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~~~~~<\/p>\n
While summertime audiences the world over took in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD<\/strong>, the latest Quentin Tarantino<\/strong> effort to assign past aesthetics and thematic tropes to a storytelling mode all his own, a new book revisiting the past of the filmmaker himself inched closer to completion. This oral history and script analysis of MY BEST FRIEND\u2019S BIRTHDAY<\/strong>, a project that might<\/em> have been \u201cthe first film by\u201d the director had fortunes gone another way, is now available from the prolific Georgia<\/strong> publishing house BearManor Media<\/strong> that issued Conversations on Quentin Tarantino<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> three years ago.<\/p>\n My Best Friend\u2019s Birthday: The Making of a Quentin Tarantino Film<\/span><\/strong>, a long-in-the-works passion project by the author of Conversations<\/span>, Andrew J. Rausch<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, emerged in paperback and hardcover editions<\/a><\/span> as of Sunday, October 6<\/strong>. It dives deep where few QT scholars and acolytes have bothered to look closely; three sections cover the lifetime of BIRTHDAY<\/strong>, an unfinished indie comedy that exists in ephemeral shambles<\/span><\/a> but is still considered a significant turning point in the careers of its three behind-the-scenes principals: co-writer\/producer\/director\/editor Tarantino, producer Roger Avary<\/strong> (THE RULES OF ATTRACTION, KILLING ZOE<\/strong>), and co-writer\/producer Craig Hamann<\/strong>. The latter is invariably the heart of the show even if his not-yet-famous collaborator\u2019s thumbprint is all over the remaining evidence.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Those of you fascinated by the interviews in Conversations<\/span> dealing with Tarantino\u2019s earliest friendships and activities in Hollywoodland can find plenty more in that vein to enjoy here. The micro-focus on BIRTHDAY<\/strong>, aided greatly by the participation of Hamann and set photographer Todd Henschell<\/strong> along with exclusive quotes from Tarantino himself, will endear the book to completists as well as enthusiasts who appreciate what no-budget creators have to go through to pull it all together. And when it falters? Well<\/em>. True stores are often more edifying than the (pulp) fiction we weave! Kieran Fisher<\/strong>, a contributor to Film School Rejects<\/span><\/strong> and Diabolique<\/span><\/strong>, Stephen Spignesi<\/strong>, a co-author of Elton John: Fifty Years On<\/span><\/strong> that was released last week by Simon & Schuster<\/strong>, and yours truly provided introductions to the sections. Like my segment in Conversations<\/span>, I combine insight with first-person anecdote and a sprinkling of the C-U.<\/p>\n The curious fates of MY BEST FRIEND\u2019S BIRTHDAY<\/strong> and its unrelated precursor, the equally AWOL indie WARZONE<\/strong>, did not spell the end of the core team\u2019s ambitions or the brewing QT legend once they exited the Eighties, of course. This past Monday, October 21<\/strong>, Fathom Events<\/strong> and Wood Entertainment<\/strong> collaborated on a one-shot presentation of QT8: THE FIRST EIGHT<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a slightly dated documentary traveling the QT oeuvre<\/em> from RESERVOIR DOGS<\/strong> to THE HATEFUL EIGHT<\/strong> that survived previous ownership by the Weinstein Company<\/strong>. ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD<\/strong> has invigorated Tarantino\u2019s profile since its North American bow on July 26<\/strong> through Sony\/Columbia Pictures<\/strong> and is returning to theaters tomorrow<\/span><\/a>, Friday, October 25<\/strong>, with bonus scenes added. Lionsgate<\/strong> launched a limited release this month of Avery\u2019s latest directorial effort, LUCKY DAY<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, while Hamann\u2019s first directorial effort BOOGIE BOY<\/strong> returned in May on Blu-ray<\/span><\/a> courtesy of MVD<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cRewind Collection\u201d line. As for the rest of the former BIRTHDAY<\/strong> boys and girls, it\u2019s time to read Rausch\u2019s book to get all caught up.<\/p>\n ~ Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n BearManor Media released ‘My Best Friend’s Birthday: The Making of a Quentin Tarantino Film’ by Andrew J. Rausch on October 6, 2019. Myths are dispelled, truth is unearthed, and Ye Ed contributes a few words to it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2125,376,114,23],"tags":[1711,1714,2111,2129,1751,2112,2127,2080,2126,1713,2128],"class_list":["post-12993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cinema-discourse","category-gone-hollywood","category-happy-places","category-preservation","tag-andrew-j-rausch","tag-bearmanor-media","tag-books-and-novels","tag-craig-hamann","tag-independent-cinema","tag-local-writers","tag-lost-cinema","tag-my-best-friends-birthday","tag-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood","tag-quentin-tarantino","tag-roger-avary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12993\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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