-== INTERVIEW ==-

Excerpts from a Flicks interview with Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney

Patrick Stoner: We haven't known each other that long, but in that time - about what, four years? - you've gone from unknown to the leader of a whole new school of filmmakers. Does it strike you how amazing that is?

Quentin Tarantino: Does it ever. You know what I love about this town - about this business, this profession? It's like the last outpost in the world for people. It's the Yukon.

Stoner: It's still the frontier.

Tarantino: Exactly. You can come here from anywhere. You don't need a degree. No degree ever got me an acting job, a directing job. . .They don't care where you're from or who you were. You have to get that first job, and that's tough, but then you're on the way. It's up to you - whatever you have to offer. Nothing can hold you back except yourself.

Stoner: And people like to work with people they know.

Tarantino: Yes, I love that there are sort of these repertory companies. Like in From Dusk Till Dawn, you see all of Robert's actors pop up, all of my actors pop up, and then those wonderful actors that Robert and I grew up loving, like Michael Parks and John Saxon - they're so terrific. And you know the woman who plays the hostage, Brenda Hillhouse...

Stoner: No, I don't actually. . .

Tarantino: No, she's my old acting teacher, when I was 16 years old, and I got her a part in the picture. I think she's terrific. That gave me a bunch of pleasure.

Stoner: Now, George, I should warn you now that this whole no-nonsense leading man image is about to be blown. I know someone who knows you too well.

George Clooney: Oh, oh, I knew it couldn't last.

Stoner: Well, I'm sorry but I'm sworn to honesty. Now, admit it. You're an inveterate practical joker. In fact, you arranged an elaborate hoax on Julianna Margulies [from ER] with the help of a friend of mine, Norman Mark, on a Chicago TV station. Come on, tell the story.

Clooney: You KNOW about that, eh? OK, I'll come clean. I love practical jokes, and that one took me weeks to set up. I knew we were going into Chicago for some publicity interviews for the TV show. So, I called Norman and got him to go along...we went to the studio and began the interview. She thought it was live, but we were just taping it. All of the questions to the guys were completely professional, like "Where did you get your acting training?," "Tell me about your research for this part" - stuff like that. Every question to her was something like, "Boy, are you hot - I guess you were a cheerleader, huh." As the interview went on, you could feel the steam coming out of the top of her head, but she couldn't say anything because she thought we were live. Finally, just before she had a heart attack after he followed up on a serious question to us with a lustful comment on her legs, we let her in on the joke. She broke up. Later, we did the real interview and she got the serious consideration she deserved. It was worth all of the effort to set it up.

Stoner: So, did you bring that casual style to your first big screen break [in From Dusk Till Dawn] ?

Clooney: Not exactly, because I was scared to death. I had to work with Harvey Keitel, and my character was supposed to dominate him. Now, nobody but nobody dominates Harvey on screen. I did my best, but when I look at the result, I can see him throw in a gesture, raise an eyebrow, or even take a pause, and he takes focus. That's why he's Harvey Keitel, and I'm just a lucky guy with the best job in the world.