Quentin Tarantino's mom responds to her son's recent comments on why he vowed to never give her any money. The Oscar-winning filmmaker broke through onto the scene in 1992 with a small independent film called Reservoir Dogs and soon followed it up in a big way with 1994's Pulp Fiction, a massive commercial and critical success. After more standout successes like Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, Tarantino's most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, took viewers on a trip through 1969 Los Angeles through the eyes of fading actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), and real-life actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).
Tarantino's latest project was not a film, however, but a novelization of his most recent film. While promoting the book this summer, the director has found himself tangled up in a few controversies, as the unabashed filmmaker has throughout his entire career. On a podcast, Tarantino defended his depiction of Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, drawing the ire of his daughter, Shannon Lee. On The Moment podcast, Tarantino most recently made headlines for revealing the childhood vow he made to never give his mother a penny of his eventual fortune after she berated him for writing screenplays instead of focusing on school.
Now, Tarantino's mother, Connie Zastoupil, is responding to her son's comments in a statement to USA Today. Zastoupil says, "Regarding my son Quentin – I support him, I’m proud of him and love him and his growing new family. It gave me great joy to dance at his wedding and receive his news upon the birth of my Grandson Leo." Zastoupil added that comments made on podcasts tend to "spin and go viral without full context," and she doesn't "wish to participate in this salacious transactional media frenzy."
Tarantino later elaborated on his comments during the podcast, saying he did give his mother money once to help her pay off a debt to the IRS, so it's not entirely accurate that he never shared a penny of his fortune. In her response, Zastoupil didn't seem interested in correcting the record or contradicting anything her son said, but she did imply his comments do not provide the full context. So for now, it can be assumed that Tarantino's story is true as he told it.
Over the years, the acclaimed filmmaker has been open about his lack of a father figure growing up, due to his estranged father, the aspiring actor Tony Tarantino, leaving at a young age. Based on his recent comments through the media, Quentin Tarantino doesn't seem to have the most congenial relationship with his mother either. Hopefully, whatever rift that may be going on between them is patched up soon.
Source: USA Today