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155-494: Seven Arts Entertainment Inc. is a British independent film production company founded in 1992. Notable films that were made by Seven Arts are Stander , Asylum , Noise and more recently, Night of the Demons . Seven Arts Pictures was founded in the early 1990s by former Carolco president and CEO Peter Hoffman as Peter Hoffman Productions. In 1996, the studio came with a first look deal at Paramount Pictures. Hoffman runs

310-412: A Variety interview discussing Jackie Brown , Lee said, "I'm not against the word ... And some people speak that way, but Quentin is infatuated with that word... I want Quentin to know that all African Americans do not think that word is trendy or slick." Tarantino responded on The Charlie Rose Show : As a writer, I demand the right to write any character in the world that I want to write. I demand

465-435: A cult following alongside critical and commercial success; he has been named by some as the single most influential director of his generation and has received numerous awards and nominations , including two Academy Awards , two BAFTA Awards , and four Golden Globe Awards . Tarantino began his career with the independent crime drama film Reservoir Dogs (1992). His second film, the crime drama Pulp Fiction (1994),

620-478: A wide release . Independent films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals before distribution (theatrical or retail release). An independent film production can rival a mainstream film production if it has the necessary funding and distribution. In 1908, the Motion Picture Patents Company or "Edison Trust" was formed as a trust . The Trust was a cartel that held

775-758: A Row , Rolling Thunder , Sorcerer , Taxi Driver , and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly . Sergio Leone 's Spaghetti Western films were a profound influence including Once Upon a Time in the West . He is an admirer of the 1981 film Blow Out , directed by Brian De Palma , which led to his casting of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction . Similarly, Tarantino was captivated with Jim McBride 's 1983 remake of Breathless and with Richard Gere 's unlikable but charismatic protagonist. The film's popular culture references, in particular

930-424: A big budget adaptation of Frank Herbert 's science fiction novel Dune for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis 's De Laurentiis Entertainment Group , on the condition that the company release a second Lynch project, over which the director would have complete creative control. Although De Laurentiis hoped it would be the next Star Wars , Lynch's Dune (1984) was a critical and commercial flop, grossing

1085-410: A billion-dollar deal, acquired New Line Cinema, Fine Line Features , and Castle Rock Entertainment in 1994. The acquisitions proved to be a good move for Turner Broadcasting as New Line released The Mask and Dumb & Dumber , Castle Rock released The Shawshank Redemption , and Miramax released Pulp Fiction , all in 1994. The acquisitions of the smaller studios by conglomerate Hollywood

1240-468: A built-in national rating, in order to avoid presenting movies to inappropriately young audiences. Following the advent of television and the Paramount Case , the major studios attempted to lure audiences with spectacle. Widescreen processes and technical improvements, such as Cinemascope , stereo sound, 3-D and others, were developed in an attempt to retain the dwindling audience by giving them

1395-453: A centralized archive. Founded in 1962 by Jonas Mekas , Stan Brakhage , Shirley Clarke , Gregory Markopoulos , and others, the Cooperative provided an important outlet for many of cinema's creative luminaries in the 1960s, including Jack Smith and Andy Warhol . When he returned to America, Ken Anger would debut many of his most important works there. Mekas and Brakhage would go on to found

1550-481: A costly distribution system or concede defeat. The veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. Not only had he been producing pictures for a decade, but he brought along commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge , his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge , and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton . Contracts were signed with a number of independent producers, especially Samuel Goldwyn , Howard Hughes and later Alexander Korda . Schenck also formed

1705-490: A crowd of like-minded avant-garde filmmakers who were interested in creating films as works of art rather than entertainment. Based upon a common belief that the "official cinema" was "running out of breath" and had become "morally corrupt, aesthetically obsolete, thematically superficial, [and] temperamentally boring", this new crop of independents formed The Film-Makers' Cooperative , an artist-run, non-profit organization which they would use to distribute their films through

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1860-482: A decade. Unlike the former, John Waters released most of his films during his early life through his own production company, Dreamland Productions . In the early 1980s, New Line Cinema agreed to work with him on Polyester (1981). During the 1980s, Waters would become a pillar of the New York–based independent film movement known as the " Cinema of Transgression ", a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe

2015-501: A fellow studio convert, George Lucas , a fan of Eraserhead and now the darling of the studios, offered Lynch the opportunity to direct his next Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi (1983). However, Lynch had seen what had happened to Lucas and his comrades in arms after their failed attempt to do away with the studio system. He refused the opportunity, stating that he would rather work on his own projects. Lynch instead chose to direct

2170-535: A few dozen or possibly a few hundred screens in select urban markets. Films like these usually cost less than $ 10 million, but frequently less than $ 5 million, with small marketing budgets that escalate if and when a particular film performs. The independent film industry exists globally. Many of the most prestigious film festivals are hosted in various cities around the world. The Berlin International Film Festival attracts over 130 countries, making it

2325-821: A film about the revenge of a former slave in the Southern United States in 1858. The film stemmed from Tarantino's desire to produce a Spaghetti Western set in America's Deep South during the Antebellum Period . Tarantino called the proposed style "a southern", stating that he wanted "to do movies that deal with America's horrible past with slavery and stuff but do them like spaghetti westerns, not like big issue movies. I want to do them like they're genre films, but they deal with everything that America has never dealt with because it's ashamed of it, and other countries don't really deal with because they don't feel they have

2480-518: A four-hour film course during the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila , Tarantino cited Filipino directors Cirio H. Santiago , Eddie Romero and Gerardo de León as personal icons from the 1970s. He referred to De Leon's "soul-shattering, life-extinguishing" movies on vampires and female bondage, citing in particular Women in Cages ; "It is just harsh, harsh, harsh", he said, and described

2635-1000: A good way to end the old career." Tarantino has used his Hollywood power to give smaller and foreign films more attention. These films are often labeled "Presented by Quentin Tarantino" or "Quentin Tarantino Presents". In 1995, Tarantino formed Rolling Thunder Pictures with Miramax to release or re-release several independent and foreign features. By 1997, Miramax had shut down the company due to poor sales. The following films were released by Rolling Thunder Pictures: Chungking Express (1994, dir. Wong Kar-wai ), Switchblade Sisters (1975, dir. Jack Hill ), Sonatine (1993, dir. Takeshi Kitano ), Hard Core Logo (1996, dir. Bruce McDonald ), The Mighty Peking Man (1977, dir. Ho Meng Hua ), Detroit 9000 (1973, dir. Arthur Marks ), The Beyond (1981, dir. Lucio Fulci ), and Curdled (1996, dir. Reb Braddock). In 2001, he produced

2790-445: A hallmark of all his movies is that there is a different sense of humor in each one, which prompts the viewer to laugh at scenes that are not funny. However, he insists that his films are dramas, not comedies. Tarantino's use of dialogue is noted for its mundane conversations with popular culture references. For example, when Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction are driving to a hit , they talk about Vincent's trip to Europe, discussing

