays Marvin, an associate of Jules and Vincent. LaMarr auditioned for Tarantino after both had done
6844-485: The distributors, as Disney had Miramax, or started their own ... copy[ing] Miramax's marketing and distribution strategies. In 2001, Variety , noting the increasing number of actors switching back and forth between expensive studio films and low-budget independent or indie-style projects, suggested that the "watershed moment for movie stars" came with the decision by Willis – one of Hollywood's highest-paid performers – to appear in Pulp Fiction . In 2024, on
6960-536: The facts till you've seen the fiction", went one slogan. Pulp Fiction was the top-grossing film at the US box office its first weekend with a gross of $ 9,311,882, edging out a Sylvester Stallone vehicle, The Specialist , which was in its second week and playing at more than twice as many theaters. The gross claimed by Miramax was disputed by others. Warner Bros. initially reported an estimated gross of $ 8.9 million for The Specialist with Bob Weinstein then reporting
7076-459: The film Deliverance . Steve Buscemi makes a cameo appearance as a waiter at Jack Rabbit Slim's, dressed as Buddy Holly . Buscemi, who had appeared in Reservoir Dogs , was originally considered for the role of Jimmie but was unable to commit. Kathy Griffin appears as herself. Michael Gilden and Joseph Pilato also appear at Jack Rabbit Slim's as waiter Phillip Morris Page and a Dean Martin impersonator, respectively. Emil Sitka made
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#17328554207227192-589: The film as Laura, a waitress; she reprises the role in Jackie Brown . The soundtrack album was released along with the film in 1994. The album peaked on the Billboard 200 chart at number 21. The single, Urge Overkill 's cover of the Neil Diamond song " Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon ", reached number 59. Estella Tincknell describes how the particular combination of well-known and obscure recordings helps establish
7308-471: The film as a "self-consciously 'cool' text. [The] use of the mono-tracked, beat-heavy style of early 1960s U.S. 'underground' pop mixed with 'classic' ballads such as Dusty Springfield 's ' Son of a Preacher Man ' is crucial to the film's postmodern knowingness." She contrasts the soundtrack with that of Forrest Gump , the highest-grossing film of 1994, which also relies on period pop recordings: "[T]he version of 'the sixties' offered by Pulp Fiction ...
7424-412: The film has a weighted average score of 95 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. The response of major American film reviewers was widely favorable. Roger Ebert called it "a comedy about blood, guts, violence, strange sex, drugs, fixed fights, dead body disposal, leather freaks and
7540-509: The film received seven Oscar nominations – Best Picture, Director, Actor (Travolta), Supporting Actor (Jackson), Supporting Actress (Thurman), Original Screenplay, and Film Editing. Travolta, Jackson, and Thurman were each nominated as well for the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards , presented on February 25, but none took home the honor. At the Academy Awards ceremony the following month, Tarantino and Avary were announced as joint winners of
7656-417: The film spread beyond the review pages, with its violence often being the theme. In The Washington Post , Donna Britt described how she was happy not to see Pulp Fiction on a recent weekend and thus avoid "discussing the rousing scene in which a gunshot sprays somebody's brains around a car interior". Some commentators took exception to the film's frequent use of the word " nigger " (mentioned 18 times). In
7772-525: The film's 30th anniversary, the magazine wrote that the film "revived the career of John Travolta, minted a star in Samuel L. Jackson and spawned a still-thriving cottage industry of knockoffs and imitation films." Vacancy (film) On their way home from a family party, David and Amy Fox, who are on the verge of divorce, are on a remote mountain road due to a wreck slowing down the interstate. They stop at an old auto repair garage after their car starts making
7888-481: The film's abrupt ending: "One of the biggest shocks in Vacancy is that, after 84 minutes, it ends. Just like that." In a 2007 episode of Ebert and Roeper , film critic Richard Roeper gave the film a negative review, calling it an "uninspired, unoriginal, and chills-free thriller", and was disappointed with the central characters, saying "apparently these two have never seen any scary movies because they make rookie mistakes" and "do one stupid thing after another so
8004-421: The film's opening to "classic-period Hitchcock, and Psycho in particular", writing, "What makes Nimrod Antal's film genuinely scary and gripping is that the script and acting are far better than [...] your routine slasher/shocker knock-off." He further noted that "[t]here are plenty of shocks and surprises" and described the film as "psychological horror rather than gorefest," although he expressed ambiguity over
