Generation Tarantino: The Last Wave Of Young Turks In Hollywood – Andrew J. Rausch

The 1980s…a favorite decade for many. Those who lived through it, those who came after it, all agree there is something surreal about that decade that spawned some of the most pivotal turning points in our modern times. From fashion to music, the fashion and hairstyles were unforgettable. The language that emerged in the 80s was radical, bodacious, gnarly, and, yes, totally awesome!

After many of the over-the-top fads faded into what became the 1990s, something still stood out about the 1980s. Yes, some of the best of the best in film and television remain at the forefront of popularity to this day.

The 1990s were what I’ve always dubbed “The 80s hangover decade.” Yes, it became the mellower, laid-back time when music melded from what was termed the “hair bands” to an earthier, dressed-down, almost thrown-together look for bands dubbed “grunge”. There were also the “boy bands”, which began a constant rise of some of the best layering of voices in our time. We had so much going on, even cute little plush toys that nearly everyone went mad for called…”Beanie Babies.” And let’s not forget The Macarena!

This era also saw the rise of larger-than-life movies hitting the big screen… and I mean, they hit the big screen in a big way! Jurassic Park, Titanic, and the return of Star Wars (Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace), to name a few. Yes, the 1990s brought us some great entertainment and fads, some we’d like to forget, but looking back now, some of us actually miss those years.

However, during the 1990s, the movies only became bigger and better, some larger than life! You had your big blockbusters, sequels, and your fair share of drama, romance, and comedy. However, in between all of that, you had a massive amount of first-time directors with dreams of bringing their films to life on the big screen, and in their own way. These young directors came from all walks of life.

Some went to film school, some borrowed money to make a first film, and some didn’t have a pot to piss in —so the saying goes —yet sold personal belongings to get the money to make their film a reality. Now that’s dedication! This era also birthed a new breed of directors who sidestepped the mainstream Hollywood machine, and even a new type of film emerged…Indie Films. Yes, it was a new decade, and it seemed that the old rules did NOT always apply.

Generation Tarantino: The Last Wave Of Young Turks In Hollywood, written by celebrated author Andrew J. Rausch, is a newly released book (July 2025) about some of the most groundbreaking directors to emerge in the 1990s.

You’ll enjoy 13 interviews with the very top, talented, and successful directors to emerge from the 1990s. In each chapter, you will find stories about the director’s past, where they came from, how they got started, the sacrifices they made, and how they eventually got their foot in the door of the film studios. You’ll also find the behind-the-scenes stories on the set and never-before-heard stories of what happens when you’re trying to get not just your first but even second and third films made.

The directors you’ll find in this book are now considered Hollywood royalty, legends. Richard Linklater, John Singleton, Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro, David Fincher, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Noah Baumbach, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky, and Sofia Coppola are now commonplace names in the film industry – but once were relatively unknown.

In this book, you will find out how these films were made and the struggles they entailed, as discussed in detail. Just to name a few: Boyz n the Hood, Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Desperado, Rushmore, Fight Club, Boogie Nights, and The Virgin Suicides.

I am a big fan of books about films from the 1980s, and I have always wished that a book about movies from the 1990s would cross my path. That opportunity came with Generation Tarantino. I couldn’t put this book down! This book is fascinating, engaging, entertaining, and informative, and you will find yourself transported back to the 90s as if it were yesterday.

Author Andrew J. Rausch is always dedicated. This book is no exception. This book is a cornucopia of 1990s directors and the fascinating films that made history. Truly a testament to what the 1990s film industry was all about. Hollywood can be a gruesome, cutthroat, and harsh business, but for some, it was truly a magical time in their lives. For these directors, they paid their dues, and their dreams came true.

I had the honor and pleasure of also interviewing author Andrew J. Rausch regarding his newest book… Generation Tarantino: The Last Wave Of Young Turks In Hollywood.

 

Anthony Northrup – Thank you for joining us today, Andrew. Please share a little about yourself with us.
Andrew Rausch – I live in Kansas, and I’m the author of a lot of books on film and popular culture.

AN – You have a long list of book credits to your name. A lot of them involve the entertainment and film industry. What do you enjoy most about this particular subject matter?
AR – I love cinema. I love every aspect of film. Most of the finest films are well behind us now, but I like to shine a light on the true artists who still walk and work among us.

AN – Speaking of films and entertainment. Let’s talk about your new book, Generation Tarantino. There is so much information packed within.
AR – I wanted to really focus on some of the best filmmakers who have ever worked in the medium. Because they’re still here, we take a lot of them for granted. People say the overall quality of film isn’t as good today, and I agree. But there are many true, immensely talented, legendary filmmakers working today, and I wanted to focus on them. The ’90s were an incredible decade that introduced some of the greatest talents in terms of filmmaking that cinema has ever known.

AN – Was the research part of the process challenging in any way? If so, how so?
AR – Not really. I’ve written enough books now that I pretty much know my way around, so it’s not difficult, just very time-consuming. There’s no getting around that. But it’s fun to learn new things about iconic films.

