QUENTIN TARANTINO & ROBERT RODRIGUEZ NAMED SHOWEST “DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR”

TARANTINO & RODRIGUEZ’S WORK TO NEXT BE SEEN IN DIMENSION FILMS’ GRINDHOUSE

Photo by Stephen Thorburn
 

LOS ANGELES — ShoWest has named Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez ShoWest “Directors of the Year,” it was announced today by Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of the event that will be held March 12 -15, 2007 in Las Vegas. Tarantino and Rodriguez will be presented with the ShoWest Director’s of the Year award at ShoWest’s closing night ceremony on Thursday, March 15 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas.

“We are thrilled to honor two of the most renowned and imaginative filmmakers in the industry today by recognizing Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez,” said Neuhauser. “Their collaborations in the past including From Dusk Till Dawn, Four Rooms, Sin City and now the eagerly anticipated Grindhouse, show what can happen when you put two remarkable filmmakers together. With their uncanny ability to take moviegoers to the very edge of reality, not to mention their seats, and with their unequalled dedication to storytelling, you get a movie experience unlike any other. Sort of like the highest end thrill ride imaginable, a Tarantino/Rodriguez production delivers a one of a kind explosion of adrenalin, excitement and magic that may leave you exhausted, but oh so satisfied. Their incredible individual and collaborative talents are undeniable.”

Tarantino and Rodriguez will next be featured back to back with Grindhouse, a double dose of depravity packed to the gills with guns, guts, sleaze, and blood. The unprecedented project from the longtime collaborators presents two original, complete films as a double feature. Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof is a white knuckle ride behind the wheel of a psycho serial killer’s roving, revving, racing death machine. Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is a heart-pounding trip to a town ravaged by a mysterious plague. Inspired by the unique distribution of independent horror classics of the sixties and seventies, these two shockingly bold features are presented together on a stylish double bill, replete with fake trailers, missing reels and plenty of exploitative mayhem.

Since making a bold debut with Reservoir Dogs in 1992 Tarantino has gone on to direct, produce and or write some of the most memorable films of this generation. From the time bending crime fiction and Academy Award nominated Pulp Fiction, to the comic crime caper Jackie Brown, to the whirlwind Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2 Tarantino has established himself as one of the most unique and visionary filmmakers of his generation. Tarantino has also turned his attention to the small screen directing episodes of “ER” and “CSI” for which he garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Director for a Drama Series. He has also shown his dedication to first-time filmmakers by executive producing movies such as Eli Roth’s Hostel, John Madden’s thriller Killshot and first time director Katrina Bronson’s Daltry Calhoun.

While a student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1991, Robert Rodriguez wrote the script to his first feature film El Mariachi. El Mariachi went on to win the coveted Audience Award for best dramatic film at the Sundance Film Festival and became the lowest budget movie ever released by a major studio. Rodriguez went on to write, produce, direct and edit Desperado, direct and edit “The Misbehaviors” one of the four segments of Miramax Film’s Four Rooms as well as direct Tarantino in From Dusk Till Dawn. Rodriguez fulfilled a lifelong dream and created the family adventure film Spy Kids. A critically acclaimed and box office success Spy Kids spawned Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D. He then went on to work on Once Upon A Time In Mexico, and Sin City before returning to his love of family fare with The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lavagirl in 3-D.

ShoWest is the largest annual convention for the motion picture industry. It is the only international gathering devoted exclusively to the movie business and the single largest international gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world. The 2007 edition of ShoWest will be held March 12 - 15, 2007 at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas and is expected to draw more than 5,000 members of the motion picture industry. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 50 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. ShoWest is managed by the Nielsen Business Media, a division of The Nielsen Company.