2945-508: A highly stylized "revenge flick" in the cinematic traditions of Chinese martial arts films , Japanese period dramas , Spaghetti Westerns , and Italian horror . It was based on a character called The Bride and a plot that he and Kill Bill ' s lead actress Uma Thurman had developed during the making of Pulp Fiction . It was originally set for a single theatrical release, but its four-hour running time prompted Tarantino to divide it into two movies. Tarantino says he still considers it

3100-405: A larger-than-life experience. The 1950s and early 1960s saw a Hollywood dominated by musicals, historical epics, and other films which benefited from these advances. This proved commercially viable during most of the 1950s. However, by the late 1960s, audience share was dwindling at an alarming rate. Several costly flops, including Cleopatra (1963) and Hello, Dolly! (1969) put severe strain on

3255-446: A list of recent UK companies; most are in liquidation and are fronted by his daughter, Kate Hoffman: Seven Arts had been implicated in major fraud by HM Revenue and Customs and also by many investors, claiming that Peter Hoffman's daughter is behind the many scams in the UK. In 2012, Seven Arts Pictures announced the creation of its new music division, Seven Arts Entertainment. This included

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3410-631: A listed company on Alternative Investment Market (AIM). After trading on AIM for 3 years, the company moved to Plus Markets from 2007 to 2009. In preparation to its entrance on the Nasdaq , Seven Arts Pictures plc was listed on the OTCBB from 2008 to 2009. Since 2009, Seven Arts Pictures plc has been trading on the Nasdaq under SAPX. Seven Arts Pictures also has trading entities in the UK which have been put into liquidation owing investors millions of dollars. Below are

3565-472: A loose-knit group of like-minded New York artists using shock value and humor in their Super 8 mm films and video art . Other key players in this movement included Kembra Pfahler , Casandra Stark , Beth B , Tommy Turner, Richard Kern and Lydia Lunch . Rallying around such institutions as the Film-Makers' Cooperative and Anthology Film Archives, this new generation of independents devoted themselves to

3720-417: A lot of feet in a lot of good directors' movies. That's just good direction. Like, before me, the person foot fetishism was defined by was Luis Buñuel , another film director. And Alfred Hitchcock was accused of it and Sofia Coppola has been accused of it." Tarantino has stated in many interviews that his writing process is like writing a novel before formatting it into a script, saying that this creates

3875-526: A mere $ 27.4 million domestically against a $ 45 million budget. De Laurentiis, furious that the film had been a commercial disaster, was then forced to produce any film Lynch desired. He offered Lynch only $ 6 million in order to minimize the risk if the film had failed to recoup its costs; however, the film, Blue Velvet (1986), was a resounding success, earning him another Academy Award for Best Director nod. Lynch subsequently returned to independent filmmaking, and did not work with another major studio for over

4030-629: A misdiagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma , Tarantino was again sent to live with his grandparents in Knoxville. Less than a year later, he returned to Torrance. At the age of 14, Tarantino wrote one of his earliest works, a screenplay called Captain Peachfuzz and the Anchovy Bandit that was based on the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit . He later revealed that his mother had ridiculed his writing skills when he

4185-425: A monopoly on film production and distribution comprising all the major film companies of the time ( Edison , Biograph , Vitagraph , Essanay , Selig , Lubin , Kalem , American Star , American Pathé ), the leading distributor ( George Kleine ) and the biggest supplier of raw film, Eastman Kodak . A number of filmmakers declined or were refused membership to the trust and came to be described as "independent". At

4340-450: A number of young film makers began to experiment with transgression not as a box-office draw, but as an artistic act . Directors such as John Waters and David Lynch would make a name for themselves by the early 1970s for the bizarre and often disturbing imagery which characterized their films. When Lynch's first feature film, Eraserhead (1977), brought Lynch to the attention of producer Mel Brooks , he soon found himself in charge of

4495-469: A relative unknown in America when he was cast as Hans Landa in his first film for Tarantino. Editor Sally Menke , who worked on all Tarantino films until her death in 2010, was described by Tarantino in 2007 as "hands down my number one collaborator". In 1997, Spike Lee questioned Tarantino's use of racial slurs in his films, especially the N-word , particularly in Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown . In

4650-613: A result of the falling cost of technology to make, edit and digitally distribute films, filmmaking is more widely accessible than ever before. Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South by Southwest Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film distributors. Film festivals and screenings like these are just one of

4805-501: A separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. Still, even with a broadening of the company, UA struggled. The coming of sound ended the careers of Pickford and Fairbanks. Chaplin, rich enough to do what he pleased, worked only occasionally. Schenck resigned in 1933 to organize a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck , Twentieth Century Pictures , which soon provided four pictures

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4960-563: A separate production company Cine Visions, which had been merged with ICE in 1997. Carolco had previously used the name Seven Arts as a joint venture with New Line Cinema to produce and release mid-budget films; when the partnership was dissolved, Hoffman took the name Seven Arts with him to start over. With offices in London, England and Los Angeles, California, Seven Arts is producing motion pictures worldwide with budgets ranking from $ 2 million to $ 15 million for exhibition in domestic (i.e.,

5115-641: A single film in his overall filmography. Volume 1 was released in 2003 and Volume 2 was released in 2004. From 2002 to 2004, Tarantino portrayed villain McKenas Cole in the ABC television series Alias . In 2004, Tarantino attended the 2004 Cannes Film Festival , where he served as president of the jury. Volume 2 of Kill Bill had a screening there, but was not in competition. Tarantino then contributed to Robert Rodriguez's 2005 neo-noir film Sin City , and

5270-530: A single film. He then made the exploitation - slasher film Death Proof (2007), which was part of a double feature with From Dusk till Dawn director Robert Rodriguez , released under the collective title Grindhouse . His next film, Inglourious Basterds (2009), followed an alternate account of World War II . He followed this with Django Unchained (2012), a slave revenge Spaghetti Western which won him his second Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His eighth film, The Hateful Eight (2015),

5425-564: A studio's ability to package and release their work. This table lists the companies active in late 1935 illustrates the categories commonly used to characterize the Hollywood system. The studio system quickly became so powerful that some filmmakers once again sought independence. On May 24, 1916, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was formed, the first movie studio owned and controlled by independent filmmakers. In 1919, four of

5580-833: A sudden these characters come out more or less fully formed. I don't write their dialogue, I get them talking to each other." Tarantino has built up an informal " repertory company " of actors who have appeared in many roles in his films. Most notable of these is Samuel L. Jackson, who has appeared in five films directed by Tarantino and a sixth written by him, True Romance . Other frequent collaborators include Uma Thurman, who has been featured in three films and whom Tarantino has described as his " muse "; Zoë Bell , who has acted or performed stunts in seven Tarantino films; Michael Madsen, James Parks and Tim Roth, who respectively appear in five, four and three films. In addition, Roth appeared in Four Rooms , an anthology film where Tarantino directed

5735-468: A talent that has not gained traction in the studio system; or simply because they want to work with a particular director they admire. Examples of the latter include John Travolta and Bruce Willis taking less than their usual pay to work with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction . Generally, the marketing of independent films is characterized by limited release , often at independent movie theaters , but they can also have major marketing campaigns and

