Quentin Tarantino discusses the “best actor’s director” in modern cinema
With the release of his debut feature film, Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino established himself as one of modern cinema’s most unique directors. Created on a low budget, the filmmaker’s first movie was incredibly violent yet highly stylish, paying as much attention to humorous, complex dialogue as it did to shocking acts of brutality.
The ‘90s were incredibly successful for Tarantino, who rose to become one of the biggest names in the industry despite largely working as an independent filmmaker. After Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino earned money by penning the screenplay for True Romance and coming up with the story for Natural Born Killers, leading him to his next directorial feature, Pulp Fiction.
Since then, Tarantino has helmed movies such as Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, becoming a leading name in modern cinema. One of the reasons for Tarantino’s brilliance is his obsession with the cinematic medium, possessing a seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of movies.
He has dished out his opinions on his fair share of movies over the years, from obscure B-movies to the newest blockbuster. In an interview with Vulture, he once selected several films that he believes “will be watched in 30 years,” naming two David O. Russell movies – The Fighter and American Hustle.
Like Tarantino, Russell got his start as an indie filmmaker, often working with independent companies well into his career. For example, his Academy Award-winning film Silver Linings Playbook was independently made and distributed. Tarantino appears to be a big fan of Russell’s work, particularly heaping praise onto The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale as boxing brothers. He explained why the movie is so brilliant: “Part of that is the explosion of David O. Russell’s talent, which had always been there but really coalesced in that movie.”
He went on to call Russell “the best actor’s director, along with myself, working in movies today.” Tarantino explained that The Fighter has an “impeccable” cast that doesn’t strictly rely on “gorgeous” actors to sell the film. Comparing it to The Town, Tarantino detailed that The Fighter makes the former, directed by Ben Affleck, look “phoney” for this reason.
Additionally, Russell has often cast the same actors multiple times, most notably Jennifer Lawrence, who has appeared in movies such as Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and Joy. Talking to Vulture, Lawrence once told Russell why she has enjoyed working with him so much: “I was so young and inexperienced. By the time I got to you, you shaped me. Watching our movies, everything I’ve learned, I’ve taken through my entire career. I was so amazed by you, and just open. You wrote it and I’d do it and you’d tell me how to do it better.”
Despite this, Russell has faced his fair share of controversy that would suggest he is anything but an “actor’s director”.
Since the late ’90s, Russell has been accused of treating his actors poorly, with actors such as George Clooney, Lily Tomlin and Christian Bale finding themselves in physical or verbal altercations with the filmmaker. Amy Adams has also spoken out against his terrible treatment of her on the set of American Hustle, which left her distraught. It appears that Russell is a volatile filmmaker, one whose treatment of his cast members can differ starkly depending on the production.
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