Before Quentin Tarantino directed his first movie, Reservoir Dogs, he sold two scripts to other filmmakers. These sales helped him to pay his rent and the expenses of independent filmmaking. Different famous directors brought each script to life and showcased their unique styles. One of the two scripts was True Romance.
True Romance was directed by Tony Scott, known for action films like Top Gun and Man on Fire. At the age of 25, the young Tarantino sold his True Romance script for just $50,000—the minimum according to WGA rules. Despite the low payout, it marked a pivotal moment in his budding career.
Quentin Tarantino Sold True Romance Script for Just $50,000
As per the YouTube video of Film School Archive, in the summer of 1989, a 25-year-old video store clerk sold a True Romance script for less than the average taxi driver makes in a year. The young store clerk was none other than the renowned filmmaker of today’s era, Quentin Tarantino.
The Domino director made two main changes to Tarantino’s True Romance. First, he linearized the story, which was structured initially out of order like many of Tarantino’s early works. Second, he gave the characters Clarence and Alabama a happy ending. He deviated from Tarantino’s bleak conclusion because he had become attached to the characters.
The Script of True Romance Actually Started with 50 Pages
The origin of True Romance started with a 50-page script by Roger Avary titled The Open Road. Its plot was based on the story of “an odd couple relationship between an uptight businessman and an out-of-control hitch-hiker who travel into a Hellish mid-Western town together” (as per TV Tropes).
When Avary struggled to complete The Open Road, he turned to his friend and fellow Video Archives clerk, Quentin Tarantino, for help. Tarantino delivered over 500 handwritten pages, which Avary described as the Bible of pop culture.
Avary typed and edited the extensive script while Tarantino incorporated story ideas. The final script combined True Romance and Natural Born Killers.
The script was told in Tarantino’s trademark chapter style and unfolded out of chronological order. When both the writers realized the lengthy script wouldn’t sell, they divided the two stories into separate movies.