5890-621: A trip to Los Angeles ; after a brief marriage and divorce, she left Los Angeles and moved to Knoxville, where her parents lived, and returned to Los Angeles with her son in 1966. Tarantino's mother married musician Curtis Zastoupil soon after arriving in Los Angeles, and the family moved to nearby Torrance, California . Zastoupil accompanied Tarantino to numerous film screenings while his mother allowed him to see more mature movies, such as Carnal Knowledge (1971) and Deliverance (1972). After his mother divorced Zastoupil in 1973 and received

6045-515: A vacant lot near Georgia Street in downtown Los Angeles . While there, the company decided to explore new territories, traveling several miles north to Hollywood , a little village that was friendly and positive about the movie company filming there. Griffith then filmed the first movie ever shot in Hollywood, In Old California , a Biograph melodrama about California in the 1800s, while it belonged to Mexico. Griffith stayed there for months and made several films before returning to New York. During

6200-403: A year to UA's schedule. He was replaced as president by sales manager Al Lichtman who himself resigned after only a few months. Pickford produced a few films, and at various times Goldwyn, Korda, Walt Disney , Walter Wanger , and David O. Selznick were made "producing partners" (i.e., sharing in the profits), but ownership still rested with the founders. As the years passed and the dynamics of

6355-524: Is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ... He pushes the envelope, he creates PG-13 ; a movie so fucking badass it created a new level in the MPAA ." In the 2012 Sight & Sound directors' poll, Tarantino listed his 12 favorite films in no particular order: Apocalypse Now , The Bad News Bears , Carrie , Dazed and Confused , The Great Escape , His Girl Friday , Jaws , Pretty Maids All in

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6510-445: Is 60 to focus on writing novels and film literature. He is skeptical of the film industry going digital, saying, "If it actually gets to the place where you can't show 35 mm film in theaters anymore and everything is digital projection, I won't even make it to 60." He said though "not etched in stone" he intends to retire after making his tenth movie: "If I get to the 10th, do a good job and don't screw it up, well that sounds like

6665-537: Is a producer of the 2007 film Hostel: Part II . In 2008, he produced the Larry Bishop -helmed Hell Ride , a revenge biker film. In February 2010, Tarantino bought the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. Tarantino allowed the previous owners to continue operating the theater, but stated he would make occasional programming suggestions. He was quoted as saying: "As long as I'm alive, and as long as I'm rich,

6820-566: Is also among a few notable directors, including Martin Scorsese and Edgar Wright , who appreciate Elaine May 's 1987 film Ishtar , despite its reputation as being a notorious box-office flop and one of the worst films ever made . Tarantino has opined that Steven Spielberg 's Jaws is "the greatest movie of all time. Maybe not the best film, but the best movie ever made". He commented further that his "favourite Spielberg-directed movie, again with Jaws carved out on its own Mount Rushmore,

6975-472: Is also more of a push from EU National governments to fund all aspects of the arts, including film. The European Commission for Culture has an Audiovisual sector, for example, whose role is most notably to help distribute and promote films and festivals across Europe. Additionally, the Commission organizes policymaking, research, and reporting on "media literacy" and "digital distribution." As with other media,

7130-410: Is said to have observed, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson ), formed their distribution company, with Hiram Abrams as its first managing director. The original terms called for Pickford, Fairbanks, Griffith, and Chaplin to independently produce five pictures each year, but by

7285-445: Is so good. It affects audiences in a big way". When questioned in an interview for Kill Bill: Volume 1 why his movies contained so much graphic violence, he responded, "Because it's so much fun!" The number of expletives and deaths in Tarantino's films were measured by analytics website FiveThirtyEight . In the examples given by the site, " Reservoir Dogs features 'just' 10 on-screen deaths, but 421 profanities. Django Unchained , on

7440-538: The de facto ban on small productions; the independent filmmakers who had fled to Southern California during the enforcement of the trust had already laid the groundwork for the studio system of classical Hollywood cinema . In early 1910, director D.W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troupe, consisting of performers Blanche Sweet , Lillian Gish , Mary Pickford , Lionel Barrymore , and others. They began filming on

7595-487: The 1994 Cannes Film Festival . The film grossed over $ 200 million and earned positive reviews. In 1995, Tarantino participated in the anthology film Four Rooms , a collaboration that also included directors Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell. Tarantino directed and acted in the fourth segment of "The Man from Hollywood", a tribute to the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode " Man from

7750-689: The Ace Hotel Los Angeles for the Live Read series. Tarantino explained that they would read the first draft of the script, and added that he was writing two new drafts with a different ending. Filming went ahead as planned with the new draft in January 2015. The Hateful Eight was released on December 25, 2015, as a roadshow presentation in 70 mm film -format theaters, before being released in digital theaters on December 30, 2015. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. In July 2017, it

7905-622: The American Civil Liberties Union . Following on the heels of Easy Rider shortly afterward was the revived United Artists' Midnight Cowboy (also 1969), which, like Easy Rider , took numerous cues from Kenneth Anger and his influences in the French New Wave. It became the first and only X rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Midnight Cowboy also held the distinction of featuring cameo roles by many of

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8060-545: The Anthology Film Archives in 1970, which would likewise prove essential to the development and preservation of independent films, even to this day. Not all low-budget films existed as non-commercial art ventures. The success of films like Little Fugitive , which had been made with low (or sometimes non-existent ) budgets encouraged a huge boom in popularity for non-studio films. Low-budget film making promised exponentially greater returns (in terms of percentages) if

8215-543: The James Best Theatre Company, where he met several of his eventual collaborators for his next film. In 1987, Tarantino co-wrote and directed My Best Friend's Birthday (1987). It was left uncompleted, but some of its dialogue was included in True Romance . The following year, he played an Elvis impersonator in "Sophia's Wedding: Part 1", an episode in the fourth season of The Golden Girls , which

8370-607: The Mirisch brothers, Billy Wilder , Joseph E. Levine and others. By the late 1950s, RKO had ceased film production, and the remaining four of the big five had recognized that they did not know how to reach the youth audience. In an attempt to capture this audience, the Studios hired a host of young filmmakers (many of whom were mentored by Roger Corman ) and allowed them to make their films with relatively little studio control. Warner Brothers offered first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of

8525-461: The U.S. domestic box office revenue was from independent studios. The 1990s saw the rise and success of independent films not only through the film festival circuit but at the box office as well while established actors, such as Bruce Willis , John Travolta , and Tim Robbins , found success themselves both in independent films and Hollywood studio films. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990 from New Line Cinema grossed over $ 100 million in

8680-594: The World War I effort. Already veterans of Hollywood, the four film stars began to talk of forming their own company to better control their own work as well as their futures. They were spurred on by the actions of established Hollywood producers and distributors, who were making moves to tighten their control over their stars' salaries and creative license. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before things had formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland , head of Metro Pictures ,

