The only ‘Pulp Fiction’ scenes that were not directed by Quentin Tarantino
If you asked someone to select a film that represents the spirit of American filmmaking in the 1990s more than any other, there’s a good chance that Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino would sit at the top of the pile. The picture has grown out of the ‘Indiewood’ surge to become a mainstay of modern cinema dn set the tone for a whole range of different projects that followed.
Starring the likes of John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, Uma Thurman and more, Pulp Fiction is a brilliant cinematic translation of the nihilism and irreverence that dominated the social fabric during that time. A near-perfect movie, Tarantino’s ability to create a storyline as intricate and multi-layered as real life is perhaps the ultimate commendation.
In an interview with the American Film Institute, Tarantino opened up about the influences that inspired him to write Pulp Fiction, explaining: “Well, the idea in Pulp Fiction was the idea of taking the – I wouldn’t say film noir, but the pulp genre that was represented in the case of magazines like Black Mask where you had Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett writing them”.
He went on to explain how these stories weren’t exactly original, but his treatment would amplify the atmospheric sensibilities that were prevalent during the the ’90s. Tarantino added: “So I thought the idea in the case of Pulp Fiction, that would be kind of cool is to take three separate stories and make them be the oldest stories in the book”.
According to Tarantino, he had been working on the script with Roger Avary since 1990 and had been influenced by gems like Mario Bava’s 1963 film Black Sabbath and American cult films such as Bonnie and Clyde. Apart from writing and directing Pulp Fiction, Tarantino also starred in the film as Jimmie, a friend of Jules (played by Jackson) who suddenly finds a messy car and a dead body in his house while his wife is out.
When he was starting out, Tarantino developed his skills as a screenwriter by attending acting classes. He explained: “I actually realised I had a bit of talent at it [by] going to acting class. And I was always doing bizarre scenes in acting class. Little by little, I started adding more and more and more to the scenes and that was me learning how to write dialogue”.
Jimmie is a character that doesn’t necessarily do anything within Pulp Fiction, but rather creates an additional boundary between Jules and Vincent getting breakfast. Sure, it’s fun to see Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta spar with words while cleaning blood out of the inside of their car, but Tarantino’s (or Jimmie’s) looseness with the N-word still leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, just like bad coffee. Good thing Jimmie gets the good shit.
While he was focused on the acting, Tarantino’s best friend Robert Rodriguez took over for him and filled the directorial seat to supervise the scenes with Jimmie in it. Tarantino was torn between choosing to play Jimmie or Lance, the latter being Vincent’s (Travolta) eccentric drug dealer. In order to help him out with the confusion, he asked the From Dusk Till Dawn director to take charge of the Jimmie scenes.
Tarantino has rarely given up the reins for his movies, and few would have figured the filmmaker didn’t direct every single part of his magnum opus, but Rodriguez does a perfect job.
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