Everyone probably has a couple of things that they’ve said which they wish they could take back. We are pretty sure that Quentin Tarantino‘s mom very much regrets the time that she mocked his writing career. In a recent interview, the famous director detailed an episode from his childhood. In which he was scolded by his teachers and subsequently his mother. Over the fact that he would be writing screenplays in the classroom instead of doing his math homework. That episode scared the director for life. So much so that he keeps a promise that he made that day.
How Things Went Down
According to Tarantino, his mom had gotten word from the teachers that he was distracted during class because he was spending more time writing screenplays than doing the work he was meant to be doing. This sparked a bit of a negative reaction from his mom. In Tarantino’s mind, this is how things went down,
“She was bitching at me … about that … and then 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 s–t is over!’”
This Was When He Made The Decision
It was at this moment that Tarantino literally made the decision to not give his mom any cash if he made it big writing screenplays. Quentin didn’t necessarily say exactly how old he was when this went down, and he made the decision. All that we know is that he was in grade school when this happened. He’s been holding on to that grudge for a long time! At the time, he didn’t lash out at his mother and tell her that he wasn’t going to give her any cash if he made it big, but he did make up his mind about it. Tarantino recalls,
“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 a 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.’”
Staying True To His Word
Perhaps the worst thing about the whole story is that all of these years later, Tarantino has remained true to his word! After he mentioned how he’d mind up his mind about not giving her any money, he was directly asked if he had kept this promise. According to him, he has! He said that he had bailed her out of an issue with the IRS. That is potentially the only time though that his mom has gotten a significant amount of cash from him.
A Lesson To Parents Everywhere
Tarantino, whose mom was 16 when she had him, defended his stance on cutting his mother off financially. He even issued a warning to parents everywhere saying,
“There are consequences for your words as you deal with your children, remember there are consequences for your sarcastic tone about what’s meaningful to them.”
The warning is certainly a valid one. Beware if you have a child as talented and as committed to holding a grudge as the young Quentin. You never know how much cash you could be missing out on!
