Real Name: Quentin Tarentino Date Of Birth: March 27, 1963, 1940 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Former video store clerk whose debut, the complex heist film Reservoir Dogs (1992), became an immediate cult hit and established Tarantino as a talent to watch. Two of his early screenplays were subsequently brought to the screen by other directors-True Romance (1993, Tony Scott) and Natural Born Killers (1994, Oliver Stone)-and showcased Tarantino's penchant for quirky dialogue, mangy characters, and graphic, almost casual violence (although Killers was extensively rewritten and Tarantino received only a story credit). Nothing, however, prepared critics or the public for Pulp Fiction (1994), a brutal, profane, and sensationally entertaining piece that dazzled with a bizarre narrative structure and knowing salutes to pop culture. It became a surprise popular hit, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and earned Tarantino a Best Director Oscar nomination and an Original Screenplay Oscar (cowriting with Roger Avary, whose film Killing Zoe was executive-produced by Tarantino).


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