Quentin Tarantino, renowned for his sharp storytelling and memorable characters, may soon complete his very first film, My Best Friend’s Birthday. Though his official directorial debut was Reservoir Dogs in 1992, this earlier 1987 comedy was left unfinished for decades, despite being an important part of his creative beginnings. The unfinished film, made during the era when Tarantino worked at the Video Archives store, depicts a man attempting to orchestrate a birthday surprise for his friend.
Over the past 30 years, Tarantino’s movies have gained legendary status, in no small part due to his dialogue and character work. He now aims to conclude his cinematic career after his tenth film and finishing this initial project could serve as a meaningful bookend.
Why Tarantino Abandoned My Best Friend’s Birthday
The production of My Best Friend’s Birthday spanned several years in the late 1980s and was made on an extremely limited budget, estimated at $5,000. Despite these efforts, the film was never fully completed, and rumors about the reasons have circulated over time. A significant factor, as revealed by Tarantino himself in 2019, was his dissatisfaction with the film’s quality. He felt the movie did not meet his expectations and eventually lost the drive to finish it, instead compiling a 36-minute montage of scenes that were easier to assemble.
Roger Avary, who also worked with Tarantino at Video Archives, confirmed that the project was dropped due to waning enthusiasm. Nevertheless, Tarantino has acknowledged that the process was valuable, describing it as a kind of informal film school that helped shape his future approach to filmmaking.
Dispelling the Myth of a Devastating Fire
For many years, it was widely believed that a fire destroyed half of My Best Friend’s Birthday, effectively ending any chance of completion. However, detailed research in the book My Best Friend’s Birthday: The Making of a Quentin Tarantino Film debunks this claim. While some film reels were indeed lost in a lab accident, the story that the entire film was destroyed by fire is false. Tarantino has said:
“For the record, I never actually said the movie was destroyed in a fire. That just became part of the mythology. I started reading it in the biographies, and I figured, why not just go along with it? It was an interesting story, so I never corrected it.” —Quentin Tarantino
A fortunate outcome of the lab accident was that Tarantino received a substantial discount for retrieving the remaining footage, which otherwise may have been unaffordable. This means that much of the original material still exists and could be used to finalize the movie if he chooses to pursue it.
Possibility of Completing the Film in the Future
The original screenplay for My Best Friend’s Birthday reportedly contained about 80 pages, hinting at an approximate runtime of 70 to 80 minutes, assuming the common rule that one page translates to roughly one minute of film. During an interview for the making-of book, Tarantino did not rule out the possibility of returning to the project:
“It’s sitting in storage. I could finish the movie one of these days. I might still do it, just to have it.” —Quentin Tarantino
Although Tarantino is currently engaged with other projects and plans to retire after his tenth movie, completing My Best Friend’s Birthday could serve as a meaningful closure to his career. Fans would gain a unique glimpse of the filmmaker’s earliest style and creative development. Even the available footage displays hints of the distinct voice Tarantino would later fully realize in his career.
Finishing this film could also be a fitting retirement endeavor, allowing audiences to experience the origins of one of the film industry’s most influential directors from the perspective of his very first work.
