Christoph Waltz: A Foreign Perspective On Tarantino

I was listening to an awesome interview on NPR this morning (you can too if you follow this link) about Christoph Waltz and it really opened my eyes to what an amazing man this guy really is. Let's forget the fact that ten years ago you wouldn't have known his name state-side. Let's push aside the fact that his debut into acting in America and his first Oscar both came at the age of 52. All of these successes and the fact he has propelled his career to several high profile movies since then are great considering the best the Austrian actor could hope for prior to 2009 was a leading role in a European TV movie are all remarkable achievements, but perhaps the most impressive fact is who he came up under.

I don't believe I am being unfair when I say Quentin Tarantino can be a very Americentric director. His stylized writing compliments and is driven towards an understanding of our language, his use of pop culture highly relevant to us, and violence and subject matter very relevant to the lives we've known or read about in our culture. You can live in America your entire life and still not fully grasp the language and beauty behind Tarantino's words and rhythm, but in a simple explanation Waltz seemed to draw out a perspective I never, and perhaps could never see about the famous director...

"It's something about Quentin's writing. ... It's something about these specific words. Words are not all the same, and the combination of words. ... [I]t's an actor's dream to try to wrap his mind around these sentences. ... They jump at you because [of] the phrasing. It's not just the words in themselves, it's the rhythm that [Quentin] creates. You know, you might have heard very clearly, which is a good example, is 'that of the rat.' ... [I]f you have these two words, the pause between 'that ... of the rat' is unavoidable, so you don't need to actually write anything, or take any notes. You just need to hand yourself over to the flow."

Waltz also admired Tarantino's ability to draw someone into a film (his example being Death Proof) when the characters are doing something so simple as driving in a car. It's truly a fantastic interview and a perspective I think worth hearing for any critics or fans of Tarantino. Check it out. It makes me even more excited to see the two combine forces once again for Django Unchained.

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