AN – This book has the best of the best 1990s filmmakers. Was it challenging to choose which directors stayed in, and which filmmakers would you have liked to have put in the book?
AR – Not really. I picked a pretty good selection, but there were definitely more people I could have put in. It was just a matter of space, really.

AN – There are some directors I would have liked to have seen included in this book, such as M. Night Shyamalan, Sam Mendes, and Michael Bay. Any particular reason they weren’t in the book?
AR – I love Sam Mendes and should have included him. My pal, Max Allan Collins, wrote Road to Perdition, which I love and believe is supremely underrated. And I don’t care what people say today about American Beauty, or how they try to frame it, it’s a terrific movie. Is it about a flawed human? Absolutely. But guess what? Everyone is flawed. A film without flawed people would be boring. A lot of people today believe that movies about “bad” people shouldn’t be made today, but that’s just narrow-minded and ignorant. But anyway, Mendes is great, and I concede that he’s worthy of inclusion. As for Michael Bay and M. Night Shyamalan, the answer to this question is easier than it should be. The answer is just simply that I don’t like either of them, and I didn’t want to focus on them more than I had to. They both have a movie, maybe two, that I like. But I didn’t feel bad about leaving them out, because I was looking for a representative cross-section. I don’t have a lot of respect for Bay in the way that I do for most of the directors I chose because, seriously, he’s a tent-pole spectacle action movie guy, and I was focusing on filmmakers who make more artistic films. That sounds highfalutin ‘, but it’s the truth. As for Shyamalan, his “twist-y” movies annoy me at this point. I think The Sixth Sense is a masterpiece, and I think Unbreakable is pretty damned good. Signs is okay. Then after that, he took a left turn into turd territory. But again, I couldn’t include everyone. But I’ll be honest, I gave serious consideration to including him. You know what I do think is interesting, though? Shyamalan made two movies before The Sixth Sense that no one ever talks about. One of them, Wide Awake, was a dumb comedy with Denis Leary and Rosie O’ Donnell. It’s wild that that movie just gets completely lost in the shuffle. It’s not good or anything, but it’s out there. But I suppose it’s more fun for everyone to pretend The Sixth Sense was his first movie because it was so good. They wanted to paint him as an Orson Welles, which he kind of is, to a lesser degree. Welles, whom I’ve also written about, had a lot of talent and potential, but never managed to live up to that first film.

AN – There are many excellent and in-depth interviews in this book. Who did you find to be most interesting?
AR – Interestingly, the interview I found most fascinating was with Guillermo Navarro, the cinematographer of Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone, both masterpieces in my opinion. Navarro is a genuine artist, and he was someone I had wanted to interview for a long time.

AN – I found the parts of the book about the sacrifices directors made to get their first films made quite interesting. Do you feel these sacrifices make for a better filmmaker? What are your thoughts on this?
AR – I think a lot of those sacrifices–particularly in the case of Guillermo del Toro–show a real commitment to making the very best film( he can possibly make, and I think that kind of commitment and passion often lead to masterworks. I think Guillermo del Toro is one of the finest filmmakers working today, but I think that fact is sometimes obscured by the fact that he mostly works in horror and sci-fi, which are genres a lot of people look down on.

AN – How have the films talked about in this book affected your own life and career?
AR – Tarantino’s work has definitely played a massive role in my career. Pulp Fiction was the first film that made me sit up and say, “This can be a genuine art form.” That set me on a path of studying and writing about film. His crime films also had a huge influence on my fiction. I’ve now written three books about Tarantino and have made some good friends — particularly Craig Hamann and Tarantino’s mother, Connie — because of my work on those books.A lot of films covered in this book played large roles in my life and served as a sort of soundtrack for periods of my life, but none of them had the kind of impact and influence on my life that Quentin’s films have had.

AN – Lastly, what do you want most for readers to take away from reading this book, and what’s next for Andrew Rausch?
AR – I want the book to serve as a fair representation of what made the artists of Generation X unique, and also remind people why they matter. As for me, I’m deep into the writing of a literary biography of noir novelist Max Allan Collins. That’s been keeping me extremely busy. As for fiction, I’m about halfway through the third (and final) book in my Layla’s Score series. But mostly, I’m just working hard to be the best person I can be and love and take care of my wife and kids.

AN – Thanks for taking the time with us today, Andrew.
AR – No problem at all, Tony. As always, it was a good time.

*My latest books:

The Taking of New York City: Crime on the Screen and in the Streets in the Big Apple in the 1970s (Applause Books)
Generation Tarantino: The Last Wave of Young Turks in Hollywood (Bloomsbury)
The Cinema of Quentin Tarantino: Essays on Race, Violence, and History in the Films (co-edited by Kieran Fisher, McFarland & Company)
“We Must Shoot!: The Life and Art of Gary Graver (co-written with Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz, Bear Manor Media).

*Quotes from others who have read books written by author Andrew J. Rausch…

“I haven’t read all of Andy (Rausch)’s books, but I’ve read several, and I like that he writes whatever he likes. He’s got some damn good stuff.” — Joe R. Lansdale, author of The Bottoms

“Andrew J. Rausch is a talented author and journalist.” – S.A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland.