Quentin Tarantino and long time pal Samuel L. Jackson were out on Hollywood Boulevard Monday along with hundreds of fans, as the director and film-maker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Tarantino was heard to say, “Wow, I guess I must have become a big shot,” as fans and friends gathered in front of the TCL Chinese Theater Monday.
Tarantino went on to tell his audience that his earliest recollection of walking on that particular stretch of sidewalk dates back to when he saw the movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He recalled that the “line went all the way down the block and at one point, as I stood in that line, I stood right here.”
#QuentinTarantino in Hollywood today getting his star on the legendary Walk of Fame. #TheHatefulEight pic.twitter.com/vDXVKyUHA1
— The Hateful Eight (@thehatefuleight) December 21, 2015
Quentin Tarantino was introduced by Jackson, who was, at the time, celebrating his 67 th birthday. Jackson recalled how often the pair used to walk the Hollywood Boulevard together, marveling at the many stars who have been immortalized there.
“Knowing what kind of cinephile he is, the reverence he holds for these names, I was very, very proud the day I got my star and I know what it means to him, ’cause of what he thinks and how he reveres this business and the art of film-making.”
Jackson added there aren’t many people in the business who “still look at film-making the way Quentin does and the purity of what it is and what it should be.”
As the Hollywood Reporter said, tongue in cheek, the LAPD were nowhere in evidence during the ceremony, referring to Quentin Tarantino’s recent protests about police brutality in Los Angeles and the USA in general.
However, besides Samuel L. Jackson, there were plenty of fans, friends and collaborators on hand including Zoe Bell, Demian Bichir, Clifton Collins Jr., Walton Goggins, Pam Grier, Jennifer Jason Leigh, James Parks, Tim Roth, Craig Stark and director Edgar Wright, some of whom are pictured above.
Meanwhile Tarantino’s latest epic movie, The Hateful Eight , has already garnered a Golden Globe nomination and according to a review in the New York Daily News , is Quentin Tarantino at his best and his worst.
According to that review, The Hateful Eight is a combination “classic Western, a Miss Marple mystery” with “gobs of gore” and that the movie is weird, wild, and way too long.
The reviewer does say Samuel L. Jackson is in top form as bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren, who in the movie hitches a ride with another bounty hunter, John Ruth (played by Kurt Russell), along with a fugitive in the person of Daisy Domergue (with Jennifer Jason Leigh in the role).
Another review of the latest Tarantino “whodunit” by Examiner mentions that the public’s enjoyment of The Hateful Eight will depend on their “tolerance for Tarantino’s long-windedness.” The reviewer goes on to explain that the movie is broken up into five chapters, with a musical overture and reportedly an old-school intermission and that it does take quite a while for the plot to kick in.
The reviewer did add that for anyone who appreciates Tarantino’s “fondness for narrative minutia,” this won’t be a problem at all.
Despite some negative reviews, this ninth theatrical release by Quentin Tarantino has already collected a Golden Globe nomination and is set for release at Christmas.
Getting back to the latest news, Tarantino was both happy and jubilant when he posed for photos on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and signed autographs for his fans. Referring to Hollywood in general, Quentin Tarantino said he takes the honor seriously that he is a member of that community and that town.
“I’m happy to have my star on the Walk of Fame with all the other people who have done a wonderful job in this town.”
[Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images]