Quentin Tarantino - The Man, The Myths and the Movies. Wensley Clarkson

      Iowe many individuals who have helped make this book possible, my deepest thanks. All told, I interviewed more than 100 people, among them friends, acquaintances, writers, directors, producers, editors, artists, lawyers, publishers, video store clerks, salesmen, college students, cops, ex-convicts, agents, hookers, private eyes, reporters and down-on-their-luck dropouts.

      Some of these sources have chosen to remain anonymous. To them I offer a note of appreciation for the help they provided.

      However, there are a lot of others who don’t mind being thanked out loud. First and foremost, my heartfelt thanks must go to Quentin’s mother, Connie Zastoupil, whose help and guidance have been unswerving. Quentin’s one-time best friend Craig Hamann was a source of many great stories about Quentin, especially from his years at the James Best Acting School and during the long and troubled shooting of My Best Friend’s Birthday. Hamann stayed close to Quentin for several years and clearly remembers the problems and frustrations they both faced.

      Cathryn Jaymes was Quentin’s personal manager for almost ten years and she kindly revealed some fascinating details about the years when Quentin was really struggling. Cathryn patiently endured many hours of questioning and, unlike many people in Hollywood, always returned my calls graciously and swiftly.

      Scott Spiegel provided marvellous descriptions of Quentin’s struggle through the seedier areas of Hollywood. His off-the-wall, movie-geek mentality gave me a unique insight into the life that Quentin was leading in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Spiegel bedroom must be the envy of movie and horror comic fanatics across the globe.

      Film Threat magazine were wonderfully helpful and I have a number of people to thank, including Paul Zimmerman, who met Quentin on the way up. Now editor of the magazine, Zimmerman generously shared his memories of those early, heady days of Reservoir Dogs’ success. His colleague Brian Williams talked at great length about his more recent encounters with Quentin and provided a fresh appraisal that was of enormous benefit. David Bourgeois’ account of how he stalked Quentin at Cannes was highly amusing and incisive.

      A number of Quentin’s friends from his days at the Video Archives store in Hermosa Beach came up with details of Quentin’s film addiction years. Most helpful in this regard were the Martinez brothers, Chris and Jerry.

      The section on the build-up to actually shooting Reservoir Dogs owes a great deal to Monte Hellman. He welcomed me into his home and provided the inside information that lies at the heart of this book. Crew member Jamie Beardsley made an equally vital contribution with her marvellous photographs and extraordinarily accurate recollections.

      Others who deserve many, many thanks include: Tina Mascara, Don Murphy, John Glatt, Joe Paoella, Cathy Griffin, Stanley Margolis, David Thomas, Alex Stone, Paula Eifeen Eckert, Rand Vossler, Mike White, Mark La Femina, Paul Bartel, Rich Turner, Joe Carabello, Jack Lucarelli, David Stein, Jeff Burr, Vinnie Mizzi, Tom Duckweed, Rupert Maconick, Jon Ryan, Martin Dune, Mark Sandelson, Jason McCue, Toby and Karim.

      The Academy of Motion Picture and Science Library (Los Angeles), the Charlie. Rose Show, the Knoxville County Office of Records, the Torrance Library, the BBC’s Omnibus programme, the Lincoln Center (New York), the L.A. Times, Associated Newspapers, News International, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, the Village Voice, the New York Daily News, Variety, Interview Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Premiere, Empire, TV Guide, Playboy and the Mirror Group provided much of the background material.

       AUTHOR’S NOTE