Winning a Golden Globe, Quentin Tarantino is Glowing– and expecting his first child in Tel Aviv
By David E. Kaplan
While most Israelis sigh over having to be subjected to a ‘ho-hum’ third election in less than one year, Tel Aviv’s celebrated new resident, Quentin Tarantino jokes, saying:
“I wish we had a third election in the US. Unfortunately there was only one.”
Married to Israeli singer/model, Daniella Pick, who is pregnant with their first child, Tarantino told the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot following his 2020 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for his movie ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’,
he not only feels “at home” in Tel Aviv; but “this really is my home now.”
And when the occasion arises, the award-winning director enjoys breaking into basic Hebrew. Hardly short of such ‘occasions’, so when accepting from the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles his Golden Globe, he thanked his wife who was watching the ceremony on television from Tel Aviv with:
“Toda geveret,” meaning “Thanks, Mrs.” in Hebrew.
The birth of his baby, he says, “will inspire him to learn more. “Obviously, I’m going to learn. I don’t want my boy or girl to speak a language I can’t understand.”
‘The writing is on the wall’ literally for Tarantino because hanging in his new Israeli home in north Tel Aviv are posters in Hebrew of his movies “Reservoir Dogs”, “Inglorious Bastards”, “Django Unchanged” and “The Hateful Eight”.
Tarantino’s first connection to Israel changed his life and is introducing a new one. How so? It was when Tarantino was promoting ‘Inglorious Bastards” in Israel 10 years ago that he met his future – now pregnant – wife who is the daughter of the famous Israeli pop singer/songwriter, composer and television personality Svika Pick.
Tarantino and Pick got engaged in July 2017 and tied the knot in November 2018 in an intimate ceremony at their Beverly Hills home.
When he was asked at the time about his daughter’s engagement to the famous director, Daniella’s dad who was ‘Israel’s Male Singer of the Year’ in the 1970s and penned the song which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, replied, “There is joy in our family.”
Well in a few months’ time there will be more joy.
While it may be hard to imagine Tarantino – whose films tend to spotlight dark violence and bizarre quirks – as a stay-at-home dad, he told Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that was precisely his “plan”.
Asked by Kimmel if he was going to play golf, the director said, “I just got married, I want to have kids.” Maybe Tarantino did his homework in family planning too! According to a 2015 survey Israel is one of the best countries in the world to raise a family. InterNations, the world’s largest network for people who live and work as expats abroad, ranked Israel third on their list of 19 countries for raising a family.
With the couple living much of the time at their new home in north Tel Aviv, Tarantino says “I have some short trips back to the US planned for the Oscar awards ceremony. And of course, we’ll be here for the birth and after.”
His new life includes riding his bike around Tel Aviv, going to movies and says, “I love the country and the people are really nice, very nice to me and they seem excited that I’m here.”
To a question of any concerns about missiles fired from the Gaza Strip, he replies “I’m not scared at all. Like everyone else here, I don’t really notice it.”
Clearly, very few foreigners do.
In its list of top 20 destinations for 2020, Forbes Travel Guide placed Tel Aviv the 2nd best city to visit in the world.
Maybe one day inspired by his new enriching surroundings we can expect not only more kids but a sequel:
“Once Upon A Time …in Tel Aviv”
