The “Pulp Fiction” director revealed that he decided against buying his mother a house when he was just 12 years old.
Quentin Tarantino’s Hollywood success has brought him two Oscars and a fortune estimated at $150 million—but the filmmaker has said his mother would never receive one particular reward: a home purchased with his earnings.
The “Pulp Fiction” director previously revealed that he decided against buying his mother a house when he was just 12 years old, after she dismissed the writing ambitions that would eventually make him famous.
Speaking on “The Moment” podcast with Brian Koppelman, Tarantino recalled making a private promise that his mother, Connie Zastoupil, would not share in his future financial success.
“My mom always had a hard time about my scholastic non-ability, 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— is over,'" he recalled.
“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 one penny 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.’”
Quentin Tarantino’s Hollywood success has brought him two Oscars and a fortune estimated at $150 million—but the filmmaker has said his mother would never receive one particular reward: a home purchased with his earnings. (Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) The remarks describe a decision that began long before Tarantino had a film career, let alone the money to purchase property for someone else. At the time, his interest in writing had become a point of conflict over his performance in school.
Tarantino told Koppelman that his mother struggled with what he described as his “scholastic non-ability.” He revealed that his teachers had complained that he was not paying attention in class, where he was working on screenplays.
He recalled his mother bringing those creative aspirations into an argument about his schoolwork.
“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— is over.’”
For Tarantino, the exchange became something he remembered well beyond childhood—and beyond the point when writing began paying his bills.
His subsequent credits include “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill,” and “Django Unchained,” establishing a filmmaking career that made the financial rewards he had once imagined possible.
Still, he said he had not bought his mother either a home or a car.
He did acknowledge one exception to his stance on financial assistance: “I helped her out of a jam with the IRS.”
Koppelman suggested that her criticism might have contributed to his determination to succeed by giving him something to prove. Tarantino, however, defended the significance he attached to the exchange.
“Remember: There are consequences for your sarcastic tone about what’s meaningful to them,” he said.
His account of that argument is only one part of his mother’s role in his early life.
The “Pulp Fiction” director previously revealed that he decided against buying his mother a house when he was just 12 years old, after she dismissed the writing ambitions that would eventually make him famous. ( Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival) 
Speaking on “The Moment” podcast with Brian Koppelman, Tarantino recalled making a private promise that his mother, Connie Zastoupil, would not share in his future financial success. (the filmmaker's house) (Google Maps) Born in Knoxville, TN, in 1963, Tarantino was raised by his mother, who worked as a nurse. After the family moved to Los Angeles, he had opportunities to watch movies that were aimed at audiences older than he was.
His mother allowed him to see films including “Carnal Knowledge” and “Deliverance,” while her then-husband, musician Curtis Zastoupil, took him to screenings.
Tarantino later worked at a cinema in Torrance and spent five years at Video Archives, the video store where he continued developing his knowledge of movies.
"When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘No, I went to films,’” he previously told the Rolling Stones.
His reluctance to purchase a house for his mother also sits alongside a separate set of views about buying property for himself.
According to filmmaker Eli Roth, Tarantino cautioned him against rushing into homeownership after achieving success in Hollywood. The advice focused on keeping housing expenses from dictating which projects he could afford to accept.
"Don’t buy a house as soon as you’re successful, hold on to your money," he told Roth, suggesting he wait “until you can afford to completely pay for it outright.”
He did acknowledge one exception to his stance on financial assistance: “I helped her out of a jam with the IRS.” (seen with his wife) (Daniele Venturelli/WireImage) 
Born in Knoxville, TN, in 1963, Tarantino was raised by his mother, who worked as a nurse. After the family moved to Los Angeles, he had opportunities to watch movies that were aimed at audiences older than he was. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images) Tarantino—who has been living in the same house since 1996—also advised Roth to not "become an employee of your house."
“He goes, ‘I didn’t buy a house until Jackie Brown. Everyone else thought I was going to buy one after Pulp Fiction. I waited because I didn’t want to get stuck being an employee of my house—and then I didn’t have to worry about it," Tarantino told Roth.
Roth followed that advice, continuing to rent after the success of “Hostel” and eventually purchasing a home in 2007, when he was 35, Fortune reported.
For Tarantino, the two accounts reveal different reasons for keeping a house purchase off the table. In his advice to Roth, waiting offered greater control over a filmmaking career. In his recollection of his mother’s criticism, refusing to buy her a home fulfilled a promise he had made before that career even began.