8120-424: The film's worldwide rights, virtually ensuring its profitability. Danny DeVito , one of the film's producers, recalls that Weinstein suggested casting Daniel Day-Lewis , who had just won an Academy Award for My Left Foot . DeVito responded by stating that Tarantino wanted John Travolta and reminded Weinstein that he had final cut and cast approval. He reflects, "I think he [Weinstein] called me every name in
8236-502: The film, but not, he insists, because of its association with surfing culture: "To me it just sounds like rock and roll, even Morricone music. It sounds like rock and roll spaghetti Western music." Tarantino planned to use a power pop song, " My Sharona " by The Knack , during the film's rape scene, but ultimately discounted it. Some of the songs were suggested to Tarantino by his friends Chuck Kelley and Laura Lovelace, who were credited as music consultants. Lovelace also appeared in
8352-402: The general film industry opinion that Pulp Fiction "simultaneously resurrected John Travolta and film noir". In Peter Biskind's description, it created a "guys-with-guns frenzy". The film has also been labeled as a black comedy and a " neo-noir ". Critic Geoffrey O'Brien , however, argued against the classification of Pulp Fiction into the neo-noir genre: "The old-time noir passions,
8468-457: The guy's gotta go out with the big man's wife and don't touch her. You know, you've seen the story a zillion times." "I'm using old forms of storytelling and then purposely having them run awry", he says. "Part of the trick is to take these movie characters, these genre characters and these genre situations and actually apply them to some of real life's rules and see how they unravel." In at least one case, boxer Butch Coolidge, Tarantino had in mind
8584-474: The horror genre and for not using gore for scares but using psychological horror. The advertising strategy for the film made use of the Internet as well as a toll-free phone number. In addition to the TV spots and trailers shown in theaters and on television, the toll free number was made to sound as if one is actually calling the motel in which the film is set. In the background, screaming can be heard accompanying
8700-565: The idiosyncrasies of The Brady Bunch before offing their victim. Not since Citizen Kane has one man appeared from relative obscurity to redefine the art of moviemaking." Among the first Hollywood films cited as its imitators were Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995), in which Tarantino acted, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), and 2 Days in the Valley (1996). It "triggered
8816-444: The incident and depart Los Angeles forever. Butch picks up Fabienne on Zed's chopper and they drive away. In the apartment, after Jules and Vincent kill Brett, another man bursts out of the bathroom and fires at them. Every shot misses and they shoot him dead. Jules says that their survival was a miracle, which Vincent disputes, believing the man was just a lousy shot. While driving away with another one of Brett's friends, Marvin (who
8932-427: The industry's attitude toward the lowly indies ... spawning a flock of me-too classics divisions ... [S]mart studio executives suddenly woke up to the fact that grosses and market share, which got all the press, were not the same as profits ... Once the studios realized that they could exploit the economies of (small) scale, they more or less gave up buying or remaking the films themselves, and either bought
9048-483: The linear structure, when I watch the film with an audience, it does break [the audience's] alpha state. It's like, all of a sudden, 'I gotta watch this ... I gotta pay attention.' You can almost feel everybody moving in their seats. It's actually fun to watch an audience in some ways chase after a movie." In late September, it opened the New York Film Festival . The New York Times published its review
9164-564: The loudness of the gunshots. Angela Jones portrays Esmarelda Villalobos, a cab driver who aids Butch's escape. Her casting and character were inspired by her performance in the 1991 short film Curdled , later remade as a 1996 feature film with finance from Tarantino and again starring Jones. Duane Whitaker , Peter Greene and Stephen Hibbert play Maynard, Zed and the gimp. According to The Daily Beast , these "three psycho hillbillies " that rape Marsellus in Maynard's shop's basement allude to
9280-416: The mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue. Tarantino wrote Pulp Fiction in 1992 and 1993, incorporating scenes that Avary originally wrote for True Romance (1993). Its plot occurs out of chronological order . The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". Considerable screen time
9396-519: The most successful in UK publishing history, a top-ten bestseller. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 92% of 183 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 9.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Injecting its compendium of crime tales with the patois of everyday conversation, Pulp Fiction is a cinematic shot of adrenaline that cements writer-director Quentin Tarantino as an audacious purveyor of killer kino." On Metacritic ,
