Eli Roth

Interview: ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Mastermind Quentin Tarantino Does Chicago

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:13:35 -0600

CHICAGO – Venerated writer and Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino has no shame in admitting he’s a basterd. In fact, he’s deeply proud of it.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Tarantino charmed a packed Chicago crowd of onlookers and the press for the Aug. 18, 2009 red-carpet premiere of his newly controversial Nazi-killing film “Inglourious Basterds” inside AMC River East in downtown Chicago.

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino of “Pulp Fiction” fame, “Inglourious Basterds” is a piece of bravura filmmaking that stars Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth (the director of “Hostel” and “Hostel: Part II”), Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger and Daniel Brühl.

During the seemingly 2.490 seconds he spoke with this HollywoodChicago.com critic in a well-lit and sweaty interview on the “Inglourious Basterds” red carpet, Tarantino unsurprisingly but emphatically professed his love for The Weinstein Company (his production company for the film along with Universal Pictures) and in working with the Harvey and Bob Weinstein namesakes.

“I’ve had no issues in working with the Weinsteins. They’re ma boyz!,” Tarantino exclaimed both with anticipated media training but also with genuine indebtedness to the brotherly duo. He added: “They’re coming back in a big way.”

Writer and director Quentin Tarantino poses for the HollywoodChicago.com lens in this exclusive,
off-the-red-carpet portrait with his career achievement award on Aug. 18, 2009 at the summer gala
for the 45th-annual Chicago International Film Festival premiere of his new film “Inglourious Basterds”.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Professional critics nationwide have already lauded the film, which opens on Friday, and have awarded it a certified fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

When asked about his respect for the modern-day film critic, Tarantino said: “I like reading good film criticism. If I think they’re off base and they just reject my aesthetic, that’s one thing. But if they actually have something thoughtful to say one way or another, that’s good food for thought.”

“Inglourious Basterds” takes place in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. A group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” and led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) rise to fame to percolate fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and violently killing Nazis almost like sport.

But the script didn’t come easily nor did it manifest quickly for Tarantino. He actually started penning “Inglourious Basterds” prior to “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” in 2003 and couldn’t put his finger on an ending. The Basterds got put on hold for that Uma Thurman, Bill-killing film.

Tarantino worked on the “Inglourious Basterds” script for almost a decade. He says he’s not yet sure what he has created and he’ll need time for the dust to settle in order to figure it out. He added: “I need at least three years of distance to really know exactly what I’ve done and how it ranked. I love it right now, but it’s also the one I’ve seen the least.”

Often imitated and never exactly duplicated, Tarantino knows a professional copycat is the highest form of flattery. And he enjoys it: “My films have created a subgenre. Every time they say something is a ‘Tarantino-like film,’ it’s always a crime film. … I don’t try to be different or offensive. I might [be different or offensive] very effortlessly, but I don’t try.”

Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt, right) and Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth, left) in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”.
Photo credit: Francois Duhamel, The Weinstein Company

As for his stay in Chicago, he says he’s most interested in the city’s pizza and the impressions of his latest project from local moviegoers. Tarantino said: “I had some pizza. I’ve been hearing about Chicago deep-dish pizza my whole life. My big thing here, though, is about watching the movie with the Chicago audience and doing a Q&A session afterward.”

What’s next? Of course, those are beans he won’t spill: “I’m not sure what’s next. Right now it’s all about this. When this movie is officially in the past, then I can think about what’s next. … I love this film because I did it. I think it’s damn good writing.”

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds” stars Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger and Daniel Brühl. “Inglourious Basterds” opens everywhere on Aug. 21, 2009. The film is rated “R” for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality. Its running time is 153 minutes.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Exclusive Portrait: Director Quentin Tarantino Walks Chicago Red Carpet For ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Premiere

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:38:15 -0600

CHICAGO – Writer and director Quentin Tarantino posed with his new career achievement award for the HollywoodChicago.com lens on Aug. 18, 2009 at the summer gala for the 45th-annual Chicago International Film Festival premiere of his new film “Inglourious Basterds”.

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino of “Pulp Fiction” fame, “Inglourious Basterds” stars Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth (the director of “Hostel” and “Hostel: Part II”), Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger and Daniel Brühl.

The film opens everywhere on Aug. 21, 2009. Our interview with Quentin Tarantino on “Inglourious Basterds” can be read here. Our exclusive portrait of Quentin Tarantino can be found below.

