From Pulp Fiction to Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino’s best-known movies are the ones he’s directed. But he’s also written movies he didn’t direct, like True Romance and Natural Born Killers, and he’s played roles in movies he didn’t direct (although not many, since other directors aren’t as forgiving of his limited acting talents as he is).
He wrote the screenplay for From Dusk Till Dawn, an action-packed crime movie that turns into a vampire-infested horror-fest at the midpoint, and starred alongside George Clooney. But Tarantino didn’t direct it; instead, his close friend Robert Rodriguez did. There are some fascinating stories from the making of this movie.
10 Quentin Tarantino Initially Planned To Direct From Dusk Till Dawn Himself
Quentin Tarantino initially planned to direct From Dusk Till Dawn himself, between Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. However, he decided that he had enough on his plate with the script and playing Richie Gecko, so he stepped down from directing.
Before Tarantino’s buddy Robert Rodriguez was brought on board to direct, Tony Scott and Renny Harlin were interested in helming the project.
9 Seth Gecko’s Tattoo Was George Clooney’s Idea
George Clooney’s role in From Dusk Till Dawn, for which he was paid $250,000 (a fraction of what he can command today) is what made him a movie star. He played a cold-blooded murderer, which was wildly against type as he was known for playing a doctor on ER.
It was Clooney’s own idea for Seth Gecko to have a tattoo, inspired by Once Were Warriors. Since this was Clooney’s first starring role, he didn’t receive top billing, despite obviously being the main character; instead, top billing went to Harvey Keitel, who was a bigger star in the ‘90s.
8 Salma Hayek Needed Therapy To Overcome Her Fear Of Snakes Before Filming
In the original script, Salma Hayek’s character was called Blonde Death and she was a white woman. However, after seeing Hayek’s performance in Desperado, Tarantino rewrote the character to be Latina and renamed her Satanico Pandemonium — inspired by the 1975 Mexican film of the same name — just so Hayek could play her.
The role required Hayek to have an albino Burmese python around her neck, but the actor had a terrible phobia of snakes. She had to spend two months with a therapist in order to overcome this fear before filming.
7 Production Was Delayed By Fire Damage, Dust Storms, And The Threat Of A Strike
The production of From Dusk Till Dawn was set back by various unfortunate delays. The exterior set of the strip club burned down and had to be rebuilt. Plus, there were dust storms at the filming location and the film’s use of a non-union crew led to threats of a strike.
6 Quentin Tarantino Unwittingly Gave Himself Very Little Dialogue
Quentin Tarantino’s writing style is marked by his heavy use of dialogue, with articulate, pontificating characters going on wild tangents in conversation. Based on interviews he’s given, the director himself is insanely verbose.
However, in From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave himself a starring role with very little dialogue. He didn’t realize he hadn’t given himself many lines until it was too late to rewrite the part.
5 Pulp Fiction’s Ezekiel 25:17 Speech Originated In An Early Draft Of From Dusk Till Dawn
One of the most iconic monologues from Tarantino’s filmography is Samuel L. Jackson’s slightly fictionalized recital of the Ezekiel 25:17 passage from the Bible.
This monologue began its life in an early draft of From Dusk Till Dawn, in which Jacob delivered the speech in anticipation of the characters’ final stand against the vampires. Well, it actually began its life in a Sonny Chiba movie.
4 One Particularly Violent Deleted Scene Was Too Far Even For Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino is famous for featuring so much hyper-stylized violence in his movies that it’s been read as a satirical critique of on-screen violence. However, there was one scene in From Dusk Till Dawn that was too violent even for him.
A stripper vampire’s stomach opened up like a big mouth, then she shoved someone’s head into that mouth and bit their head off. Tarantino deemed it to be too graphic. The scene can be found in the Special Edition DVD’s deleted scenes section.
3 Salma Hayek Had No Choreography For The Dance Scene
Salma Hayek’s dance scene had no choreography. Director Robert Rodriguez decided to just play the music and let Hayek move to it. He later used the same technique with Jessica Alba in Sin City.
The script called for the song in this dance scene to be “Down in Mexico” by the Coasters, but Rodriguez instead chose to use “After Dark” by Tito & Tarantula. Tarantino later used “Down in Mexico” in Death Proof.
2 Antonio Banderas And John Travolta Were Offered The Role Of Seth Gecko
Before George Clooney was cast to play Seth Gecko, the role was offered to a ton of actors — including Antonio Banderas, Steve Buscemi, Robert De Niro, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, and James Woods — but they all turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.
The only actor who turned down the part for reasons other than a scheduling clash was John Travolta, who wasn’t interested in doing a vampire movie and chose to do Pulp Fiction instead.
1 Quentin Tarantino Wrote From Dusk Till Dawn For A Special Effects Company In Exchange For The Ear-Cutting Effects Reservoir Dogs
This was the first script that Quentin Tarantino was paid to write. He was given just $1,500 to write a screenplay that special effects company KNB could use to show off their abilities. Special effects technician Robert Kurtzman was going to direct the movie, but when he couldn’t commit, Robert Rodriguez came aboard.
As part of the exchange, KNB provided the special effects for Reservoir Dogs’ now-iconic ear-slicing scene for free.
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July 25, 2020 at 05:30AM
