Quentin Tarantino Reveals His Three Favorite Female Protagonists to Movieline

At a "special L.A. screening" of Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It last night, well-costumed, actual derby girls raced on skates back and forth across the black carpet. Posters of Ellen Page strapped into a green helmet cluttered the press line. Beneath the crush of lights, the occasion seemed fit to reflect on the best, most ferocious female protagonists in cinematic history -- with none other than the man who has most imbued leading ladies with near-mythic, gladiatorial power, Quentin Tarantino.

The Inglourious Basterds director, who was there to shout out support for Whip It co-star Zoe Bell, donned a vermilion blazer with "Kill Bill" etched in gold across the back. Just before he darted in to Mann's Chinese, he stopped and gushed about his three favorite marquee femmes.

"Gosh! Well, some of my favorites would be... I'm a huge fan of a lot of the actresses that came out of Hong Kong and Japanese cinema in the 70s," he said, wracking his brain for a ne plus ultra. "Pam Grier definitely is the one from America. But also Angela Mao out of Hong Kong and Sue Shiomi out of Japan. They're the best."

In addition to being quintessentially Tarantino-esque, all three women qualify as action figures who invigorate fight scenes with fierce agility and maquillage. They could also populate the most weapon-filled derby match of all. I'd stand in line for that.



Comments

  • LoneStarNot says:

    In QT's style, yes, Pam Grier(Coffy), Tamara Dobson(Cleopatra Jones).
    Several actresses/films have presented strong women with more traditional/serious construction ... farther back: Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity, Strange Love of Martha Ivers) ... more recent: Linda Fiorentino(The Last Seduction), Lena Olin(Romeo is Bleeding), Meryl Streep(The River Wild), Frances McDormand(Fargo), Sigourney Weaver(Alien[123]).