Quentin Tarantinomade his official directorial debut withReservoir Dogs, but this could have been entirely different thanks to the decision of another iconic director. Quentin Tarantino’s first movie is the unfinished comedyMy Best Friend’s Birthday, from 1987, butReservoir Dogsis considered his official directorial debut. Released in 1992,Reservoir Dogsis a crime movie that introduced the world to Tarantino’s visual and narrative styles, and it went on to become a classic of independent cinema, as well as a critical success.
Reservoir Dogsintroduces viewers to a group of thieves, all of them with code names based on colors, who are preparing for a heist. However, this goes terribly, and the surviving thieves meet at a warehouse, where they learn there’s a rat among them.Reservoir Dogsis now regarded as one of the best independent movies of all time and as one ofTarantino’s best and most defining works. However, this could have been completely different had another iconic director made a different decision.
Quentin Tarantino Offered True Romance & Reservoir Dogs To Tony Scott
Tony Scott Was Given Two Tarantino Scripts To Choose From
Quentin Tarantino writes and directs his movies, but he has also written some that were directed by others. One of them is the romantic crime movieTrue Romance, directed by Tony Scott.True Romancefollows newlyweds Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette), who, after stealing a shipment of drugs, find themselves running from the mafia. Although it was a box-office failure, grossing $12.6 million against a budget of $2.5 million,True Romancewas well-received by critics and is regarded as one ofTony Scott’s best movies.
Tarantino looked up to Scott, and so he took his chance by cornering Scott and pitching bothReservoir DogsandTrue Romanceto him.
However, if it wasn’t for Tony Scott, Tarantino’s first movie could have beenTrue Romance, and Scott could have broughtReservoir Dogsto life. Back in 1991, Tarantino made his way onto the set of Scott’sThe Last Boy Scout, as one of his friends was working there as an assistant. Tarantino looked up to Scott, and so he took his chance by cornering Scott and pitching bothReservoir DogsandTrue Romanceto him.Scott agreed to take a look at the scripts, and when he was done, he wanted to direct both(viaIndependent).
However, Tarantino told Scott that he could only do one, and so he went forTrue Romance.Tarantino sold the script for $50,000, which he then used to fundReservoir Dogs. Tarantino’s debut movie arrived a year beforeTrue Romanceand was a huge success, and they both rank high onRotten Tomatoes, withReservoir Dogsholding a 90% critics score andTrue Romancea 93% critics' score.
Why Quentin Tarantino Didn’t Direct Three Of The Movies He Wrote
Quentin Tarantino wrote three movies that he didn’t get to direct for different reasons – here’s which movies and why he stepped aside.
Reservoir Dogs Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Without 1 Of Its Main Actors
One Of Reservoir Dogs’ Main Actors Helped The Movie Get Made
Even though Tarantino had already planned to makeReservoir Dogson a budget of $30,000 and the money he got fromTrue Romancedefinitely helped, he still needed some extra help. When producer Lawrence Bender gave the script ofReservoir Dogsto his acting teacher, whose wife then gave it to Harvey Keitel, he liked it so much that he signed as co-producer, so the project could find funding a lot easier. Thanks to this,Reservoir Dogsraised $1.5 million, and if that wasn’t enough,Keitel also paid for casting sessions in New York.
One Tarantino Actor Played A Bigger Role In His Career Than You Realize
Quentin Tarantino has his frequent collaborators, but one of them had a bigger role in the director’s career, and he owes a lot to him.
Keitel was also cast and played Mr. White, who looked after the injured Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) until a shocking reveal.Reservoir Dogsalso marked the first collaboration between Tarantino and Keitel, as he later played Mr. Wolf inPulp Fictionand Jacob Fuller inFrom Dusk Til Dawn, written by Tarantino but directed by Robert Rodriguez.Quentin Tarantino’s directorial debut could have been different had Tony Scott chosen differently, and that could have also changed the rest of his career.
