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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Quentin Tarantino's right-hand man says the best financial advice the director gave him is straight from Warren Buffett's playbook
Quentin Tarantino once warned fellow Hollywood director Eli Roth, 'Don't buy a house as soon as you're successful.' A mansion in the suburbs may be the ultimate status symbol, proving that you've made it, but the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction filmmaker thinks it'll make you an employee to your mortgage—and it was all Roth could think of, after his first hugely successful film, Hostel, hit $80 million at the box office. Whether it's a sprawling estate in the suburbs complete with a pool or a penthouse apartment overlooking Manhattan, luxurious real estate is the ultimate symbol of success. But the hefty mortgage that comes with it will leave you trapped chasing paychecks, Hollywood icon Quentin Tarantino warns. And it's the best financial advice he once gave fellow American director and collaborator, Eli Roth. 'Quentin told me, 'Don't buy a house until you can afford to completely pay for it outright,'' the Cabin Fever and Hostel filmmaker recalls to Fortune, adding that many others in the industry use their first million-dollar paycheck to get a mortgage with a $200,000 down payment. 'But you basically become an employee of your house. So every decision that you make becomes, 'Can I pay my mortgage? Can I pay my mortgage?' Not, 'Is this best for my career?'' Roth explains. 'Everyone gets trapped by living a certain lifestyle.' Tarantino has just bought a $13.8 million property in Israel. But Roth says the director told him he waited some years before splashing out on a mansion. 'He goes, 'I didn't buy a house until Jackie Brown. Everyone else thought I was going to buy one after Pulp Fiction. I waited because I didn't want to get stuck being an employee of my house—and then I didn't have to worry about it. ''Don't buy a house as soon as you're successful, hold on to your money.'' Roth took Tarantino's words of wisdom seriously and didn't become a homeowner until he was 35, after the success of Hostel: Part II. 'Hostel is a movie that cost $3.8 million. It made $80 million at the box office. It was a massive DVD sale. And all I could hear was Quentin's words in my head: 'Don't become an employee of your house.' 'So I just kept my rental, and I went back to work,' Roth tells Fortune, adding that he finally got on the property ladder in the summer of 2007. 'I'd made three successful movies, and I knew that I was going to have checks coming in, and I wouldn't have to take a job,' he recalls. 'I didn't direct again for five years.' That is, until the offer to work with Tarantino on Inglourious Basterds—where the budget was limited and Roth tried his hand at acting in the role of Sgt. Donny Donowitz. 'I went from making millions on a movie so that I could then go to Germany and be paid $65,000 but have the greatest experience of my life and create this iconic character,' Roth adds. 'And of course, acting under Tarantino is what made me a completely different director and enabled me to work with great actors, Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis … But that was only because I was careful; I waited until I had three movies done that were successful, and I bought a house that was in my budget range. 'If I was stuck as an employee of my house, I would have had to take some directing job that I wouldn't want to do, and then I would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.' Despite his continued career success, Roth kept that home until a year ago—moving for a home with fewer stairs in the same neighborhood and price range, to accommodate life with a newborn. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is worth more than most people can fathom. However, like Tarantino and Roth, the outgoing CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, hasn't inflated his humble abode as his wealth as ballooned. The 94-year-old still resides in the Omaha house he bought for $31,500 (around $350K today) with his late wife, Susan, in 1958. And Buffett has repeatedly called the five-bedroom home, which is now worth around $1.3 million, one of his best-ever investments. Despite being worth some $168 billion, Buffett proudly calls himself 'cheap' for never having upsided his property—but he 'wouldn't trade it for anything,' owing to the memories of raising three kids there. Buffett's not the only billionaire who lives well below his means. Ever after his wealth surpassed the $100 billion milestone in 2023, Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim has maintained a simple lifestyle including no yachts and living in the same house for more than 40 years; And then there's Bill Gates, who said he will never move out of the $130 million mansion he bought for just $2 million in 1988. This story was originally featured on
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Five new podcasts to add to your playlist, from the latest updates in Diddy's trial to teens bonding over their glass eyes
This week's recommendations include Big Time, Everything Is Stories, Love Me and Deep Cover: The Truth About Sarah Conmen and chancers take centre stage in this week's podcast roundup. True fans will be captivated by stories that delve into the extremes of the human experience, as well as a summary of the latest developments in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial. Piece of Work Entertainment/ Campside Productions Big Time is lots of fun and a welcome, fresh take on the true crime genre. Each episode is opened by everyone's favourite bug-eyed movie star Steve Buscemi. The Reservoir Dogs and Boardwalk Empire star's cameo, albeit minimal, does bring a certain gravitas to the series. He tees up each story with an anecdotal reflection on his life and career. It's a fitting role for Mr Pink and has me questioning how much he is getting paid for his contribution.
