Quentin Tarantino Explains How He Writes Dialogue

Quentin Tarantino reveals the writers who have influenced him the most in regards to creating his personal style for dialogue as part of a SiriusXM Town Hall event, explaining that "...when it comes to my dialogue, I think the three writers that affected it the most as far as a genuine influence, would probably be a combination of Elmore Leonard, David Mamet and Richard Pryor...I think those were actual conscious influences in me finding my voice and my dialogue and character voices and stuff."
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Quentin Tarantino on Writing Dialogue // SiriusXM // Stars DEC 2012 • Quentin Tarantino Expl...
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[@wonderstorms4030]

i love how down to earth tarantino is while at the same time incredibly blunt, he doesnt put on this whole fake modesty thing and can actually acknowledge when hes good at something, i respect that

[@algovorus]

Idk to me it sounds like Trump

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

@@algovorus Excuse me?

[@Ryuksgelus]

@@algovorus Mentioning you're good at something is vastly different than claiming you're the best at things you have little to no experience with.

[@jeffbrown8117]

BLAIR M Schirmer huh? Even as an opinion, that’s not accurate.

[@misteral1083]

@BLAIR M Schirmer Obviously this is going to be subjective! But for me, Pulp Fiction and True Romance are his top works. Dogs is not quite my thing but I can see that it's good work. Django was fantastic. Jackie Brown I remember enjoying but would need to revisit to confidently give it a thumbs up. OUATIH though it had excellent moments was not satisfying overall. IB was not for me. KB1+2 weren't really for me either (too much of a fan of Asian cinema to enjoy seeing it riffed on/ripped off like that). So I guess I have three and a half or four. Which are your two and a half?

[@thanksfernuthin]

That's an outstanding idea. Writing scenes from memory when you get home and eventually tailoring them and adding to them. Starting with a blank page and creating a scene is impossibly daunting for most people. I'm blown away by this idea.

[@B3RT1822]

is it not just copying? are you shia lebouef?

[@DaedalusR]

Gary Nicholls no its like practicing kicking a soccer ball into a net, its a creativity exercise

[@thanksfernuthin]

I should add this; I'm not a fan of Tarantino. Frankly, I can't remember why I clicked on the video in the first place. But that only adds weight to the value of the idea. I suggest it for any person hoping to write for a living. (And no, not copying. Not to sell. But to practice and improve.)

[@sharathkumar8422]

Basically do this and then go back and compare your scene with the original. See if your scene holds the same engagement level as the original. See if it can improve. Try and understand what made the original better and work on it.

[@vagabond8385]

@@thanksfernuthin Tarantino is a genious

[@imsa15463]

Quentin, you are one strange, goofy, brilliant, dude. I can't help but think of his bar scene in Inglorious Basterds. Some of his best writing.

[@advancedraymondology2914]

Definitely. That will go down as one of the all-time classic scenes. So tense and perfect. I can't think of a better scene, actually. The end of Rosemary's Baby, maybe.

[@kennethlatham3133]

Also, in that movie, his decisions when to and when NOT to write the dialogue in English.

[@southlondon86]

Well if this is it old boy...

[@MM-eb7hm]

That was no scene, that was a short film

[@rafaelbalsan4512]

DREI GLASER!

[@valhalla1240]

I can never stop watching Tarantino's hands when he's talking. Because he looks like a fierce and stoic person, but he has the hands of a fragile nerd and it warms my heart to see the combination of both.

[@philcollinslover56705]

pls i love the comment

[@ausgepicht]

It's in the DNA. I'm Sicilian as well and any family gathering is a handfest.

[@RagnarokMic]

First, he writes the n-word hundreds of times, then he separates them with clever banter.

[@daltonwarnerTV]

Yeaaaaas not really😂

[@EddieMachetti]

m riggs lmaooooooo 😂

[@pedrot.9569]

Man... Go for your comics. This is cinema.

