3 Creativity Hacks from Quentin Tarantino

To be clear: These aren't actually creativity hacks from the yammering mouth of Quentin Tarantino. They're some creativity hacks inspired by the fact that I watched "The Hateful Eight" the other night and am still not sure I liked it. I like Jennifer Jason Leigh, that's for sure.

Stay in your lane. Here's what Tarantino does well: over-the-top scenarios, uber-violence served with gore gravy, recreating old genres in new ways that make them seem fresh. He doesn't do nuance, he's not directing a Nicholas Sparks adaptation, and romance is a thing that mostly gets you dead. He's not veering from that. Ever. It enables him to be great at what he does.

Do the unspeakable. How times does someone say the n-word in "The Hateful Eight"? Sixty times, apparently. QT also has the lone female character be routinely abused: punched, knocked down, and, well, you have to see what happens in the end. Truly, no one is spared. In a way, "The Hateful Eight" is "Reservoir Dogs" with snow, but it works, when it does, because Tarantino says and shows things that others won't. Like brains exploding all over a woman's face.

Be beautiful. "Indeed when a mathematician becomes stuck and is not clear about what to do next the best advice is to do the most beautiful thing possible." Quentin is determined to bring to life two things at the same time: beauty and hideousness. In "The Hateful Eight," the 70 mm film, the Ennio Morricone score, and the crystal white winter Colorado landscape deliver a truly American tale of hate, revenge, and mayhem. It's a balance, really. Can you find the gorgeousness in your hideousness?

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