Writer and director Quentin Tarantino poses with his career achievement award for the
HollywoodChicago.com lens on Aug. 18, 2009 at the summer gala for the 45th-annual
Chicago International Film Festival premiere of his new film “Inglourious Basterds”.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Video: Clip From ‘Inglourious Basterds’ With Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt

BrianTT — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:59:51 -0600

CHICAGO – Last night’s “American Idol” featured an exclusive clip from the August 21st release of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” starring Brad Pitt, B.J. Novak, Eli Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, Cloris Leachmen, Mike Myers, and Diane Krueger. We have the clip for you below that was reportedly too hot to air on primetime TV during “American Idol.”

The official press release:

Last night, on FOX’s mega-hit tv show, “American Idol,” Quentin Tarantino made a special guest mentor appearance and debuted a sneak preview of never-seen-before footage from his upcoming movie, “Inglourious Basterds”.

“Inglourious Basterds” stars Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger and will hit theatres on August 21, 2009.

Watch the full preview for “Inglourious Basterds”.
Watch more HollywoodChicago.com-hosted A&E videos.
Watch more movie videos on HollywoodChicago.com hosted elsewhere.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Video: Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Trailer With Brad Pitt

BrianTT — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:34:05 -0600

CHICAGO – We’re back with our latest addition to our new-and-expanding video library of Summer 2009 movie previews. Today’s installment is easily one of the most anticipated films of the season, Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” starring Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, B.J. Novak, Samuel L. Jackson, Cloris Leachman, Mike Myers, and Diane Kruger. Check it out and see what you think. The film opens on August 21st, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Eli Roth in ‘Hostel: Part II’ Flirts Fiddly Line Between Tasteful Terror, Repugnant Repulsion

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:33:11 -0600

CHICAGO – “It’s the difference between hunting a lion and a deer.”

Eli Roth, director of “Hostel: Part II,” articulated in an interview with Adam Fendelman that view of his “Hostel” men as weighed against his “Hostel: Part II” women. The tellingly revealing statement touches not only on his muse for the sequel but also his take on the female kind and people’s darkest secrets.

Eli Roth (center) with Lauren German (left) and Bijou Phillips (right) in “Hostel: Part II”.
Photo courtesy of Rico Torres and Lionsgate
The concept to calculatingly ferret and torture women was conceived from “Death Proof” – Quentin Tarantino’s half of “Grindhouse” – because Roth so fancied Tarantino’s violent femmes. Roth regarded the “Death Proof” girls as the new bar for females in horror films. Tarantino executive produced “Hostel: Part II” and Roth acted in “Death Proof” a week before shooting his hostile sequel.

Parlaying a threesome into his own ferocious film world, Roth – who as a horror director fears real blood – seized the opportunity to strike back and grow his successful empire. Undaunted by being dubbed as a masochistic misogynist and forever burdened to dangerously flirt the thorny line between tasteful terror and repugnant repulsion, Roth is a fiddly lad to tag.

On one hand, he’s one of the most profitable directors in Hollywood. As the business is exactly that – a business – and as a business is in business to make money, Roth has a knack for translating relatively low-budget films into box-office surprises that send investors to cloud nine.

“‘Hostel’ was a total one-off movie that was supposed to be a little movie I did between movies,” Roth said. “The average budget for a movie is now $80 million. ‘Hostel’ was made for $3.8 million. Even if it had only come out in a few cities and did $8 to $10 million, it would have been a home run. We didn’t even know if it’d come out in theaters.”

When “Hostel” opened at $20 million and knocked out “The Chronicles of Narnia,” Roth says he was floored at the voracious appetite for his ideas. In total, “Hostel” has raked in $80 million in worldwide receipts.

On the other hand, you get the sense from speaking with him that he’s either selling you an alternate reality or he’s unaware of what his reality really is. He speaks of greatness he hasn’t yet achieved and his dossier hasn’t yet produced the timeless classics as he’d like to think.

“In ‘Hostel: Part II,’ I wanted an unbelievable climax,” he said. “The last moment of the film needed to be a showstopper – the end all, be all of horror films – with a great kill and one of best endings ever in a horror film.”

The groin yank was at least vile, foul, odious, sadistic, inhuman, malicious, malevolent, wicked, heinous, nefarious, sinful, fiendish – let’s see – what other adjectives are there on Thesaurus.com for just plain sick? Let us not forget the silent, slow scene with a grown man pointing a gun at the heads of children in a lineup.

At least he used a silencer. That was kind.

In deliberating the sequel, Roth says he sought to make the “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” of the “Hostel” series. In truth, though, grouping the two in the same sentence is like contrasting a fine wine that has aged to perfection with a tasty glass of Red Bull that has its thrill rides but may or may not stand the test of time.

Bijou Phillips plays Whitney in “Hostel: Part II”.
Photo courtesy of Rico Torres and Lionsgate
Timing is very much on Roth’s brain. He describes the ability to be scary to audiences as that which is scary to him. He also plots his stories squarely around what America fears at a given moment in time.