[@mattasticmattattack8546]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Black_Picaso]

@@daltonwarnerTV nooo yeeaaa really

[@ejrosenthal]

Quentin's dialog writing is incomparable. How can I watch these scenes over and over and over? Because they're that good. I'd rather watch two QT characters in a diner have a conversation for thirty minutes than just about ANYTHING else onscreen.

[@dariustellama3303]

His food scenes are the best

[@LEGO_IndianaJones69420_]

@@dariustellama3303 misread that as "his FOOT scenes are the best" 💀💀

[@jeffwalker3734]

If you do a shot of tequila every time Quentin says "Paddy Chayefsky" you can get pretty buzzed in three minutes and twenty-seven seconds.

[@ryanbarker5217]

that and 'actually.' seems he said that quite a bit, too.

[@timy9197]

Or when he says "alright" not here but usually

[@mollycromb4412]

Ti My omg he says "alright?" SO MUCH. I thought I was the only one who noticed

[@harrycahill2140]

I laugh every time he compares himself to Paddy Chayefsky or David Mamet as writer.

[@Nicky_Savage]

You would drink half a bottle I guess.

[@jonathanlocke6404]

I remember seeing "Pulp Fiction" in the theatre for the first time, and how revelatory the "Royale with cheese" scene was. It just seemed like a real, casual, but interesting, often funny, conversation. Later, it was hard to imagine someone could have actually "written" that. I think it was the little commonplace asides, like "I don't know. I didn't go into Burger King", that made it seem so real...

[@Maynard-il1yj]

He write with an acting mindset and actually gives the characters something to play with and work with

[@HeresaBanana]

I looked away from the screen at 3:21 and thought he started beat boxing.

[@nikhilvijayraj5461]

😂

[@for_nothing_important]

😂

[@RareDay]

yo im crying

[@ferretneck]

I'm laughing at this a lot

[@bea4912]

nooo😭😭😭

[@abdulkhafidsulaymaan]

This dude is the reason why I really started wanting to be a writer- I mean on a serious level. It was back in 2005-06, I was in prison, on my bunk watching Pulp Fiction for the first time and it was like reading a book but watching it. I was captivated. His style was simply direct to an extreme that it came off as genuine and real. This dude gave me a new found respect for simple delivery that it is my signature til this day. The way he would introduce each part of his movie as a chapter- I still do that today. I've always been intrigued by this dude's dialog. I really don't believe he writes dialog all by himself for each actor/character in his movies. I think the actors help him because the dialog is so specific for each character.

[@artistaccount]

There's a clip on KZbin where Quentin Tarantino says he pays actors to say the words he wrote. And that he doesn't like improv acting cause he writes his scripts like so exact

[@artistaccount]

And Tarantino says he gets to like 40% of the movie script then he says the characters practically write themselves cause he has a better idea of who each character is and what they do and things like that

[@probablyhuman5295]

omg I love how he says "genuine." Gen-U-ine. I weep with joy.

[@stoop911]

omg I love how he says "genuine." Gen-U-ine. I weep with joy.

[@duhquadman]

That is how I imagine Stephen King pronouncing that word.

[@michaelqiu9722]

Ew

[@missingenue]

My favorite filmmaker. I have so much respect for him

[@elalacransinner4070]

AM Franck So Cliche

[@victorallencook7107]

My dialog is going smoothly , very smooth today . I really love my story.

[@siriusxm]

Quentin Tarantino shares the writers that influenced his personal "voice". The list might surprise you.

[@Soldier4USA2005]

A great example of how just a LITTLE BIT of support in someones life can make all the difference. For all we know......if Mr Tarantino hadn't get that comment, we might not have the awesomeness of Pulp Fiction or Hateful 8 today.

[@castelodeossos3947]

Hadn't got that comment....

[@Soldier4USA2005]

@@castelodeossos3947 Thanks. Sometimes the inner grammar brain just ... fails. Granted .... this is a 3 year old comment, but still a poorly written one.

[@apocalypse123]

It's official. The Tarantino method.

[@ren.8137]

Bro you still alive, how you doing?

[@dan-mb2ne]

Bro you still alive, how you doing?

[@lenibanez4732]

Man. He is intelligent.