9512-461: The movie can keep going." He concluded that "with two appealing leads and a nifty opening credits sequence, Vacancy seems like it has potential" but that it was ultimately "a slick and lazy effort." Empire magazine awarded the film three out of five stars, praising its director as "genuinely good at this stuff, honing mercilessly in on faces in extreme close-up and investing ordinary items [...] with disproportionate levels of menace", and calling
9628-411: The other man (the latter of which is revealed to be the mechanic who "helped" the couple earlier). Amy then runs into the reception, where she finds the revolver. Mason appears and begins to strangle her with the telephone cord, then beats her as he records the struggle with his video camera. Amy fights back and manages to gain the upper hand, finally shooting Mason dead. Amy returns to David and finds he
9744-407: The other rooms. David hides Amy in the ceiling while he plans to make it to Mason's office to retrieve a revolver, but the men stab him as he leaves. He collapses as Amy watches from above. In the morning, Amy comes down and leaves, finding one of the killers' car. As she attempts to drive away, a masked man breaks into the car from the sun roof, and she crashes the car into the motel, killing him and
9860-491: The part of the audience of those forms such as the gangster films or Westerns, horror films or adventure films. And that the parody or alteration of that film creates a new form, a different experience for the audience. In a widely covered speech on May 31, 1995, Senate Majority Leader and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole attacked the American entertainment industry for peddling "nightmares of depravity". Pulp Fiction
9976-472: The predominant critical reaction than to Pulp Fiction itself. While not panning the film, Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic felt that "the way that [it] has been so widely ravened up and drooled over verges on the disgusting. Pulp Fiction nourishes, abets, cultural slumming." Responding to comparisons between Tarantino's film and the work of French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard , especially his first, most famous feature, Jonathan Rosenbaum of
10092-453: The process. He plans to flee with his girlfriend, Fabienne, but discovers she has forgotten to pack an heirloom : a gold watch which belonged to Butch's father. Returning to his apartment to retrieve it, he notices a gun on the kitchen counter and hears the toilet flush. When Vincent exits the bathroom, Butch shoots him dead and departs. When Marsellus spots Butch stopped at a traffic light, Butch rams his car into him. Marsellus chases him into
10208-455: The project and participated in its rewriting as well as the development of the new storylines that would link up with it. Two scenes originally written by Avary for the True Romance screenplay, exclusively credited to Tarantino, were incorporated into the opening of "The Bonnie Situation": the "miraculous" missed shots by the hidden gunman and the rear seat automobile killing. The notion of
10324-434: The rediscovery of how pleasurable a movie can be. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a filmmaker who combined discipline and control with sheer wild-ass joy the way that Tarantino does." "There's a special kick that comes from watching something this thrillingly alive", wrote Peter Travers of Rolling Stone . " Pulp Fiction is indisputably great." The Los Angeles Times was one of the few major news outlets to publish
10440-443: The restaurant and demand Marsellus's briefcase. Pumpkin initially holds Jules at gunpoint, but Jules soon overpowers Pumpkin and holds him at gunpoint. Honey Bunny becomes hysterical and points her gun at Jules. Vincent returns with his gun aimed at her, but Jules defuses the situation. He recites the biblical passage, expresses ambivalence about his life of crime, and allows the robbers to take his cash and leave. Jules and Vincent leave
10556-411: The room for the woods, but are confronted by two men wearing masks, so they return to the room and lock the door. In the bathroom, they are shocked to find the half-eaten apple Amy left in the car. David runs to the motel's payphone and dials 911, but Mason answers. David escapes the phone booth just before the men crash their car into it and chase him back to the room. Moments later, David and Amy hear
10672-402: The room, David watches a videotape that has been left in the room's VCR. At first it seems to be a horror film, but then they realize it is a snuff film that was made in their room. David searches the room and finds multiple hidden security cameras and realizes that Mason is watching them. The recording shows previous guests being assaulted by two men then murdered by them. David and Amy flee