“I was in Prague when Katrina hit. It was like ‘Dawn of the Dead,’” Roth said. “Bodies were flowing down the street and there were no police. People went right to a primal state of killing, raping and looting. The army didn’t show up for five days. That terrifies me.

“Look anywhere where there’s no law. What do people do? They go right to killing. It’s something in human nature. Under the right circumstances, anyone can become a killer. When no one’s looking, people have that need inside them to control and torture another human being.”

With the plot of obscenely moneyed people who drool at the opportunity to bid on the torture and ultimate death of random overseas female tourists, Roth makes the stretch of comparing his fictional story to President Bush’s real-world war in Iraq.

“Why is that war happening? It’s for oil. It’s for money. Halliburton is making those decisions. Do you really think any of those decisions are being made for the good of a country? It’s blood for money. It’s capitalism to its most extreme. It’s very real. We’re in Iraq because that’s where the money is. That’s scary.”

Roth bills his work as not just scary but intelligently so. To up the gore ante, he says all you need is another tool – such tools are inspired by torture devices used by the church – and another body. The tough part is making it smarter, he says, and what’s really terrifying is the look on the actor’s face. It’s not the actual graphic brutality.

“I have to compete with films with $100 million ad campaigns along with ‘24,’ ‘Nip/Tuck’ and ‘CSI’ on TV. A great horror movie kill can trump everything. If you can do the shower scene in ‘Psycho,’ the opening in ‘Jaws’ or another signature scene, then it doesn’t matter what movie stars you have or what you spent on special effects because people have got to see that moment.

“That’s what ‘Hostel: Part II’ has. At the end of the film, people will come out saying: ‘I’ve never seen that in a movie.’ The ratings board didn’t know what to compare this to and that’s what people like about me. People see my name and they look for intelligence and originality. ‘Hostel’ was the one that raised the bar and pushed the envelope further than any film had at that point.”

The bitterly divisive debate about the “R” rating for “Hostel: Part II” by the MPAA – instead of “NC-17” – is unsurprisingly viewed by the film’s maker as a democratic breath of fresh air. He eulogizes the association’s autonomous process.

“With ‘Hostel’ and ‘Saw II,’ the MPAA got many complaints. We were under the microscope this time. Before we were under the radar. When ‘Hostel: Part II’ came in, they were ready for it. It’s ‘Hostel: Part II’. It’s not ‘Happy Feet: Part II’. People know what it is. What they built it up to be in their minds was so much worse than what it actually was. We had a great discussion about it.

Heather Matarazzo plays the innocent role of Lorna in “Hostel: Part II”.
Photo courtesy of Rico Torres and Lionsgate
“I really feel lucky that we have a system like the MPAA. In Germany, they’ll say: ‘Take these scenes out or the movie’s not going in theaters.’ It’s government censored.

“In Japan, ‘Hostel’ didn’t come out. They said: ‘We’re not going to have a movie where an American disfigures a Japanese girl’s face.’ That’s it. There’s no discussion. You watch a movie and they say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Ukraine? No. Singapore? No. In the U.S., we can have a discussion about it and can recut it. It’s run by the studios and not the government. It’s the only system by which I have a voice and a process.”

Whether you deem Roth to be a tormented soul or an explicit genius, there’s a method to his madness.

In his view, the stories touch on what people really feel and do – but often don’t say or show – and the realities about the most menacing parts of life. To bring what he perceives as such raw honesty to theaters, Roth paradoxically makes his actors feel “comfortable” and “safe” in their bloodied environments.

“These actors go to a very dark place,” Roth said. “When they’re crying and screaming, it’s real. They’re stirring up deep trauma and mental anguish. The most horrible, darkest thing in their life is right there on the surface and they’re reliving it.”

As culture changes, Roth’s terror changes.

Next, Roth is fixated on honing in on the dying of the world’s bees in the upcoming film “Cell”. From human torture to bees? Yes. He’s terrified by it. He says a quarter of the bee population is currently dying potentially because of cell phones knocking out the radar of the bees.

“Einstein says the human race is four steps eliminated from the extinction of bees,” Roth said. “Once the bees go, flowers won’t get pollinated, vegetables won’t grow, we won’t get oxygen and the human race will die without bees. Cell phones could be killing off the bees. I want to show there’s something brewing.

“With all this wireless stuff that’s pumped into the air to make our lives convenient, there’s a fear that it’s doing something we can’t even see. ‘Cell’ explores that fear. You have to know what the fear is going to be to know what the horror will be. It’s not a movie about the fear of technology. It makes the human behavior real. Then the film is timeless.”

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com