[@ckaz007]

Paddy Chayefsky was one of the great screenwriters. If anyone has not seen Network, I would highly recommend it. He predicted reality television back in 1976. I see Quentin's influence of Richard Pryor in the number of times he uses the N-word.

[@pvtrichter8816]

+ckaz007 i thought it was more Eddie murphy but i get the gist of what he says i also realize how the RHythmic cadences he uses are more of a Mamet influence !!

[@MrParkerman6]

Bullshit! You try writing something like Kill Bill or a Pulp Fiction and see if you can make millions like he does, if you think it's so easy what he does!!!!

[@emmanuelsalazar9424]

His script for “Network” is staggering. Brilliantly prescient.

[@charleshendrix3137]

You can see the Pryor influ ence in how Tarantino writes jokes into the dialogue. The set ups and punchlines are very similar especially because Pryor comedic style is heavily rooted in storytelling

[@flyingfrogofdeath9616]

@@charleshendrix3137 thats the route of all the greatest comedians. In fact it's the route of most comedy. You'll didn't the greats are the best storytellers. Take out / ignore the comedic parts and focus on the journey they take you on. One of the absolute best is Dave Chapelle

[@mentalcircuspodcast1254]

The King of Dialogue

[@Leon-zu1wp]

Mental Circus Podcast Kubrick king of visuals Spielberg king of story Hitchcock king of directing Bay king of explosions put them all together you got the best damn movie ever made

[@ritajitdey7567]

I'd like mine with Bay on lite please ;)

[@HAHA-bu7vj]

and JJ King of Lens Flares!

[@jp3813]

+Tiernen Replace Bay w/ George Miller. Also, "directing" is too broad of a term. I say Hitchcock is the king of suspense, Scorsese is the king of character development, and so on...

[@ryanbarker5217]

not to be a contrarian cuz QT is known for his dialogue, but i think the coen brothers do dialogue better. that's just me, though. :) i say that because the coen brothers' dialogue seems to have more of a natural flow, whereas QT's dialogue comes off as overly constructed at times.

[@crimsonmask3819]

Tarantino's real gift is plotting. He thinks it's dialogue, but actually all his characters have his one, singular, voice. It can be a fun voice when he's got a good plot-driven scene going as well, but if we're stuck with a tangential Tarantino monologue coming out of multiple characters like the middle bit of Death Proof, it is not so good. I didn't notice this until several movies in, but after that, going back I can see it even in Reservoir Dogs (which is still a great film).

[@MrParkerman6]

Don't agree! This is certainly not true of pulp fiction or kill Bill or the hateful 8, every character talks different.

[@freddoproductions]

@@MrParkerman6 I think it's mainly because they are spoken by different people. The dialogue is still very similar between all the characters. They all inhabit this tarantino world, and essentially all have the same accent (they talk like quentin tarantino).

[@MrParkerman6]

No they don't, they all have completely different dialogue from one another. It isn't just the different actors.

[@patr1ckk3ll3y]

@@MrParkerman6 Its the personality & cadence of speaking. Most of his characters seem very self assured when they speak and like they said, many times his characters feel like theyre giving a monologue even in a busy conversation.

[@RenegadeShepard69]

You described what I noticed closely for the first time a little while ago watching again some parts of Kill Bill and I think Hateful Eight better than I could describe it. I usually just think to myself, huh, that's odd, sounds like I'm hearing the filmmaker talking. One thing I try to do when I see that, just to make sure, is imagine the director talking over it, and it fits perfectly. I felt the same with Lynch the other day watching Twin Peaks. And because those are two directors who speak so uniquely, almost like a caricature, it's even easier to notice. But yeah I think this is one big trait in his dialogues that always take me off from the experience when 'those' scenes start to happen, because it feels like it's him talking to himself, well put a tangential tarantino monologue coming out of multiple characters. It's almost like he is a voice that keeps trying to talk by the characters, in some scenes he is whispering through 'em, and in those show-off monologues he's screaming.

[@cevahirileri7594]

I love you, Quentin.