8835-404: The blockbuster Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In fact, the only two movies of the movement which can be described as uncompromisingly independent are Easy Rider at the beginning, and Peter Bogdanovich 's They All Laughed , at the end. Peter Bogdanovich bought back the rights from the studio to his 1980 film and paid for its distribution out of his own pocket, convinced that

8990-591: The exploitation slasher film Death Proof . Released as a take on 1970s double features , under the banner Grindhouse , it was co-directed with Rodriguez who did the other feature which was the body horror film Planet Terror . Box-office sales were low but the film garnered mostly positive reviews. Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds , released in 2009, is the story of a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers in Nazi -occupied France in an alternate history of World War II . He had planned to start work on

9145-416: The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes where his reviews are part of the "Tomatometer" rating. He has since published over 30 film reviews, including director essays, on his New Beverly Cinema website. Tarantino reappraises films that go against the views of mainstream film criticism, for example, he considers the 1983 film Psycho II to be superior to the original 1960 film Psycho . He

9300-560: The stylized violence from his earlier film and also non-linear storylines. Tarantino received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay , which he shared with Roger Avary, who contributed to the story. He also received a nomination in the Best Director category. The film received another five nominations, including for Best Picture . Tarantino also won the Palme d'Or for the film at

9455-594: The "prosumer" camera segment and film schools for those who are less autodidactic. Film programs in universities such as NYU in New York and USC in Los Angeles have benefited from this transitional growth. The economic side of filmmaking is also less of an obstacle than before, because the backing of a major studio is no longer needed to access necessary movie funding. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter , Pozible , and Tubestart have helped people raise thousands of dollars; enough to fund their own, low-budget productions. As

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9610-485: The $ 5 million film The Elephant Man (1980) for Paramount. Though Eraserhead was strictly an out-of-pocket, low-budget, independent film, Lynch made the transition with unprecedented grace. The film was a huge commercial success, and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Lynch. It also established his place as a commercially viable, if somewhat dark and unconventional, Hollywood director. Seeing Lynch as

9765-423: The 1950s progressed, the new low-budget paradigm of filmmaking gained increased recognition internationally, with films such as Satyajit Ray 's critically acclaimed Apu Trilogy (1955–1959). Unlike the films made within the studio system, these new low-budget films could afford to take risks and explore new artistic territory outside the classical Hollywood narrative. Maya Deren was soon joined in New York by

9920-701: The 1980s, Tarantino had a number of jobs. After lying about his age, he worked as an usher at an adult movie theater in Torrance, called the Pussycat Theater . He spent time as a recruiter in the aerospace industry , and for five years he worked at Video Archives , a video store in Manhattan Beach, California . He was well known in the local community for his film knowledge and video recommendations; Tarantino stated, "When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, 'No, I went to films." In 1986, Tarantino

10075-474: The B-grade shlock film soon fell to the level of the Z movie , a niche category of films with production values so low that they became a spectacle in their own right. The cult audiences these pictures attracted soon made them ideal candidates for midnight movie screenings revolving around audience participation and cosplay . In 1968, a young filmmaker named George A. Romero shocked audiences with Night of

10230-468: The Dragon ), John Woo action films ( A Better Tomorrow II and The Killer ), John Carpenter films ( Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing ), blaxploitation films (including The Mack and Foxy Brown ), Jean-Luc Godard films ( Bande à Part and the 1960 version of Breathless ), and Sonny Chiba 's work ( The Street Fighter and Shadow Warriors ). In August 2007, while teaching in

10385-598: The Edison era of the early 1900s, many Jewish immigrants had found jobs in the U.S. film industry. Under the Edison Trust, they were able to make their mark in a brand-new business: the exhibition of films in storefront theaters called nickelodeons . Within a few years, ambitious men like Samuel Goldwyn , Carl Laemmle , Adolph Zukor , Louis B. Mayer , and the Warner Brothers (Harry, Albert, Samuel, and Jack) had switched to

10540-568: The Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to eliminate certain anti-competitive practices. This effectively brought an end to the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age . By 1958, many of the reasons for creating the SIMPP had been corrected and SIMPP closed its offices. The efforts of the SIMPP and the advent of inexpensive portable cameras during World War II effectively made it possible for any person in America with an interest in making films to write, produce, and direct one without

10695-478: The Living Dead , a new kind of intense and unforgiving independent horror film. This film was released just after the abandonment of the production code, but before the adoption of the MPAA rating system . As such, it was the first and last film of its kind to enjoy a completely unrestricted screening, in which young children were able to witness Romero's new brand of highly realistic gore. This film would help to set

10850-630: The New Beverly will be there, showing films shot on 35 mm." Starting in 2014, Tarantino took a more active role in programming film screenings at the New Beverly, showing his own films as well as prints from his personal collection. In 2021, Tarantino announced that he had also purchased the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles, stating that he intends to keep it a first-run theatre, and that like The New Beverly it will only show movies on film. In June 2020, Tarantino became an officially recognized critic on

11005-515: The Pickford/Fairbanks Studio, but did not own a studio lot as such. Because of this, many of their films would be shot on location. Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance or the expensive production staff which ran up costs at other studios. UA went public in 1956, and as the other mainstream studios fell into decline, UA prospered, adding relationships with

11160-540: The Radio (1995), and Girl 6 (1996). Also in 1996, he starred in Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair , a simulation video game that uses pre-generated film clips. In 1998, Tarantino made his major Broadway stage debut as an amoral psycho killer in a revival of the 1966 play Wait Until Dark , which received unfavorable reviews for his performance from critics. Tarantino went on to write and direct Kill Bill ,

11315-467: The Seven Arts International subsidiary, which was later absorbed into Fireworks Pictures . In 1998, it was in negotiations with Rysher Entertainment to handle international rights to the project Onegin , with several deals across all territories.. In 2002, the Seven Arts International label was rejigged, which handled international sales of the films. In 2004, Seven Arts Pictures plc became

11470-629: The South ". He joined Rodriguez again later in the year with a supporting role in Desperado . One of Tarantino's first paid writing assignments was for From Dusk till Dawn , which Rodriguez directed later in 1996, re-teaming with Tarantino in another acting role, alongside Harvey Keitel, George Clooney and Juliette Lewis . His third feature film was Jackie Brown (1997), an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch . A homage to blaxploitation films, it starred Pam Grier , who starred in many of

11625-614: The US release of the Hong Kong martial arts film Iron Monkey , which made over $ 14 million worldwide. In 2004, he brought the Chinese martial arts film Hero to the US. It opened at number-one at the box office and eventually earning $ 53.5 million. While Tarantino was in negotiations with Lucy Liu for Kill Bill , the two helped produce the Hungarian sports documentary Freedom's Fury , which

11780-505: The United States . The Hollywood oligopoly replaced the Edison monopoly. Within this new system, a pecking order was soon established which left little room for any newcomers. By the mid-1930s, at the top were the five major studios, 20th Century Fox , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Paramount Pictures , RKO Pictures , and Warner Bros. Then came three smaller companies, Columbia Pictures , United Artists , and Universal Studios . Finally there

