Alex Graham: Quentin Tarantino
As an aspiring filmmaker, I can’t think of a more inspirational figure in the movie business for us youngsters to heed the style, ethos and general attitude towards the craft of, than Quentin Tarantino. Why? First and foremost, the two words most frequently associated with his name. Pulp Fiction – a master class in free-formed, visual storytelling. I’ve seen many interviews with directors, writers and producers, who mention various ‘rules of the trade’. These people are the exact opposite of what I consider to be a true artist. In the creative arts, rules are there to be broken – something that each of my favourite filmmakers know all too well, and embrace to the max. Especially Tarantino. Just look at his recent films; a war-thriller that he insists isn’t meant as a comedy, that focuses on massacring the Germans, and a Western centered around pre-American Civil War plantations in the deep south, in which the N-word is thrown about exactly as it would’ve at that time. The man has no fear. Only belief. A belief that whatever he’s making is going to turn out fantastic, and for the most part, it has.