Sometimes when a director and actor meet, it's a match made in movie heaven — so why wouldn't they team up again? Pairings like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have held on to partnerships for years, creating scores of wonderful films. These are the relationships I want to celebrate: that particular kinship between a filmmaker and a muse. Take a look through to see some of my all-time favorite duos.
Quentin Tarantino won the Academy Award for best original screenplay at this evening's show. He seemed to be going off the cuff thanking his cast on stage during his acceptance speech, and afterward he stepped backstage to the press room to continue celebrating his win. Here are highlights:
On making movies for a global audience: "I've always prided myself on being an international filmmaker. The way I look at it is I'm not an American filmmaker. I'm an American and a filmmaker, but I make movies for the planet Earth. To me, America is just another market. I make my movies for Earth."
On the Django backlash: "I have to say, all that criticism that came out ended up being kind of a good thing. One of the things I wanted to do was I wanted to actually start a conversation about slavery. I wanted to take an audience in the 21st century and stick them in the antebellum South. That back and forth is really what I wanted for the end of the day for this movie and I hope that continues for the next few years."
On the commercial success of a movie with such an adult theme: "I go into my own little film study from time to time especially during crazy moments like this. I've been doing a lot of study on the films made in the early 1970s, the beginning of what they call 'New Hollywood.' I was doing this study for my own edification. I looked at the nine nominees and more than most other times I can think of, I recognize the spirit that was going on then. Even the commercial success, there's nothing about the subject that suggest they would be commercial or popular, but they have been. The fact that we are not making every movie for teenagers is sort of a cool thing, especially since I'm not a teenager anymore."
Quentin Tarantino flashed a peace sign following his win for best original screenplay.
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Oscar winner Christoph Waltz got a hug from his Djano Unchained director Quentin Tarantino.
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The BAFTA Awards may have come and gone, but the afterparties kept the stars celebrating all night long in London yesterday. After nabbing both the best picture and best director awards at the event earlier in the evening, Ben Affleck took Jennifer Garner to a party at the Grosvenor House hotel. Jennifer kept on her backless Roland Mouret gown, but bundled up in a black coat as she made her way through the chilly London streets. Meanwhile, Marion Cotillard, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper dropped by Loulou's to attend the Weinstein Company bash with stars like Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence. Marion, Jennifer, and Amy all kept on their dresses from the event, eschewing a dress change. Click through to see those stars and more partying away in London.
Quentin Tarantino is riding high as his bloody Western Django Unchained enjoys its fruitful run at the box office. This week we're highlighting movies the Hollywood icon wrote, starred in, directed, or produced. Match the image to the title, and see how well you know Tarantino!
In Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino mines the Western genre and a chapter of painful American history for a violent story of revenge and a tale of one of the most enjoyable friendships seen on the big screen. Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz play title character Django and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, respectively, who meet when Schultz frees and recruits the enslaved Django to help him track down his latest targets. The two team up, and when Django confesses his plan to find his enslaved wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), Schultz takes an interest in his tragic love story and decides to help Django find her. It's a surprisingly tender setup for the murderous adventures to come, and that juxtaposition is just one of the many crazy delights of Django Unchained.
Leonardo DiCaprio also stars as Calvin Candie, who owns a grand plantation called Candyland and who happens to be the current owner of Broomhilda. With his flamboyant dress, love of French culture, and charisma, Calvin is full of personality and is completely unpredictable. Calvin's far from the only dynamic character, though; each of Django's major players make this film as exciting as it is brutal. In exploring a new genre, Tarantino has created yet another mind-blowing, distinctive film. Find out what else makes this movie a must see after the jump.
Quentin Tarantino was joined by the stars of his newest film, Django Unchained, for a press conference at the Ritz-Carlton in NYC yesterday morning. We were on the scene to hear the cast talk about the movie, which opens Dec. 25, and discuss what it was like playing slaves and slave-owners.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, and several other actors were on hand to discuss the powerful film, which manages to turn a horrifying tale of slavery into a Spaghetti Western-esque masterpiece. They've all been busy promoting the new movie, which premiered in NYC with some help from Leo's friend Cameron Diaz last week.
Read on to see our five favorite moments from the press conference, including a surprise appearance by Jonah Hill.
Diane Kruger wore Prabal Gurung for a special gala honoring Quentin Tarantino in NYC last night. Diane and stars, including Katie Holmes, assembled at the Museum of Modern Art for the "Tribute to Quentin Tarantino" event, which comes ahead of the release of the director's next film, Django Unchained, on Christmas Day. Quentin's the fifth-ever director to receive a retrospective honor from MoMA, following in the footsteps of Tim Burton and more.
Diane and Quentin have worked together previously, as she starred in his 2009 film, Inglourious Basterds. Diane made a speech about Quentin before a small film about him was screened for an audience of his frequent collaborators, including Reservoir Dogs actors Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel. Quentin's frequent producer Harvey Weinstein made the rounds with his pregnant wife, Georgina Chapman, as did Chelsea Clinton with her husband, Marc Mezvinsky. Django's Jamie Foxx also showed up to lend his support to Quentin.
Quentin Tarantino doesn't seem like the most likely director to take on a Western, but in the trailer for Django Unchained, it's clear that this movie is no traditional Western. Sure, everything seems conventional when we meet Django (Jamie Foxx), trudging in chains while a mournful Johnny Cash tune plays. But when he's recruited by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to help find outlaws, things get decidedly Tarantinian. Cue the soul music as Schultz and Django's journey leads them to plantation owner Calvin Candie, who's played by a curly-haired, Southern-drawling Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio is pretty cartoonish as what we suspect is the movie's villain, and his performance is my main reason for wanting to see this movie — which is saying a lot since I love Tarantino's work. I don't know whether this will top his last effort, the incredible Inglourious Basterds, but I'm excited to find out when the movie comes out on Christmas day. Watch the trailer and let me know what you think after the jump.