11935-439: The United States and Canada) and foreign theatrical markets and for subsequent post-theatrical worldwide release in other forms of media, including Blu-ray and DVD, home video, pay-per-view, and free television. Mario Kassar had headed Carolco with Hoffman. At one point, in the late 1990s, it was co-owned by CanWest Global Communications , who co-owned it with Peter and Susan Hoffman, with Canwest handling 35% of its share, and

12090-404: The United States making it the most successful indie film in box-office history to that point. Miramax Films had a string of hits with Sex, Lies, and Videotape , My Left Foot , and Clerks , putting Miramax and New Line Cinema in the sights of big companies looking to cash in on the success of independent studios. In 1993, Disney bought Miramax for $ 60 million. Turner Broadcasting , in

12245-753: The acquisition of musical assets by several multi platinum recording artists. Most notably is the rapper DMX whose next album was released in September 2012 titled Undisputed . The new music division of Seven Arts plans to sign deals with already established artists as well as up and coming artists. The production slate of Seven Arts Pictures and third party producers are distributed through Seven Arts International . Michael Arata, and Peter Hoffman were accused of conspiracy, wire fraud in New Orleans 7 February 2014. Investigators said Arata and Hoffman sought tax credits for money they fraudulently claimed had been spent on

12400-525: The aid of any major film studio . These circumstances soon resulted in a number of critically acclaimed and highly influential works, including Maya Deren 's Meshes of the Afternoon in 1943, Kenneth Anger's Fireworks in 1947, and Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin and Ray Abrashkin's Little Fugitive in 1953. Filmmakers such as Ken Jacobs , with little or no formal training, began to experiment with new ways of making and shooting films. Little Fugitive became

12555-411: The availability of new technologies has fueled the democratization of filmmaking and the growth of independent film. In the late forties and fifties, new inexpensive portable cameras made it easier for independent filmmakers to produce content without studio backing. The emergence of camcorders in the eighties broadened the pool of filmmakers experimenting with the newly available technology. More recently,

12710-429: The blueprint of the film and makes the film feel like literature. About his writing process he told website The Talks, "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. ... when I go and write my new characters, my pen is like an antenna, it gets that information, and all of

12865-466: The budget, taking a role as co-producer and also playing a major part in the picture. In January 1992, it was released as Tarantino's crime thriller Reservoir Dogs —which he wrote, directed, and acted in as Mr. Brown—and screened at the Sundance Film Festival . The film was an immediate hit, receiving a positive response from critics. Tarantino's screenplay True Romance was optioned and

13020-433: The business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Goldwyn and Disney left for RKO , Wanger for Universal Pictures , Selznick and Korda for retirement . By the late 1940s, United Artists had virtually ceased to exist as either a producer or distributor. In 1941, Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Walt Disney , Orson Welles , Samuel Goldwyn , David O. Selznick , Alexander Korda , and Walter Wanger —many of

13175-536: The climate of independent horror for decades to come, as films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980) continued to push the envelope. With the production code abandoned and violent and disturbing films like Romero's gaining popularity, Hollywood opted to placate the uneasy filmgoing public with the MPAA ratings system, which would place restrictions on ticket sales to young people. Unlike

13330-527: The comic book Silver Surfer , inspired him to have the character's poster on Mr. Orange 's apartment wall in Reservoir Dogs . Tarantino has also labeled Rio Bravo as one of his influences. He listed the Australian suspense film Roadgames (1981) as another favorite film. Other films he cited as formative influences include Hong Kong martial arts films (such as Five Fingers of Death and Enter

13485-569: The craft. Aspiring filmmakers can range from those simply with access to a smartphone or digital camera, to those who write "spec" scripts (to pitch to studios), actively network, and use crowdsourcing and other financing to get their films professionally produced. Oftentimes, aspiring filmmakers have other day-jobs to support themselves financially while they pitch their scripts and ideas to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. This recent technology-fueled renaissance has helped fuel other supporting industries such as

13640-536: The defiance of the now-establishment New Hollywood, proposing that "all film schools be blown up and all boring films never be made again." In 1978, Sterling Van Wagenen and Charles Gary Allison , with Chairperson Robert Redford , (veteran of New Hollywood and star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ) founded the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah and showcase what

13795-648: The differences in countries such as a McDonald's " Quarter Pounder with Cheese" being called a "Royale with Cheese" in France because of the metric system . In the opening scene to Reservoir Dogs , Mr. Brown (played by Tarantino) interprets the meaning of Madonna 's song " Like a Virgin ". In Jackie Brown , Jackie and Max chat over a cup of coffee while listening to a vinyl record by the Delfonics ' " Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) ". Tarantino has said that his films take place in one of two cinematic universes, one being

13950-515: The distance from Edison's home base of New Jersey made it more difficult for the MPPC to enforce its patents. The Edison Trust was soon ended by two decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States : one in 1912, which canceled the patent on raw film, and a second in 1915, which cancelled all MPPC patents. Though these decisions succeeded at legalizing independent film, they would do little to remedy

14105-489: The features released in the United States and usually cost between $ 5 and $ 10 million to produce. Hollywood was producing these three different classes of feature films by means of three different types of producers. The superior products were the large, budget blockbusters and high-cost star vehicles marketed by the six major studio producer-distributors. Budgets on the major studios' pictures averaged $ 100 million, with approximately one-third of it spent on marketing because of

14260-626: The film after Jackie Brown but postponed this to make Kill Bill after a meeting with Uma Thurman. Filming began on " Inglorious Bastards ", as it was provisionally titled, in October 2008. The film opened in August 2009 to positive reviews with the highest box office gross in the US and Canada for the weekend on release. For the film, Tarantino received his second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2011, production began on Django Unchained ,

14415-406: The film could have a successful run in the theaters. During this time, independent producer/director Roger Corman began a sweeping body of work that would become legendary for its frugality and grueling shooting schedule. Until his so-called "retirement" as a director in 1971 (he continued to produce films even after this date), he would produce up to seven movies a year, matching and often exceeding

14570-416: The film was eventually released in 1993. The second script that Tarantino sold was for the film Natural Born Killers , which was revised by Dave Veloz, Richard Rutowski and director Oliver Stone . Tarantino was given story credit and stated in an interview that he wished the film well, but later disowned the final film. Tarantino also did an uncredited rewrite on It's Pat (1994). Other films where he

14725-428: The filmmaking business would slowly squeeze out the more idiosyncratic of these young filmmakers, while ensconcing the more malleable and commercially successful of them. Film critic Manohla Dargis described this era as the "halcyon age" of the decade's filmmaking that "was less revolution than business as usual, with rebel hype". She also pointed out in her New York Times article that enthusiasts insisted this era

14880-563: The films of that genre in the 1970s. It received positive reviews and was called a "comeback" for Grier and co-star Robert Forster . Leonard considered Jackie Brown to be his favorite of the 26 different screen adaptations of his novels and short stories. In the 1990s, Tarantino had a number of other minor acting roles, including in Eddie Presley (1992), The Coriolis Effect (1994), Sleep With Me (1994), Somebody to Love (1994), All-American Girl (1995), Destiny Turns on

