Quentin Tarantino says he kept a vow he made at 12: after his mother mocked his writing, he would give her none of his Hollywood earnings.
“There are consequences for your words as you deal with your children.”
Tarantino said he helped his mother with an IRS problem, but buying her a house or a Cadillac remained off the table because of that childhood promise.
He recounted the dispute with his mother, Connie Zastoupil, during an appearance on “The Moment” podcast with Brian Koppelman. Tarantino said she was frustrated that he was writing screenplays instead of doing his schoolwork, and recalled her dismissing his ambitions during an argument.
He remembered her saying: “This little writing career that you’re doing? That s*** is over.”
His response stayed in his head at the time: “OK, lady, when I become a successful writer, you will never see one penny from my success.” Asked by Koppelman whether he’d followed through, Tarantino answered, “Yeah.” He acknowledged the help with her tax trouble, adding: “But no house. No Cadillac, no house.”
Tarantino is now 63. His account also included his mother’s support for a later decision: when he dropped out of high school at 16, she gave her approval on the condition that he get a job. By 14, he’d written a screenplay called Captain Peachfuzz and the Anchovy Bandit.
When Koppelman suggested that her earlier disapproval might have helped drive his success, Tarantino emphasized what he’d taken from the exchange: “There are consequences for your words as you deal with your children,” he said. “Remember there are consequences for your sarcastic tone about what’s meaningful to them.”
