Quentin Tarantino’s ecstasy-fuelled trip to the Great Wall of China: “Beyond acid”
Before he made Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s life famously consisted of working in a video rental store, writing screenplays, and watching as many movies as he could.
After those movies hit like atom bombs, though, Tarantino suddenly found himself the toast of Tinseltown, and that rarest of breeds: a legitimately famous director. He appeared on late-night talk shows and gave countless interviews that hinted at his encyclopedic knowledge of film, both the established classics and obscure, janky exploitation films that most serious ‘artistes’ wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.
During this period, Tarantino’s life was completely transformed, and everything that had previously made him an outsider now made him the coolest guy in the world. Before becoming a famous director, bending a girl’s ear at a bar about a bizarre 1970s Blaxploitation film would have been a one-way ticket to a lonely night. After becoming ‘Quentin Tarantino’, though, the dyed-in-the-wool movie nerd was beset by women from all sides, and he took full advantage of his fame.
If you want an insight into this time in Tarantino’s life, his infamous 2003 interview with Playboy magazine is a good place to start. The Jackie Brown helmer is nothing if not honest, and he conceded, “There was a lot of making up for lost time. What handsome guys did in their 20s, I did in my 30s. When you become famous, it’s cool. I can go by myself into a bar I’ve never been before, and in no time I’ll have a couple of girls around me.”
Then, speaking like a lonely teenage boy giddy to be living the lavish lifestyle of a rich celebrity, he added, “I usually go home with a couple of phone numbers, and I’m not asking for them. If I go into a strip club now and play my cards right, I can take one of the strippers home.”
Another thing Tarantino frankly admitted is that, before he became famous, he’d barely ever left California. After Reservoir Dogs hit, though, he took himself off to Amsterdam to write the Pulp Fiction script in a hotel in the Red Light District, and also had a ball presenting his debut film at all the big European Film Festivals, especially Cannes.
So, by the time it came to shooting Kill Bill in the early 2000s, Tarantino was a much more seasoned world-traveller, and he was adamant that portions of the kung-fu throwback needed to be shot in China. He and his cast and crew therefore spent four months in the communist country filming The Bride’s roaring rampage of revenge, and once again, he acted like a geek finally allowed off the leash.
“The nightlife in China is off the hook,” he revealed, with almost-adolescent enthusiasm.
According to Tarantino, he and the crew would work a gruelling six-day week in China, then party until they dropped on their day off. “We were up all night on Saturdays, and we would sleep all day on Sunday,” he explained with a grin.
“We had a good goddamn time in China.”
One of the ways that Tarantino ensured he had that good time is maybe not part of the movie director’s handbook, though. He quickly realised that China was “the ecstasy capital of the world” at that point, so he began taking as much of it as he could get his hands on. “They have E there that’s beyond acid,” he claimed, wide-eyed. “It’s wild.”
This eventually led to a magical mystery tour to the Great Wall of China – one of the most astonishing architectural feats in history and a place of great meaning to the country – in which Tarantino was off his head on ecstasy and marijuana. Instead of this being an offensive thing to do, though, the director claimed there were so many other people partying their hearts out that the atmosphere was “like an all-night rave” with rock bands and fireworks.
“Me and a bunch of the crew partied like rock stars all night,” he smiled, that teenage loner once again tickled pink to be living the life he’d always dreamed of. “It’s a great way to see the wall for the first time.”
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