[@a_literal_brick]

His voice is about 2 octaves higher than you'd expect from looking at him

[@rigsby1454]

When you read an Elmore Leonard book you can't help but picture it in the QT universe. Very similar style.

[@scattjax3908]

Leonard's writing is pretty cool, really conversational. Really surprised me how you didn't have to make every sentence completely correct. They could just be fragments, separated by commas, but totally make sense.

[@paulg903]

Elmore Leonard wrote a novel called Rum Punch which then became adapted to a film called Jackie Brown which was then directed by the one and only Quentin Tarantino

[@1805movie]

When "Pulp Fiction" came out in theaters, film critic Gene Siskel said Quentin Tarantino was "...writing the most original dialogue since David Mamet."

[@squeekydog8468]

This is not Tarantino explaining how he writes dialogue. This is Tarantino telling us that he’s good at writing dialogue

[@himanshusoni528]

Quentin has a photographic memory and amazing in remembering names. Passion for movies and this garangutan memory makes him what he is

[@enzocignetti6359]

That’s crazy that not only is Ronnie Coleman one of the most badass bodybuilders of all time but his influence is also the reason we have Tarantino films

[@2012XF3]

Ronnie Coleman: "Yeah... buddy.. lightweight baaabay.."

[@mybrotherjudybeats6207]

2012XF3 Peanuts babay

[@harrisondocarmo7923]

uuuUUUUUUUUuuuu

[@Yakinwusi7]

YEAHHH BUDDYYYYY

[@iamthemoneyj]

Who knew Tarantino was in acting class with the greatest bodybuilder of all time

[@RogerPeet]

The same thing happened to me ! It was completely different, but I can hear what he's trying to say, kinda.

[@lorendorky]

Dat extreme combover tho

[@burnsfactor]

Lmaooo

[@Lucifer103]

that's not a combover though

[@scattjax3908]

Combfronter? :) Male pattern baldness, from Hell's heart I stab at thee.

[@flipjupiter1]

At least he can spell.

[@flipjupiter1]

With more talent, fans, wanna-bees and money than you, your parents, and your future relatives could ever dream of.

[@davidwhitt2717]

So glad he said Elmore Leonard first. THE MAN in crime writing & dialogue

[@kevin5073]

Greatest dialogue writer in film today. Head and shoulders above everyone else.

[@franzhaas1481]

he is one sharp dude.

[@MontyQueues]

those bells ring true... there are moments where you learn and grow and realize you're made for it you could spend one full year and one day a bell will ring

[@talos2373]

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez make those fast paced scenesurround scenes that captivate an audience much like "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Wild Bunch" did.

[@brammurti]

03:05 who would have thought an absolute legend bodybuilder could inspire tarantino to become a screen writer 😂

[@venkatdenduluri816]

I love it that me and Quentin Tarantino are very similar in terms of thinking. I'm so proud of myself rn lol! Slowly faith is building that, I too, can become a good writer someday! 🤞🤞

[@stevelivers3793]

Yeah but Harry Kane is still trophyless at spuds

[@yaseengani1]

Among my top 5 favourite directors in the world !!!

[@joeygonzo]

I can listen to him for 12 hours straight if needed.

[@flickfilms3603]

Cant believe Tarantino went to acting class with 8x Mr.Olympia Ronnie Coleman

[@Godzilla52]

David Mamet is no surprise, his dialogue writing has influenced generations of writers.

[@melhoward5674]

Rollin Stoned Repprin the wu-tang. He has Reza to his musical schemes sometimes. Quentin nvr disappoints.

[@matthewmendez3632]

+Mel Howard "Reza"? really bruh? It's RZA

[@melhoward5674]

Lol, to be completely correct. Haha

[@peteradaniel]

Just had to re-watch The hospital after seeing this. Love Chayefsky. Great writer.

[@ResistanceQuest]

It's crazy that Quentin Tarantino received career guidance from 8x Mr Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman. That's such an unexpected factual occurrence.

