Cool Quentin Tarantino!

The coveted director who rose from being a video shop clerk was in Manila for the Cinemanila International Film Festival and eventually, to receive his “Lifetime Achievement Award.” He’s the second Hollywood celebrity that visited the Philippines in just two months. The first is Josh Hartnett who did a shoot in Mindanao for a part of the movie “I Come With the Rain.” Many admired Quentin’s decision to grace the event amidst typhoons that are expected to reach the main land.

On the day he was to receive his award in Malacañang, heavy traffic was building up due to heavy flooding near a mall in Sta. Mesa. His ride, which is a limousine, was not able to negotiate the traffic for two hours. As they are going to be late for the ceremony, Amable Aguiluz suggested that they take a “pedicab.” So they took a pedicab separately, since they wouldn’t fit in just one, until they reached Nagtahan where they hitched a car (the owner of the car must have thanked the rains on this one) to the palace.

Quentin’s pants and shoes were soaked wet that prompted Mr. Aguiluz to buy new shoes. To replace his wet pants was a pair of jogging pants (looks black on TV) with white lining on the side (which could have been fine if not for the stripe). I guess Mr. Aguiluz was not able to buy new pants due to Quentin’s big frame or was it just a mental lapse? And so not acting like a prima donna / fashionista, he wore his “barong” and went on with the ceremony that was caught by the evening news. But here’s the kicker, to think that flooded Manila was not embarrassment enough, the president of the Philippines was late for the ceremony! Later when Quentin was asked about the joy ride (more of a boat ride), he just took it as an inevitable experience.

But what caught me most of his stay in the country is his comment about piracy. When asked by a reporter of the Philippine Daily Inquirer regarding Filipinos buying his movies for 25 cents, he said ‘As long as they’re seen by people, I don’t care. I’m f$#&ing rich!’ Spoken as an artist and not a greedy businessman.

Click the link to view the actual report from ABC 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IguBD0j8hZA