10788-425: The same amount per week, regardless of their industry status. The New York Times reported, "Most of the actors received relatively small salaries along with a percentage of the profits." The biggest star to sign on to the project was Bruce Willis . Though he had recently appeared in several big-budget flops, he was still a major overseas draw. On the strength of his name, Miramax Films garnered $ 11 million for
10904-452: The same year, he played a supporting role as the doomed Brett, who was memorably killed by Samuel L. Jackson 's and John Travolta 's characters in Pulp Fiction . In 1998, he started a regular role on the short-lived CBS series Buddy Faro . He also appeared in episodes of The Dead Zone , Law & Order , and its spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent . Whaley made his writing-directorial debut in his independent film Joe
11020-399: The script to Miramax Films , the formerly independent studio that had recently been acquired by Disney . Harvey Weinstein —co-chairman of Miramax Films, along with his brother Bob —was instantly enthralled by the script and the company picked it up. Michael Shamberg , the executive producer, reflected on the bidding process, saying, "Only Harvey [Weinstein] placed a bid. Harvey believed he
11136-546: The script, Tarantino also accompanied Reservoir Dogs around the European film festivals. Released in the United States in October 1992, the picture was a critical and commercial success. In January 1993, the Pulp Fiction script was complete. Tarantino and his producer, Lawrence Bender , brought the script to Jersey Films . Before even seeing Reservoir Dogs , Jersey had attempted to sign Tarantino for his next project. Ultimately
11252-407: The structural form is "an episodic narrative with circular events adding a beginning and end and allowing references to elements of each separate episode to be made throughout the narrative". Other analysts describe the structure as a "circular narrative". A pair of thieves, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, reminisce on their past robbery attempts as they eat breakfast in a diner. Pumpkin proposes they rob
11368-520: The stylistic influence of Pulp Fiction soon became apparent. Less than a year after the picture's release, British critic Jon Ronson attended the National Film School 's end-of-semester screenings and assessed the impact: "Out of the five student movies I watched, four incorporated violent shoot-outs over a soundtrack of iconoclastic 70s pop hits, two climaxed with all the main characters shooting each other at once, and one had two hitmen discussing
11484-429: The television. The motel manager, Mason, turns it off and meets the couple. He explains the auto repair garage across the street is closed until the morning, so they book a room for the night. While getting ready for bed, David and Amy are alarmed by loud banging on their door and the door to the adjacent room. David goes to reception to tell Mason about the situation, and Mason tells them they are his only guests. Back in
11600-490: The top 20. Popular engagement with the film, such as speculation about the contents of the precious briefcase, "indicates the kind of cult status that Pulp Fiction achieved almost immediately." As MovieMaker puts it, "The movie was nothing less than a national cultural phenomenon." Abroad, as well: in Britain, where it opened a week after its U.S. release, not only was the film a big hit, but in book form its screenplay became
11716-461: The trajectory of Pulp Fiction from Cannes launch to commercial smash "forever altered the game" of so-called independent cinema . It "cemented Miramax's place as the reigning indie superpower", writes Biskind. " Pulp became the Star Wars of independents, exploding expectations for what an indie film could do at the box office." The film's large financial return on its small budget transform[ed]
11832-405: The ultimate honor for Pulp Fiction . Like all great films, it criticizes other movies. Ken Dancyger writes that its "imitative and innovative style" – like that of its predecessor, Reservoir Dogs – represents a new phenomenon, the movie whose style is created from the context of movie life rather than real life. The consequence is twofold – the presumption of deep knowledge on
11948-436: The violent intensity of Pulp Fiction calls to mind other violent watershed films that were considered classics in their time and still are. Hitchcock 's Psycho [1960], Arthur Penn 's Bonnie and Clyde [1967], and Stanley Kubrick 's A Clockwork Orange [1971]. Each film shook up a tired, bloated movie industry and used a world of lively lowlifes to reflect how dull other movies had become. And that, I predict, will be
12064-474: The voice of the proprietor, who informs callers about "slashing" prices and the "killer" deals that the motel has—if it has a vacancy. The voice of the proprietor is Frank Whaley's. As of August 7, 2015, the toll-free phone number is no longer valid. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 55% of 123 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads: " Vacancy ' s restraint with gore