Tokyo Weekender
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Japanese Films That Influenced Quentin Tarantino
On this day in 1994, Pulp Fiction premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The winner of the Palme d'Or that year, it was seen as an instant classic. Quentin Tarantino reportedly wrote part of the script for the movie at a hotel in Yubari, Hokkaido Prefecture. He was in town to take part in the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, which he later honored in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 by naming Chiaki Kuriyama's character Yubari. The iconic filmmaker's love of Japanese cinema has been well documented. He has cited his respect for several directors from this country, including the likes of Akira Kurosawa, Seijun Suzuki, Shinya Tsukamoto, Takeshi Kitano and Takashi Miike to name but a few. A number of Japanese films have influenced him and his work, particularly the two Kill Bill movies. We thought we'd have a look at seven of them. List of Contents: Sanjuro, Akira Kurosawa Tokyo Drifter, Seijun Suzuki Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, Shunya Ito Lady Snowblood, Toshiya Fujita The Street Fighter: Shigehiro Ozawa Shogun Assassination: Robert Houston and Kenji Misumi Battle Royale: Kinji Fukasaku More From This Series Sanjuro, Akira Kurosawa Kurosawa's influence can be seen in several of Tarantino's films. For instance, the ' Rashomon effect ' style of storytelling that got its name from Kurosawa's 1950 classic Rashomon is evident in the contradictory accounts of the off-screen heist in Reservoir Dogs (1992). There are also several similarities in terms of structure and style between Yojimobo (1961) and Tarantino's revisionist Western film, Django Unchained (2012). Sanjuro (1962), a loose sequel to Yojimbo , is another Kurosawa film that inspired Tarantino, particularly the final battle between the titular character and Hanbei. When Sanjuro slices Hanbei, it's supposed to lead to a small, continuous flow of blood. However, a broken prop blood-filled compressor hose meant the blood gushed out at once. Kurosawa was pleased with how it looked, and geysers of blood have since become a hallmark of Tarantino movies. Tokyo Drifter, Seijun Suzuki In an interview with Tomohiro Machiyama in 2003, Tarantino compared Suzuki to Russ Meyer, stating that it's 'easier to like sections of his films than the whole movie.' One example is Tokyo Drifter (1966), which though unconventional and, at times, incomprehensible, is visually stunning. The gangster walk at the beginning of the film is similar to the iconic scene from Reservoir Dogs . Suzuki's postmodern and hyper stylized approach to the gangster genre in Tokyo Drifter had a significant influence on Tarantino's earlier films such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. The two Kill Bill movies also incorporate elements from Tokyo Drifter , such as the exaggerated fight scenes, dazzling colors and go-go music. Another Suzuki movie that Tarantino drew inspiration from, particularly for Kill Bill: Vol. 2 , was Branded to Kill. Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, Shunya Ito Due to the increasing popularity of television and an influx of Hollywood movies, the Japanese film industry was struggling in the late 1960s. Feeling that sex and violence could help turn things around, Toei Film Studios began to focus on movies that combined the two. Known as 'Pinky Violence,' these femme-fatale exploitation flicks exploded in the 1970s, and Tarantino is known to be a huge fan. For Kill Bill: Vol. 1 , he drew from several films of the era, including Shunya Ito's Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972) and Norifumi Suzuki's Sex and Fury (1973). The former, the second film of a four-part series, stars Meiko Kaji as Matsu (nicknamed Scorpion) who's been compared to Beatrix 'the Bride' Kiddo. Kaji's track, 'Urami Bushi' from Female Convict Scorpion plays in the final credits of Kill Bill: Vol 2 . Lady Snowblood, Toshiya Fujita Another Kaji track, 'Shura no Hana,' plays over O-Ren's death in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 . It was the theme song of Toshiya Fujita's Lady Snowblood (1973), one of Japan's great postwar revenge films that was seen as a template for Tarantino's hyper-violent action flick released more than a quarter of a century later. Both O-Ren and the Bride share similar traits to Kaji's character, Yuki Kashima. O-Ren is a visual manifestation of Yuki, while the Bride is the reincarnation of her spirit. Like the protagonist from Lady Snowblood , she is a highly skilled martial artist on a mission to hunt down and kill those responsible for her suffering. The climactic battle scene in the snow between O-Ren and the Bride in the first Kill Bill also mirrors Yuki's clash with Kobue at the end of Fujita's film. The Street Fighter: Shigehiro Ozawa Aside from Kaji, the Japanese actor that intrigued Tarantino the most from the 70s was Sonny Chiba . The acclaimed director was particularly impressed with his performances in The Street Fighter (1974) and its two sequels. Writing the screenplay for Tony Scott's cult classic, True Romance (1993), Tarantino pays homage to the actor through Clarence (Christian Slater), who describes him as 'bar none, the greatest actor working in martial arts movies today.' The action scenes in Kill Bill are similar to those in The Street Fighter series and The Bodyguard (1973), another 70s martial arts flick starring Chiba. Jules' famous Ezekiel 25:17 speech in Pulp Fiction is taken almost word for word from the prologue of the latter. Chiba played Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill , a nod to his character in the 1980s series Shadow Warriors , Tarantino's favorite Japanese TV show. Shogun Assassination: Robert Houston and Kenji Misumi Lone Wolf and Cub was a 1970s Kazuo Koike manga series that was adapted into six films. In 1980, Robert Houston compiled 12 minutes of the first movie and most of the second — both directed by Kenji Misumi — to create Shogun Assassin . The film's non-linear narrative and stylized violence influenced Tarantino, who adopted a similar style in several of his movies, including Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight (2015). The Tarantino film Shogun Assassin influenced the most, though, was Kill Bill . The protagonists in the films — Ogami Itto and the Bride — are fearless parents with incredible martial arts skills who have both suffered severe hardship and are driven by revenge. In Kill Bill: Vol. 2 , the Bride's 4-year-old daughter, B.B, requests Shogun Assassin to watch as a bedtime story. Ogami's 4-year-old son, Daigoro, provides the voice-over narration. Battle Royale: Kinji Fukasaku From the Crazy 88-like yakuza gang in Black Lizard (1968) to the Reservoir Dogs -esque gritty realism of Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973), Kinji Fukasaku's films had a major impact on Tarantino. One of his favorites was Battle Royale (2000), the last movie fully directed by Fukasuku. 