[@mattmoves5920]

You can totally see his italian roots by the way he moves his hands while talking

[@welaughatstupidshit]

1:43 - I think he stopped himself from saying "one of the BEST" lol

[@ThePickledOnion]

he said "and maybe wanna think about exploring this"

[@dustcircle]

YES! I knew it. I've seen the influence. Elmore Leonard has great conversations in his fiction!

[@mr.marvelasmr5872]

His writing is so poetic!

[@melhoward5674]

That explains Mia Wallaces dialogue, when she speaks of her pilot. This is reminiscent of maybe his acting, before he became a actor.

[@perrymorrisjr]

Quentin Tarantino is absolutely my favorite. He is to narrative cinema what Prince was to music. I'm sure many won't get that but, I do.

[@CommieApe]

That snappy witty dialogue in Sergio Leone movies seems like a major influence too.

[@burt591]

3:03 Wow! Ronnie Coleman inspired Tarantino to write. He probably told him "Yeah buddy! Light weight baby!!!"

[@MrArbeter]

3:06 i did not know the worlds biggest and freakiest bodybuilder did acting i learnt something important today

[@lonewalkerproductions]

Such a brilliant method to help those without formal education in a field learn

[@onlyalifetime]

Well, I'm very happy that you did explore it a little bit more!

[@AgentGordonCole]

I love that he acknowledges mamet. Didn't know that he considered him an influence.

[@TerriJones_terriaminute]

All artists start out by copying and then riffing on artists they are exposed to, whether they're aware of it or not. This is a terrific example of that process.

[@beanman2206]

dialogue in every tarantino movie is always on point legend of cinema

[@americagreatagain818]

He also read many lines when he played character Richie from From Dusk Till Dawn

[@jackbanner3262]

Interesting... I hate writing dialogue because it's so... difficult. Now, I'm not interested in screenwriting, but I HAVE been trying to write stories for some time and this subject always trips me up. Quite frankly, I suck at it. It's too much or it's too little. It's lame or it's ridiculously over the top. Too much "he said-she said" or not enough. Sometimes I just ignore those altogether and find myself with a wall of quotation marks and words... It's maddening! So, what do I do? Usually I use Select All-Delete. And I'm always thinking... my dialogue has to move the story forward, it has to reveal something - personality, backstory, thought process... SOMETHING pertinent to the story. It's one of the most difficult things for me to do. It's caused me to go months without writing anything at all at times. :) But never to quit.

[@track1219]

Jack Banner I have the same problem with song lyrics. Of course writing a book is very different. If I tried seriously to write dialogue I would get very familiar with how my favorite authors do it. Just throwing it out there. Best of luck

[@elalacransinner4070]

Elmore Leonard David Mamet Richard Pryor...............👍🏽

[@mariatineo4614]

Quentin Tarantino...one of my favorite film directors! I actually put a split screen in one of my movies as an homage to Tarantino. Quentin when you see it you're going to be proud! Bam!

[@MoncoField]

Wait...you think Tarantino was the first to do that? Go back some decades

[@mariatineo4614]

@@MoncoField . Of course not! Tarantino did not invent the split screen but he sure uses it well, to the point where it has become one of his signature story telling techniques as an artist and effective film director in motion pictures. In this way, I liken Tarantino to artists such as Matisse who used the color wheel well, but did not invent it. Just as Matisse personalized the use of similar bright colors by boldly placing them side by side without mixing them, Tarantino too personalizes the split screen in our modern era.

[@MoncoField]

@@mariatineo4614 Well that's kind of what im trying to tell you... Tarantino did not modernize the split screen, he borrowed it from a director he really admires; Brian De Palma (that's who modernized it). He's been split screening since the 70s, and it's clearly his own personal style

[@RagnarokMic]

Monco Field In all fairness, just because a person didn’t invent a thing, doesn’t mean they personally can’t be your inspiration in your own adoption of said technique.

[@bmla88]

It’s interesting that he included mamet and pryor.

[@joaonao1]

He is a genuine nice guy.

[@pokelover02]

The moment when you discover the writing exercise of “covering” on your own

[@coldbattery]

"Maybe I should explore this a little bit more." And thus, a legend has born.

