Originally posted on July 17, 2024 @ 12:01 pm
The Icons That Built America Recap for Action Stars
-This week’s The Icons That Built America follow the careers of Bruce Lee and Quentin Tarantino.
-Bruce was a child actor who would often get into fights due to being bullied. He wanted to prove himself, so he got into martial arts.
-Despite this, he kept getting into fights and was sent to America as a last-ditch effort to change his life. He moved to Seattle and stayed with a family friend, where he lived under a staircase and worked as a busboy. He also taught martial arts to make extra cash, namely, kung fu, which was unknown in the states.
-Before long, Bruce opened a kung fu school and combined it with Western style martial arts, eventually coming up with his own form of martial arts.
-The business wasn’t doing well. He has a wife and kid, so he looked for new ways to market his business. He entered a karate tournament, which would soon change his life.
-Bruce would soon get an acting job, which would put him on the map. He would get a role on The Green Hornet as Kato. This was a huge deal for him…and the Asian community, because he would become one of the first Asian actors on television.
-Bruce would struggle with fighting ‘Hollywood’ style, so he stated his case as to why his way was better. The director agreed, and this became the selling point for the show….making him the standout character.
-The show was cancelled after one season, making him an unemployed actor. Bruce would then teach martial arts to the stars, helping them with their roles and soon coming up with one for himself.
-James Coburn and Warner Brothers agreed to help, but once James pulled out, Warner Brothers followed suit, leaving him back at square one.
-Bruce went back to Hong Kong, where The Green Hornet was a hit. He became a major celebrity there and, thanks to Hong Kong entering the entertainment business, Bruce would land major roles in The Big Boss and The Way of the Dragon.
-Bruce recruited Chuck Norris for The Way of the Dragon, which helped make the movie one of Hong Kong’s biggest movies of all time.
-Warner Brothers wanted to work with Bruce on Enter the Dragon. This movie was a small budget film, but Bruce saw it as a way to get back into Hollywood. However, his character worked as a spy for the British, so he walked away from the deal.
-Bruce and Warner Brothers come up with a deal and soon the movie was on its way to being filmed. During filming, Bruce has passed out and was rushed to the hospital. Despite his exhaustion and health issues, he continued to film.
-Later on, while at an actress’s home, he was feeling ill, so she gave him a painkiller—which proved to be fatal. He had died at the age of 32, three weeks before the movie was released.
-Bruce Lee set the bar for martial arts, making it a popular sport today. His hard work left a mark on the world…and would become an inspiration for one Quentin Tarantino.
-Quentin was raised by a single mom who would find different ways to keep him occupied. He loved movies and worked as a video clerk as a teenager.
-He loved B-Movies and was determined to make them mainstream. He began writing his own movie called Natural Born Killers, which was read and changed by Oliver Stone. This upset him, so he made sure that he would be the only one to direct his films.
-Quentin began writing another screenplay taking place in one location to stay in his micro budget. He talks to a man named Lawrence Bender, who uses his connections to get the film in the hands of Harvey Keitel. They take th budget from $30,000 to over a million dollars. The movie? Reservoir Dogs.
-Miramax and Harvey Weinstein want to work with them, but they needed to cut out a violent scene where an ear was cut off. Quentin insisted on keeping it, so they came up with a compromise on how to make it work.
-The movie grossed 3 million in America and over 20 million worldwide.
-Quentin’s next movie had everyone up in arms…with one executive calling it the worst thing he has ever read. The movie was picked up by Harvey with a million dollar budget and Quentin having complete control. The movie? Pulp Fiction.
-The movie makes the festival circuit. It is so intense that someone passes out while watching. Nobody had faith in the movie at this point. However, one is it released, it made over 200 million worldwide…..and earned Quentin an Oscar!
-Quentin would make a name for himself and his movies made over a billion dollars worldwide. He set the bar for others in the business, changing the world of movies forever.
-More next week, stay tuned!