'If there's any movie that's been made since I've been making movies that I wish I'd made, it's that one,' Tarantino once said . The character that left the biggest impression on Tarantino was Chigusa. She was played by Kuriyama, who he cast as Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 in what was a direct homage to Chigusa. The two characters are involved in some gruesome scenes and both stab men directly through the crotch. Other violent films Tarantino drew inspiration from during that era were Takashi Miike's Audition (1999) and Ichi the Killer (2001). More From This Series Legendary Figures From Osaka Recommended Japanese Documentaries Recommended Books by Foreign Authors in Japan
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hollywood star Tim Roth: There is no one way of grieving
Tim Roth believes there is "no one way of grieving". The 64-year-old actor lost his son Cormac to germ cell cancer, aged 25, in October 2022, and Tim believes there isn't a right or wrong way of coping with loss. He told the Guardian newspaper: "There is no one way of grieving. People react differently – everyone does – otherwise there would be a cure for it." Tim filmed 'Poison', his latest movie, while Cormac was battling cancer. The veteran actor considered dropping out of the movie amid Cormac's health troubles - but his son encouraged him to commit to the project. Tim said: "He was unfazed by me doing the film. He thought it was a good thing. He was probably wanting to get me out of the house as well. "It had his seal of approval, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. If he needed me to stay close, I would have been staying close." Tim was trying to remain optimistic about his son's chances of survival at the time. The actor shared: "At that point we were trying to remain positive because he was still with us." 'Poison' tells the story of a couple torn apart by bereavement. And Tim is convinced that grief is an "individual" thing. He said: "The film has such a truth to it because it shows that how you grieve is as individual as a fingerprint. "Now with my friends and family I see that everyone is doing and handling that differently and need to be respected for it." Meanwhile, Tim recently admitted to having had a "healthily messy" career. The actor has starred in a host of well-known movies, including 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Hateful Eight' - but Tim admits that there's also been a chaotic element to his career. He told The Hollywood Reporter: "My feeling is that the career that I was after was anarchy. I always like that - and chaos. "So, I always do a film to finance another film. Because a lot of these films that I love to do, these crazy films I love to do, have no money. They're the little independent things that are trying and are struggling to be made even more now than ever. So you got to do the ones that finance them. But sometimes they are terrible, and sometimes they are great, and sometimes the little independents don't work. "I think my career is healthily messy."
Perth Now
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Hollywood star Tim Roth: There is no one way of grieving
Tim Roth believes there is "no one way of grieving". The 64-year-old actor lost his son Cormac to germ cell cancer, aged 25, in October 2022, and Tim believes there isn't a right or wrong way of coping with loss. He told the Guardian newspaper: "There is no one way of grieving. People react differently – everyone does – otherwise there would be a cure for it." Tim filmed 'Poison', his latest movie, while Cormac was battling cancer. The veteran actor considered dropping out of the movie amid Cormac's health troubles - but his son encouraged him to commit to the project. Tim said: "He was unfazed by me doing the film. He thought it was a good thing. He was probably wanting to get me out of the house as well. "It had his seal of approval, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. If he needed me to stay close, I would have been staying close." Tim was trying to remain optimistic about his son's chances of survival at the time. The actor shared: "At that point we were trying to remain positive because he was still with us." 'Poison' tells the story of a couple torn apart by bereavement, and Tim is convinced that grief is an "individual" thing. He said: "The film has such a truth to it because it shows that how you grieve is as individual as a fingerprint. "Now with my friends and family I see that everyone is doing and handling that differently and need to be respected for it." Meanwhile, Tim recently admitted to having had a "healthily messy" career. The actor has starred in a host of well-known movies, including 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Hateful Eight' - but Tim admits that there's also been a chaotic element to his career. He told The Hollywood Reporter: "My feeling is that the career that I was after was anarchy. I always like that - and chaos. "So, I always do a film to finance another film. Because a lot of these films that I love to do, these crazy films I love to do, have no money. They're the little independent things that are trying and are struggling to be made even more now than ever. So you got to do the ones that finance them. But sometimes they are terrible, and sometimes they are great, and sometimes the little independents don't work. "I think my career is healthily messy."