[@grantbarnes6004]

Waldo Salt and Paul Schrader up there for dialogue too.

[@rogerrobie2451]

Say "paddy chayefsky" one more time, I dare you....

[@cinematicframescf7575]

Paddy clayeskey

[@titanmoirangthem234]

I double dare you

[@josephsarto689]

Paddy Chayefsky ain’t no country I ever heard of. They speak English in paddy Chayefsky?

[@ahmeds3139]

What font does tarantino use? What type of courier because it's very pleasing to eyes. I can't seem to find it anywhere?

[@MrParkerman6]

He first long hand writes everything (pen or pencil to paper.)

[@MiguelExhale]

My first attempt at writing Dialog like that.. you are good as Petty Chiesky.. it's just as good as his stuff.

[@niddoslav3825]

Didn’t know Ronnie Coleman was a writer... yeaaah buddy. Leightweight babyyyy

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

"Vincennntttt!! My man in Amsterdammmmm" 😁

[@ferminandresparra3266]

This questions are bangers

[@theramilpodcast2300]

The distance between his index finger and his thumb is crazy!

[@nathanesselman8942]

Tarantino rockin the Wu-Wear thats whats up

[@wayneanthonypopesr.3]

Would love for this Legend to read one of my books that im told would make great movies someday.

[@naturalcreativity3388]

Genius! I’m going to practice this

[@experienceanimation217]

What I do is I have a dictaphone and randomly turn it on and leave it in my pocket for a few minutes. You get authentic conversation and pick up genuine human mannerisms to help build a character you're making. And maybe take asentence or a few from the conversation to build on

[@PierceTravels]

Thank you for the movies

[@Anudorini-Talah]

Brilliant

[@sporister]

genueyne

[@luiabundi8371]

I showed one of my older friends a video that I made and he told me that it looked ​like a Quentin video and I had no idea who he was so I looked him up on KZbin and watched some of his movies then I felt the connection between our work. but I try not to feed of him.

[@Idk-xq9nu]

0:45 can someone please write the 3 names he said? Is too fast for my english and I want to know!

[@____uncompetative]

Press 'C' on the keyboard for Subtitles Elmore Leonard David Mamet Richard Pryor

[@EmperorsNewWardrobe]

Thanks!

[@zipididua]

amazing thanks so much for this.

[@stollinroned5090]

Is it me or is Quentin wearing a wu tang hoodie?

[@some______guy]

+Rollin Stoned it's you. he's in a tux.

[@ciaranscully771]

+Sverre Nilsen hahaha

[@Darfaultner]

You might be but he definitely is

[@echad6259]

Hes a fan. Good taste.

[@ShinyFlakesShinyFlakes]

He worked wit RZA on Kill Billy

[@javonduarte4240]

richard pryor?? wow thats incredible

[@Wyzzkyd]

Ronnie Coleman, aspiring actor who lifts weights on the side inspired QT to be a writer.

[@hado33_]

I want a korean film directed by Tarantino, that would be fire.

[@tab9100]

wu wear hoodie, no fucks given

[@NostalgiNorden]

#Marc W.S - Lindelof said that Pulp Fiction was a huge insperation to Lost

[@severusfloki5778]

Wow, great technique

[@clorasmcsmugger2653]

A genuWINE influence

[@orangewarm1]

Dialogue isnt supposed to draw attention to itself -- otherwise you think of the writer, not the character.

[@Peter-ih2tn]

This is relevant, the dialogue must be consistent with the character speaking it. If the character is not established, then the effect of having larger-than-life dialouge (or monologue) can be annoying. I had this problem while watching the Wire, Season 2.

[@clareregem9743]

Wu Wear 95. So cool!

[@geoycs]

Richard Pryor!

[@thelivealohashow6162]

I thought I recognized the David Mamet influence. Was one of mine too, since I was the lead in "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" back in college.

[@dixonbuttes]

Anyone else not know that Wu Tang Clan had a clothing line until now?

[@rellyWrotethat]

i feel like the wu wear hoodie isn't getting enough respect

[@oosa358]

🙌🏼