15035-409: The final segment, and filmed a scene for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood before it was cut for time. Other actors who have appeared in several films by Tarantino include Michael Bacall , Michael Bowen , Bruce Dern , Harvey Keitel , Michael Parks , Kurt Russell , and Craig Stark, who have appeared in three films each. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have each appeared in two Tarantino films,

15190-607: The final shot as one of "devastating despair". Upon his arrival in the Philippines, Tarantino was quoted in the local newspaper as saying, "I'm a big fan of RP [Republic of the Philippines] cinema." Tarantino's films often feature graphic violence , a tendency which has sometimes been criticized. Reservoir Dogs was initially denied United Kingdom certification because of his use of torture as entertainment. Tarantino has frequently defended his use of violence, saying that "violence

15345-594: The first independent film to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the American Academy Awards . It also received Silver Lion at Venice . Both Engel and Anger's films won acclaim overseas from the burgeoning French New Wave , with Fireworks inspiring praise and an invitation to study under him in Europe from Jean Cocteau , and François Truffaut citing Little Fugitive as an essential inspiration to his seminal work, The 400 Blows . As

15500-401: The five-per-year schedule that the executives at United Artists had once thought impossible. Like those of the avant-garde, the films of Roger Corman took advantage of the fact that unlike the studio system, independent films had never been bound by its self-imposed production code . Corman's example (and that of others like him) would help start a boom in independent B-movies in the 1960s,

15655-508: The following year, two New Hollywood directors had become sufficiently established for Coppola to be offered oversight of Paramount's The Godfather (1972) and Lucas had obtained studio funding for American Graffiti (1973) from Universal. In the mid-1970s, the major Hollywood studios continued to tap these new filmmakers for both ideas and personnel, producing films such as Paper Moon (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), all of which met with critical and commercial success. These successes by

15810-646: The game. Though the eventual breakup of the studio system and its restrictive chain-theater distribution network would leave independent movie houses eager for the kind of populist, seat-filling product of the Poverty Row studios, that same paradigm shift would also lead to the decline and ultimate disappearance of "Poverty Row" as a Hollywood phenomenon. While the kinds of films produced by Poverty Row studios only grew in popularity, they would eventually become increasingly available both from major production companies and from independent producers who no longer needed to rely on

15965-526: The gross on his film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) instead of a minimal fee. The movie had grossed over $ 70 million worldwide by 1973. These initial successes paved the way for the studio to relinquish almost complete control to the film school generation and began what the media dubbed " New Hollywood ." Dennis Hopper , the American actor, made his writing and directing debut with Easy Rider (1969). Along with his producer/co-star/co-writer Peter Fonda , Hopper

16120-487: The large release campaigns. Another class of Hollywood feature film included art films, specialty films, and other niche-market fare controlled by the conglomerates' indie subsidiaries. Budgets on these indie films averaged $ 40 million per release in the early 2000s, with $ 10 million to $ 15 million spent on marketing (MPA, 2006:12). The final class of film consisted of genre and specialty films whose release campaigns were administered by independent producer-distributors with only

16275-750: The largest film festival in the world. Other large events include the Toronto International Film Festival , Hong Kong International Film Festival , and the Panafrican Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou . The European Union , specifically through the European Cinema and VOD Initiative (ECVI), has established programs that attempt to adapt the film industry to an increasing digital demand for film on video on demand services, outside of theatrical screenings. With this program, VOD offerings are paired with traditional movie screenings. There

16430-427: The leading figures in American silent cinema ( Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Douglas Fairbanks , and D. W. Griffith ) formed United Artists. Each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo . The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier as they were traveling around the U.S. selling Liberty bonds to help

16585-466: The members of New Hollywood led each of them, in turn, to make more and more extravagant demands, both on the studio and eventually on the audience. While most members of the New Hollywood generation were, or started out as, independent filmmakers, a number of their projects were produced and released by major studios. The New Hollywood generation soon became firmly entrenched in a revived incarnation of

16740-646: The more realistically grounded world of films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction , and the other being a meta-fictional narrative which Tarantino says represents the kind of films the characters in his main cinematic universe would watch, which separates films such as From Dusk till Dawn and Kill Bill from Tarantino's primary narrative. He also creates his own products and brands that he uses in his films to varying degrees. His own fictional brands, including " Acuña Boys Tex-Mex Food", "Big Kahuna Burger", "G.O. Juice", "Jack Rabbit Slim's", "K-Billy", "Red Apple cigarettes", "Tenku Brand Beer" and "Teriyaki Donut", replace

16895-536: The old studios from financial ruin by providing them with a new formula for success. Indeed, it was during this period that the very definition of an independent film became blurred. Though Midnight Cowboy was financed by United Artists, the company was certainly a studio. Likewise, Zoetrope was another "independent studio" which worked within the system to make a space for independent directors who needed funding. George Lucas would leave Zoetrope in 1971 to create his own independent studio, Lucasfilm , which would produce

17050-477: The options in which movies can be independently produced/released. Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino ( / ˌ t ær ən ˈ t iː n oʊ / ; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His films are characterized by stylized violence , extended dialogue often featuring much profanity , and references to popular culture . His work has earned

17205-436: The other hand, has 'just' 262 profanities but 47 deaths." He often blends aesthetic elements, in tribute to his favorite films and filmmakers. In Kill Bill , he melds comic strip formulas and visuals within a live action film sequence, in some cases by the literal use of cartoon or anime images. Tarantino has also occasionally used a non-linear story structure in his films, most notably with Pulp Fiction. He has also used

17360-628: The picture was better than what the studio believed — he eventually went bankrupt because of this. In retrospect, it can be seen that Steven Spielberg 's Jaws (1975) and George Lucas 's Star Wars (1977) marked the beginning of the end for the New Hollywood. With their unprecedented box-office successes, these movies jump-started Hollywood's blockbuster mentality, giving studios a new paradigm as to how to make money in this changing commercial landscape. The focus on high-concept premises, with greater concentration on tie-in merchandise (such as toys), spin-offs into other media (such as soundtracks), and

17515-431: The potential of independent film could be. At the time, the main focus of the event was to present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions; however it also included a small program of new independent films. The jury of the 1978 festival was headed by Gary Allison , and included Verna Fields , Linwood Gale Dunn , Katherine Ross , Charles E. Sellier Jr. , Mark Rydell , and Anthea Sylbert . In 1981,

17670-485: The principal aim of which was to bring in the youth market which the major studios had lost touch with. By promising sex , wanton violence , drug use , and nudity , these films hoped to draw audiences to independent theaters by offering to show them what the major studios could not. Horror and science fiction films experienced a period of tremendous growth during this time. As these tiny producers, theaters, and distributors continued to attempt to undercut one another,

17825-638: The production code, this rating system posed a threat to independent films in that it would affect the number of tickets they could sell and cut into the grindhouse theaters' share of the youth market. This change would further widen the divide between commercial and non-commercial films. However, having a film audience-classified is strictly voluntary for independents and there is no legal impediment to releasing movies on an unrated basis. However, unrated movies face obstacles in marketing because media outlets, such as TV channels, newspapers and websites, often place their own restrictions on movies that do not come with

