Independent spirit Quentin Tarantino (1963-), born on this day in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a film maker with a huge cult following. A comic book and television fanatic who taught himself to read by age three, Tarantino was a high school drop out with Mensa IQ and flamboyant confidence.

In 1985, working at Los Angeles' Video Archives, his childhood passion for movies flourished when he was paid to watch and recommend videos.

Then in 1988, it was boom, boom, boom, like an automatic gun...

Tarantino wrote the script for Natural Born Killers, then sold the script for True Romance. He pulled together the backing to write and direct Reservoir Dogs, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in '92 and garnished him a cache of hosannas.

Picking up momentum, he finished his independent film Pulp Fiction, took it to the Cannes in '94, and snatched the Palme D'Or, the film festival's top prize.

Pulp Fiction exploded onto screens with astonishing characters, a hip script, warped wit, and biting violence. Tarantino single-handedly revitalized John Travolta's career, making him dance like a Disney Aristocat and giving him memorable dialogue about how to order a cheeseburger in Paris.

That "little" $8 million film won Tarantino a Best Screenplay Oscar and garnished a staggering $213 million in worldwide box-office sales.

"I'll take a Royale with Cheese."