City coup as Quentin Tarantino plans visit

Aug 9 2007 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

Quentin Tarintino

OSCAR-WINNING director Quentin Tarantino is to visit Liverpool for an exclusive preview of his new film.

He will be at FACT on September 11 for a question and answer session with fans following the screening of his latest feature, Death Proof.

FACT are describing the attendance of the cult director as a major coup for Liverpool.

The Daily Post understands Tarantino is keen to explore a traditional Liverpool night out during his visit, and sources suggest he is even a fan of Gerry and The Pacemakers. It is known he turned down a chance to go to Manchester and insisted he preferred a Liverpool screening instead.

Tarantino is best known for 1994’s Pulp Fiction, which won an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.

He has directed a catalogue of classic movies over the past 15 years, including Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2. He has also appeared in a string of films as an actor, including From Dusk Till Dawn with George Clooney.

Mike Stubbs, director and CEO of FACT, said: “This event is a huge coup for Liverpool, in that Quentin Tarantino specifically asked to come here.

“FACT is a multi-art venue with a strong programme and the power to attract international artistic stars like Pipilotti Rist in 2008, and now a Hollywood megastar and cult icon like Quentin Tarantino”.

Death Proof follows two groups of young women who attract the unwelcome attention of stunt man Mike – played by Kurt Russell – who uses his super-charged car as a deadly weapon.

Tarantino is well known for breaking the rules of cinema, with his previous release, Kill Bill, being released in two separate volumes, several months apart.

Continuing with this rebellious tradition of film-making, Death Proof will feature deliberately scratchy film and a reel where the colour is lost, to recreate the look of 70s B-movie screenings. It was cheered by critics when screened at the Cannes film festival earlier this year, who hailed it as “amazing.”

The film was originally shown as part of a double bill called Grindhouse – along with zombie movie Planet Terror, directed by Robert Rodriguez – but plans for an international release were abandoned after its disappointing US box office performance.

An extended version of Tarantino’s Death Proof, including long conversational scenes, is now being released in its own right.

The exclusive preview will be held on Tuesday, September 11, at 8pm.

Tickets will go on sale at midday today at £10, from the Box Office at FACT or booking line: 0871 704 2063 (sales limited to two per person).

The film goes on general release in the UK on September 21.

alanweston@dailypost.co.uk