12180-460: The weekend. Against its budget of $ 8.5 million and about $ 10 million in marketing costs, Pulp Fiction grossed $ 107.93 million at the U.S. box office, making it the first Miramax film to surpass $ 100 million in the United States and Canada. Worldwide, it took in nearly $ 213 million. In terms of domestic grosses, it was the tenth biggest film of 1994, even though it played on substantially fewer screens than any other film in
12296-414: Was about to start shooting his own directorial debut, Killing Zoe —has said that TriStar's objections were comprehensive, encompassing the script's fundamental structure. He characterizes the studio's position: " 'This is the worst thing ever written. It makes no sense. Someone's dead and then they're alive. It's too long, violent, and unfilmable.' ... So I thought, 'That's that! ' " Bender brought
12412-400: Was actually a plant from Marsellus's organization), Vincent accidentally shoots him in the head after Jules drives over an unidentified inconsistency in the roadbed, covering Vincent, Jules, and the car interior in blood. They hide the car at the home of Jules's old friend and former business partner Jimmie, who demands they deal with the problem before his wife Bonnie comes home. Marsellus sends
12528-631: Was born and raised in Syracuse , New York , the son of Robert W. Whaley Sr. and Josephine (née Timilione). Whaley graduated from Anthony A. Henninger High School in 1981 and left home at 18. He graduated from the University at Albany . Whaley made his film debut in 1987's Ironweed . In 1989 he appeared in Field of Dreams and Born on the Fourth of July . The latter film began a long collaboration with director Oliver Stone , including 1991's The Doors , in which he played Robby Krieger , JFK , which
12644-403: Was engaged in a bidding war, but he wasn't. Even now, whenever I see Bob Shaye , he expresses regret for turning down Pulp Fiction. Quentin initially wanted to collaborate with Mike Medavoy , given Medavoy's history with the great Orion films. Ironically, when the opportunity arose, Mike deemed the script too violent." Pulp Fiction , the first Miramax Films project to get a green light after
12760-543: Was filming Reservoir Dogs at a lab in Sundance Institute . He recalls, "we ended up meeting and spending time together, and I liked him, so I was really happy when he asked me to be in this movie." Burr Steers appears as Roger, a friend of Brett's nicknamed " Flock of Seagulls " by Jules. The scene of the confrontation between Brett and Jules went through several takes due to Steers making mistakes. Steers recalled in an interview that he had found acting difficult due to
12876-541: Was named Best Director by all seven of those organizations as well as by the New York Film Critics Circle and Chicago Film Critics Association . The screenplay won several prizes, with various awarding bodies ascribing credit differently. At the 52nd Golden Globe Awards , Tarantino, named as sole recipient of the Best Screenplay honor, failed to mention Avary in his acceptance speech. In February 1995,
12992-403: Was provisionally titled " Black Mask ", after the seminal hardboiled crime fiction magazine . Tarantino's script was produced as Reservoir Dogs , his directorial debut; Avary created the basis for the "Gold Watch" storyline of Pulp Fiction . With work on Reservoir Dogs completed, Tarantino returned to the notion of a trilogy film: "I got the idea of doing something that novelists get
13108-409: Was reinvigorated. The film's development, marketing, distribution, and profitability had a sweeping effect on independent cinema. Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as Tarantino's magnum opus , with particular praise for its screenwriting. The self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a touchstone of postmodern film . It
13224-719: Was released the same year, in which he played a conspirator in the JFK assassination and 2006's World Trade Center , where he played Chuck Sereika, a former drug addict who helped in the rescue efforts. In 1990, Whaley appeared with Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in The Freshman . In 1991, he starred in the John Hughes feature film Career Opportunities . Over the next two years, he played supporting roles in movies such as Hoffa and Swing Kids . He appeared in his second leading film role in 1994's Swimming with Sharks . During
13340-453: Was simply reading for the role, not auditioning, and his subsequent return resulted in an outstanding performance. Harvey Keitel played a crucial role in getting Reservoir Dogs made and introduced Bruce Willis to Tarantino. Bender and Tarantino went to see him at his house in Malibu, where they learned that he could recite practically the entire movie of Reservoir Dogs, a movie he loved. After
13456-421: Was soon associated with his charges concerning gratuitous violence. Dole had not mentioned the film, instead citing two less-celebrated movies based on Tarantino screenplays, Oliver Stone 's Natural Born Killers and Tony Scott 's True Romance . In September 1996, Dole did accuse Pulp Fiction – which he had not seen at the time – of promoting "the romance of heroin". Paula Rabinowitz expresses
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