Quentin Tarantino is one of the most respected directors in Hollywood. Throughout his directorial career, Tarantino has delivered some cult classics. Kill Bill: Vol.1 & 2 undoubtedly belong on the list of best movies ever brought to the audience by the legendary director.
Considering the story spans two movies that required multiple shooting locations, it’s no surprise that Tarantino needed a big budget to work on each film. Most reports suggest that the director was given a $30 million budget for each movie, but obviously, he exceeded those numbers.
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Quentin Tarantino Was Mad at Executives When Making Kill Bill
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 are regarded as cult classics by most movie fanatics today. However, when Quentin Tarantino was working on the movies, the same sentiment wasn’t shared.
In fact, in a 2003 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the decorated director revealed how he was questioned by producers regarding his movies going over budget.
When we started, like, going over, executives were saying, ‘Do we have a runaway train on our hands?’ When I heard that, I got mad, because [the budget overruns] are just a bureaucratic curlicue. I’ll worry when I get a call from Harvey Weinstein. And he called me in China after seeing the dailies and said, ‘Quentin, just make your movie.’
Miramax Films funded both volumes of Kill Bill, keeping that in mind, it’s no surprise that co-founder Harvey Weinstein gave Tarantino the green light to continue working on his movies, and the director could continue without worrying about the budget.
After all, the production company funded Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in the 1990s, and it turned out to be a huge success for them. Evidently, the Weinstein brothers had complete trust in the director, but the same cannot be said for others involved in the project.
Quentin Tarantino was Accused of Lying for Going Over Budget When Working on Kill Bill
Nowadays, splashing $30-$50 million has become a small deal for production companies. However, during the early 2000s, it wasn’t the case. After all, $30 million spent in 2003 would be worth close to $100 million today.
With that being said, when Tarantino exceeded the budget of the film by $11 million, it created a storm at the production company as revealed by him in the same interview with Entertainment Weekly.
No one can believe it. They think we’re lying. Oliver Stone and Kathleen Kennedy [friends of the director of photography, Bob Richardson] were saying ‘How?’ My answer is, ‘Well, try to make it for 39!’
At the end of the day, Quentin Tarantino may have gone overboard with the budget, but his decision did wonders. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 ended up grossing more than $180 million at the worldwide box office.
On the other hand, the sequel to the original movie grossed more than $154 million at the worldwide box office. So, on a nearly $60 million budget, the two films earned $334 million. If that’s not a success, we do not know what is.
Also Read: Kill Bill 3: Quentin Tarantino Says It Might Be His Next Film
In 2024, the audience can enjoy the director’s classic films on Amazon Prime Video or rent the films to watch on Apple TV.
