Quentin Tarantino on being a “bus-riding loser” in Los Angeles
Quentin Tarantino knows a thing or two about Los Angeles. Several of his films have been set in the City of Angels, including Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and, of course, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. If anyone knows the highs and lows of LA, then it is undoubtedly the iconic fast-talking director.
Tom Snyder once asked Tarantino about the amount of time he used to spend on the streets before he was famous. “I’m kind of used to talking to people and trying to talk to people,” Tarantino said, so spending time on the buses was quite likely a good source of inspiration to find real Los Angeles characters for his future films.
However, Tarantino then admitted, “There’s not a single thing in Los Angeles that makes you feel more like a loser than when you’re riding the bus. I mean, you just feel like a loser.” Snyder then noted that he had never ridden the bus in LA. Tarantino continued, “In any other city, the transit system is not so bad, it’s no worries, and every other place is a little smaller than Los Angeles as far as its surrounding areas are concerned. But Los Angeles is built for a car to get around.”
Snyder then noted the glamourous cars driving around LA, the Bentleys and the Mercedes-Benzs. However, Tarantino said that he wasn’t arsed by flashy cars. “My thing is that I didn’t really care about whether or not my car was nice. I never bought into that stuff. It never really interested me.“
He continued, “But you do need a car because you take a bus to just a standard area that would take you no time whatsoever to drive to, maybe 20 minutes at the most. It takes three hours on the bus in Los Angeles. It’s like the whole city is not set up for you. And the only reason you don’t have a car is that you can’t afford one. If you can, you’re not going to take the bus.”
Reiterating the point that riding the bus makes you “really feel like a loser”, Tarantino added, “You probably had a car, and it probably broke on you, and you’re out of the game for a little bit. I’ve had to take the buses for like a year, a year and a half at a time.”
When Snyder asked Tarantino what kind of things he usually saw on the bus during those times, he said, “Well, 98 per cent of the time, it’s just incredible boredom, cause it’s not like the subway, they don’t just keep coming all the time.” If anything, though, perhaps that 98 per cent of boredom was just a good time to devise plots and character arcs, so maybe it was something of a blessing in disguise for the legendary director.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.