‘Pulp Fiction’ Turns 30: How Quentin Tarantino’s Masterpiece Saved Careers, Conquered Film Festivals and Changed Cinema Forever

^th anniversary on Oct. 14, “Pulp Fiction” has left a massive footprint on moviemaking. Originally conceived as an anthology by writer-director Quentin Tarantino and his longtime friend, collaborator and Video Archives coworker Roger Avary, the film evolved into a funny, violent, endlessly inventive, non-linear odyssey.

In addition to reviving the career of John Travolta, minting a star in Samuel L. Jackson and spawning a still-thriving cottage industry of knockoffs and imitation films, “Pulp” earned the 1994 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or, seven Academy Award nominations and one win (for Tarantino and Avary’s screenplay), while its commercial success ($213 million off of an $8.5 million budget) forever changed the economics of independent cinema. To commemorate the legacy and impact of “Pulp Fiction,” Variety spoke with more than 20 members of the film’s cast and crew to solicit their experiences and recollections.

Armed with more than 100 pages of interviews, we’ve elected to break down this retrospective into two sections. This article covers the film’s conception and its release, and another will delve into the nuts and bolts of the production itself. The origins of “Pulp Fiction” began in the late 1980s while Tarantino and Avary were working together at southern California video store mainstay Video Archives. Roger Avary, cowriter, story: The original idea for “Pulp Fiction” was, we’re going to make three short films with three different filmmakers.

I’m going to make one, Quentin’s going to make one and we hit a pal, Adam Rifkin, who was going to make one. I wrote a script called “Pandemonium Reigns,” and along the way, my little short film expanded into a feature-length script. “Reservoir Dogs” expanded into a feature-length script.

Adam just never wrote his, and “Pulp Fiction” for a while was something that wasn’t going to happen. Danny DeVito, executive producer: Stacey Sher knew Quentin, and she set up a meeting for us. After about six minutes of talking with Quentin, I said, “I want to make a deal right now.” There was a little Quentin pause, and he said yes.