17980-434: The production side of the business. After hearing about Biograph's success in Hollywood, in 1913 many such would-be movie-makers headed west to avoid the fees imposed by Edison. Soon they were the heads of a new kind of enterprise: the movie studio . By establishing a new system of production, distribution, and exhibition which was independent of The Edison Trust in New York, these studios opened up new horizons for cinema in

18135-575: The production, distribution, and exhibition of films. In 1942, the SIMPP filed an antitrust suit against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres. The complaint accused Paramount of conspiracy to control first-run and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. It was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors alleging monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the United States Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered

18290-434: The property. Independent film It is not unusual for well-known actors who are cast in independent features to take substantial pay cuts for a variety of reasons: if they truly believe in the message of the film, they feel indebted to a filmmaker for a career break; their career is otherwise stalled, or they feel unable to manage a more significant commitment to a studio film; the film offers an opportunity to showcase

18445-678: 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, all right? And to say that I can't do that because I'm white, but the Hughes brothers can do that because they're black, that is racist. That is the heart of racism, all right. And I do not accept that ... That is how a segment of the black community that lives in Compton , lives in Inglewood , where Jackie Brown takes place, that lives in Carson , that

18600-468: The right to". It was released in December 2012 and became his highest grossing film to date. He also received his second Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In November 2013, Tarantino said he was working on a new film and that it would be another Western, though not a sequel to Django Unchained . On January 11, 2014, it was revealed that the film would be titled The Hateful Eight . The script

18755-461: The same people who were members of United Artists—founded the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers . Later members included William Cagney , Sol Lesser , and Hal Roach . The Society aimed to preserve the rights of independent producers in an industry overwhelmingly controlled by the studio system. SIMPP fought to end monopolistic practices by the five major Hollywood studios which controlled

18910-551: The same time that the maverick film students of the American New Wave were developing the skills they would use to take over Hollywood, many of their peers had begun to develop their style of filmmaking in a different direction. Influenced by foreign and art house directors such as Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini , exploitation shockers (i.e. Joseph P. Mawra , Michael Findlay , and Henri Pachard ) and avant-garde cinema, ( Kenneth Anger , Maya Deren and Bruce Conner )

19065-545: The same year that United Artists, bought out by MGM after the financial failure of Michael Cimino 's Heaven's Gate (1980), ceased to exist as a venue for independent filmmakers, Sterling Van Wagenen left the film festival to help found the Sundance Institute with Robert Redford. In 1985, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival, which

19220-419: The screenplay, which he wrote in three and a half weeks and presented to Bender unformatted. Impressed with the script, Bender managed to forward it through contacts to director Monte Hellman . Hellman cleaned up the screenplay and helped secure funding from Richard N. Gladstein at Live Entertainment (which later became Artisan, now known as Lionsgate ). Harvey Keitel read the script and also contributed to

19375-483: The scripts were based on studio pitches and subsequently paid for by the studios, the production financing was from the studio, and the marketing and distribution of the films were designed and controlled by the studio's advertising agency. Though Coppola made considerable efforts to resist the influence of the studios, opting to finance his risky 1979 film Apocalypse Now himself rather than compromise with skeptical studio executives, he, and filmmakers like him, had saved

19530-474: The second of which, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , they appear in together. Like Jackson, Pitt also appeared in the Tarantino-penned True Romance . Christoph Waltz appeared in two Tarantino films, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained , winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for each role. Waltz had been working as an actor since the 1970s in numerous German movies and TV shows but was

19685-409: The studio system, which financed the development, production and distribution of their films. Very few of these filmmakers ever independently financed or independently released a film of their own, or ever worked on an independently financed production during the height of the generation's influence. Seemingly independent films such as Taxi Driver , The Last Picture Show and others were studio films:

19840-411: The studios. Meanwhile, in 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin had made a deal with the remaining stockholders of United Artists which would allow them to make an attempt to revive the company and, if the attempt was successful, buy it after five years. The attempt was a success, and in 1955 United Artists became the first "studio" without an actual studio. UA leased space at

19995-460: The style in Reservoir Dogs , Kill Bill , and The Hateful Eight . Tarantino's script for True Romance was originally told in a non-linear style, before director Tony Scott decided to use a more linear approach. Critics have since referred to the use of this shifting timeline in films as the "Tarantino Effect". Actor Steve Buscemi has described Tarantino's novel style of filmmaking as "bursting with energy" and "focused". According to Tarantino,

20150-512: The summer of 2018. In wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations , Tarantino severed ties to The Weinstein Company and Miramax and sought a new distributor after working with Weinstein for his entire career. The film officially premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival , where it was in competition for the Palme d'Or . Sony Pictures eventually distributed the film, which

20305-408: The switch from film to digital cameras, inexpensive non-linear editing and the move to distribution via the internet have led to more people being able to make and exhibit movies of their own, including young people and individuals from marginalized communities. These people may have little to no formal technical or academic training, but instead are autodidactic filmmakers, using online sources to learn

20460-418: The time of the formation of the MPPC, Thomas Edison owned most of the major patents relating to motion pictures, including that for raw film . The MPPC vigorously enforced its patents, constantly bringing suits and receiving injunctions against independent filmmakers. Because of this, a number of filmmakers responded by building their own cameras and moving their operations to Hollywood, California , where

20615-407: The time the company got underway in 1920–1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and more polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (or eight reels). It was believed that no one, no matter how popular, could produce and star in five quality feature films a year. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out and the company was facing a crisis: either bring in others to help support

20770-609: The top Warhol superstars , who had already become symbols of the militantly anti-Hollywood climate of NYC's independent film community. Within a month, another young Corman trainee, Francis Ford Coppola , made his debut in Spain at the Donostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival with The Rain People (1969), a film he had produced through his own company, American Zoetrope . Though The Rain People

20925-482: The use of product placement , sometimes to a humorous extent. Tarantino is also known for his choice of music in his films, including soundtracks that often use songs from the 1960s and 70s. In 2011, he was recognized at the 16th Critics' Choice Awards with the inaugural Music+Film Award. A recurring image in his films are scenes where women's bare feet feature prominently. When asked about foot fetishism , Tarantino responded, "I don't take it seriously. There's

21080-444: The use of sequels (which had been made more respectable by Coppola's The Godfather Part II ), all showed the studios how to make money in the new environment. On realizing how much money could potentially be made in films, major corporations started buying up the remaining Hollywood studios, saving them from the oblivion which befell RKO in the 50s. Eventually, even RKO was revived, the corporate mentality these companies brought to

21235-401: Was " Poverty Row ", a catch-all term used to encompass any other smaller studio that managed to fight their way up into the increasingly exclusive movie business. While the small studios that made up Poverty Row could be characterized as existing "independently" of any major studio, they utilized the same kind of vertically and horizontally integrated systems of business as the larger players in

