Slipping in between the immensely popular Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill duology, was a the more subdued and subtle Quentin Tarentino film Jackie Brown. Not quite as impactful as its surrounding sister films, it is nonetheless a masterwork that I enjoy tremendously. One cool aspect of the film is that Tarentino chose the largely forgotten Pam Grier for the lead title role. She wasn’t exactly out of the business at that point, but had been appearing in minor roles in such films as Mars Attacks!, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and Above the Law.
It was a good thing that Tarentino was a big fan of the slew of B-Movies of the early 1970’s that included the ‘blaxploitation’ films, ‘sexploitation’ films, and the ‘women in prison’ films. Grier had been notriously featured in many popular films of that genre, most famously in such flicks as The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage, Coffy, and Foxy Brown. Had he not, we most likely would have never seen much of Pam Grier again in the role that garnered her no less than fifteen nominations from various film critic societies (plus the Golden Globes) for Best Actress.
I was excited to get the chance to meet her at the Hollywood Show on February 12, 2011, and not too put off by paying $35 for the autograph/photo op combo. I told her that no inscription was necessary on the picture, but she asked if she could write “Boo Ya”, one of the catchphrases of Jackie Brown.
Celebrities of the Winter 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…
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