Parents are often encouraged to foster their children’s hobbies. Pay attention to them, show interest, and invest in them so that hobby can grow into a passion, a talent, a career .
But, of course, not every parent is like that. Apparently, the mother of the famous film director Quentin Tarantino was quite dismissive of his writing hobby when he was a child, not knowing what that dismissal would cost her.
On the podcast ‘The Moment,’ famed director Quentin Tarantino revealed a promise he made to himself as a child.
He vowed to never give his mother a single “penny” of his fortune after she mocked and belittled his writing hobby as a child.
He had a conversation with showrunner Brian Koppelman, who hosts the podcast, regarding his childhood relationship with writing.
Tarantino, known for films such as *Pulp Fiction* and *Kill Bill*, explained how he’d often get in trouble for writing.
He was frequently found writing screenplays rather than doing homework, and would be criticized by his mother, Connie Zastoupil, as she had “a hard time about my scholastic non-ability.”
Then, she said one thing he’d never forget.
As he explained it, “[…] in the middle of her little tirade, she said, ‘Oh, and by the way, this little ‘writing career’ — with the finger quotes and everything — this little ‘writing career’ that you’re doing? That [expletive] is [expletive] over.'”
Little did she know that one remark would change the course of her and her son’s life.
As that’s when Tarantino decided she wouldn’t get anything from his future career. “When she said that to me in that sarcastic way, I was in my head and I go: ‘OK, lady, when I become a successful writer, you will never see penny one from my success. There will be no house for you. There’s no vacation for you, no Elvis Cadillac for mommy. You get nothing. Because you said that.'”
When Koppelman asked if Tarantino had stuck by that, he said he had.
“Yeah. Yeah. I helped her out with a jam with the IRS. But no house. No Cadillac, no house.”
Koppleman tried to convince him that he should change his ways, even get her a house, as that remark is what “drove him” to prove her wrong and become wildly successful. Tarantino still said no.
“There are consequences for your words as you deal with your children,” he explained, “Remember there are consequences for your sarcastic tone about what’s meaningful to them.”
It’s something she must regret, seeing how successful her son is.
He’s a two-time Oscar winner with dozens of other nominations under his belt, and his highest-grossing film alone, Django Unchained , made over $420 million at the box office.
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His most recent film was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , released in 2019, for which he’s recently published a follow-up novel by the same name.
h/t: Insider
