As two of the biggest names that the industry has ever had to offer, both Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have seen their fair share of success throughout their years on the Hollywood scene. Tarantino is the most well-known, with Pulp Fiction (1994) going down as one of the best pictures ever put to the silver screen. But Rodriguez has had a few critical darlings as well, with even more financial success to boot.
They burst onto the Hollywood scene at the same time with projects of similar proportions. That is to say, their respective debuts in the 1990s weren’t just released at the same time — they were also two of the most successful independent films of the entire decade. But what’s most prominently worth noting herein is that their respective releases also mark the occasion in which these two directors first met and developed a budding friendship.
How They Met
At the 17th Toronto Film Festival in 1992, the directors at hand met while promoting their respective debuts: Reservoir Dogs (1992), a crime film with neo-noir inspirations by Quentin Tarantino, and El Mariachi (1992), a neo-Western by Robert Rodriguez. The former follows a group of thieves who meet up in a warehouse after a heist-gone-wrong, while the latter kicked off the Mexico Trilogy by Rodriguez.
They were taking part in a director’s panel at the aforementioned Film Festival when they were introduced. Discussing the general aestheticization of violence within cinema, the two gave their opinions on the matter with regard to filmmakers like Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese. But like those two, the directors at hand would find themselves at the center of that very topic over a decade down the line thanks to Kill Bill by Tarantino and Sin City (2006) by Rodriguez.
And ever since that panel, they’ve been nigh inseparable. The two have bounced ideas off one another in various creative fashions throughout their respective oeuvres. And although some instances are far more well-known than the rest, they’ve worked together on several projects since meeting in Toronto all those years ago.
Their Projects Together
In order to fund his debut, Quentin Tarantino sold three of his scripts, among which was From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). He sold it to Miramax, who put in charge the other director at hand: Robert Rodriguez. That’s the most famous of their collaborations together, as not only was Tarantino the writer and Rodriguez the director, but they both appeared as actors therein. Sure, the captain of the ship took on a rather minor role, but Tarantino co-starred as Jimmy Gecko in quite the notable fashion.
But that wasn’t the only film directed by Rodriguez that Tarantino took part in by acting. In his sophomore feature, Robert Rodriguez released Desperado (1995), a direct sequel to his debut as part of his Mexico Trilogy. Tarantino appeared in a minor role as the Pick-Up Guy in a bar, but his efforts were admirable and nonetheless noteworthy.
Then, there are two projects that they both took part in directing. The first was Four Rooms (1995), an anthology film that also featured segments from directors Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell. But the second was the most famous in Grindhouse (2007), a co-production of Planet Terror (2007) made by Rodriguez and Death Proof (2007), directed by Tarantino.
The latter project is undoubtedly the more popular of the two, and with good reason — they channeled their inner passion for on-screen violence in controversial yet effective fashion. But one movie that goes down as forgotten regarding their professional partnership is Pulp Fiction, of course by Tarantino. The other half of this duo helped out by directing the scene in which Tarantino played the character Jimmy. That’s undoubtedly an overlooked instance among their long-standing friendship. But they likely have few collaborations left.
Potential for Future Collaborations
Considering Grindhouse released quite some time ago, and they’ve both directed several projects since, it’s likely that Tarantino and Rodriguez will never work together again on any sort of creative basis. Tarantino recently put out Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), a period piece that sees Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Rick Dalton as an aging star of western tv shows.
The primary program of Dalton’s fictitious career is called Bounty Law, and Tarantino has actually speculated as of late that his old friend at hand would be a great fit for a spinoff film thereof. But Rodriguez just completed production on a film called Hypnotic (2023) and has begun developmental phases for Spy Kids: Armageddon, an upcoming reboot of the famous franchise. Though there’s no official release date yet, it will undoubtedly keep Rodriguez busy for the foreseeable future.
But even then, Tarantino is likely hard at work on a project of his own. It was recently announced that he’s already started the screenwriting process, with some rumors speculating that his upcoming feature film will revolve around Pauline Kael, a famous American film critic. That’s seemingly been debunked since reports were initially made, though.
Either way, unless they decide to enlist the other’s help in either Spy Kids: Armageddon or The Film Critic (a placeholder title, if you will) their collaborations are likely done. Tarantino has long stated that he plans to end his filmmaking career with the tenth entry in his oeuvre, and that’s exactly what’s at play with his upcoming project. Whether he’ll actually walk away of course remains to be seen. But barring any potential cameos in those respective movies, audiences might not ever see these two creatives working hand in hand again. Which is fine, of course. They’ve given film fans more than enough content throughout their respective careers, and will always be seen as pioneers.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