21390-636: Was "when American movies grew up (or at least starred underdressed actresses); when directors did what they wanted (or at least were transformed into brands); when creativity ruled (or at least ran gloriously amok, albeit often on the studio's dime)." During the 1970s, shifts in thematic depictions of sexuality and violence occurred in American cinema, prominently featuring heightened depictions of realistic sex and violence. Directors who wished to reach mainstream audiences of Old Hollywood quickly learned to stylize these themes to make their films appealing and attractive rather than repulsive or obscene. However, at

21545-535: Was a revisionist Western thriller and opened to audiences with a roadshow release . Tarantino's most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), was a comedy-drama set in the late 1960s about the transition of Old Hollywood to New Hollywood ; his debut novel, a novelization of the film , was published in 2021. He has said that, though it is not definite, his current plan is for his next film to be his last before he retires. Quentin Jerome Tarantino

21700-567: Was a major success and won numerous awards, including the Cannes Film Festival 's Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . He next wrote and starred in the action horror film From Dusk till Dawn (1996). His third film as director, the crime drama Jackie Brown (1997), paid homage to blaxploitation films. Tarantino wrote and directed the martial arts films Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), with both volumes combined regarded as

21855-522: Was a plan in part to take over the independent film industry and at the same time start "independent" studios of their own. The following are all "indie" studios owned by conglomerate Hollywood: By the early 2000s, Hollywood was producing three different classes of films: 1) big-budget blockbusters , 2) art films , specialty films and niche-market films produced by the conglomerate-owned "indies" and 3) genre and specialty films coming from true indie studios and producers. The third category comprised over half

22010-501: Was an uncredited screenwriter include Crimson Tide (1995) and The Rock (1996). Following the success of Reservoir Dogs , Tarantino was approached by major film studios and offered projects that included Speed (1994) and Men in Black (1997), but he instead retreated to Amsterdam to work on his script for Pulp Fiction . Tarantino wrote, directed, and acted in the dark comedy crime film Pulp Fiction in 1994, maintaining

22165-541: Was born in Knoxville, Tennessee , on March 27, 1963, the only child of Connie McHugh and aspiring actor Tony Tarantino , who left the family before his son's birth. He has claimed to have Cherokee ancestry through his mother, who was also of Irish descent, while his father was Italian-American. He was named in part after Quint Asper, Burt Reynolds 's character in the TV series Gunsmoke . Tarantino's mother met his father during

22320-531: Was broadcast on November 19, 1988. Tarantino recalled that the pay he received for the part helped support him during the preproduction of Reservoir Dogs ; he estimated he was initially paid about $ 650 but went on to receive about $ 3,000 in residuals over three years because the episode was frequently rerun due to it being on a "best of..." lineup. After meeting Lawrence Bender at a friend's barbecue, Tarantino discussed with him about an unwritten dialogue-driven heist film . Bender encouraged Tarantino to write

22475-504: Was credited as "Special Guest Director" for his work directing the car sequence featuring Clive Owen and Benicio del Toro . In May 2005, Tarantino co-wrote and directed " Grave Danger ", the fifth season finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation . For this episode, Tarantino was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards . In 2007, Tarantino directed

22630-458: Was employed in his first Hollywood job, working with Video Archives colleague Roger Avary , as production assistants on Dolph Lundgren 's exercise video, Maximum Potential . Before working at Video Archives, Tarantino co-wrote Love Birds In Bondage with Scott Magill. Tarantino would go on to produce and direct the short film. Magill committed suicide in 1987, after which all film shot was destroyed. Later, Tarantino attended acting classes at

22785-473: Was experiencing financial difficulties. Gary Beer and Sterling Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural Sundance Film Festival which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's famous role as The Sundance Kid . Through this festival the Independent Cinema movement

22940-645: Was largely overlooked by American audiences, Zoetrope would become a powerful force in New Hollywood. Through Zoetrope, Coppola formed a distribution agreement with studio giant Warner Bros., which he would exploit to achieve wide releases for his films without making himself subject to their control. These three films provided the major Hollywood studios with both an example to follow and a new crop of talent to draw from. Zoetrope co-founder George Lucas made his feature film debut with THX 1138 (1971), also released by Zoetrope through their deal with Warner Bros., announcing himself as another major talent of New Hollywood. By

23095-558: Was launched. Such notable figures as Kevin Smith , Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , David O. Russell , Paul Thomas Anderson , Steven Soderbergh , James Wan , Hal Hartley , Joel and Ethan Coen and Jim Jarmusch garnered resounding critical acclaim and unprecedented box office sales. The significance of the Sundance Film Festival is documented in the work of Professor Emanuel Levy Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film, (NYU Press, 1999; 2001). In 2005, about 15% of

23250-612: Was released in 2006. When he was approached about a documentary about the Blood in the Water match , a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics , Tarantino said "This is the best story I've ever been told. I'd love to be involved". In 2006, another "Quentin Tarantino presents" production, Hostel , opened at number-one at the box office with a $ 20.1 million opening weekend. He presented 2006's The Protector , and

23405-541: Was reported that Tarantino's next project would be a film about the Manson Family murders. In February 2018, it was announced that the film's title would be Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , and that Leonardo DiCaprio would play Rick Dalton , a fictional star of television Westerns, with Brad Pitt as Dalton's longtime stunt double Cliff Booth; Margot Robbie would be playing real life actress Sharon Tate , portrayed as Dalton's next-door neighbor. Filming took place in

23560-408: Was responsible for one of the first completely independent films of New Hollywood. Easy Rider debuted at Cannes and garnered the "First Film Award" ( French : Prix de la premiere oeuvre ) after which it received two Oscar nominations, one for best original screenplay and one for Corman-alum Jack Nicholson 's breakthrough performance in the supporting role of George Hanson, an alcoholic lawyer for

23715-675: Was theatrically released in July 2019. It received critical acclaim Peter Travers of Rolling Stone declared, "Tarantino's all-star fantasia links Hollywood and Manson-era violence into the best and most explosive cinema we've seen all year." The film earned 10 Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards including three for Tarantino for Best Picture , Best Director and Best Original Screenplay . In November 2022, Tarantino revealed plans to shoot an eight-episode television series in 2023. No further details were provided. In 2009, Tarantino said that he planned to retire from filmmaking when he

23870-493: Was then leaked in January 2014. Aggrieved by the breach of confidence, Tarantino considered abandoning the production which was due to start the next winter and publish it as a novel instead. He stated that he had given the script to a few trusted colleagues, including Bruce Dern , Tim Roth and Michael Madsen . On April 19, 2014, Tarantino directed a live reading of the leaked script at the United Artists Theater in

24025-577: Was younger, and he subsequently vowed never to share any of his future wealth with her. As a 15-year-old, he was grounded by his mother for shoplifting Elmore Leonard 's novel The Switch from a Kmart . He was allowed to leave only to attend the Torrance Community Theater, where he participated in such plays as Two Plus Two Makes Sex and Romeo and Juliet . The same year, he dropped out of Narbonne High School in Harbor City . Through

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