Zach Braff told The Ringeras part of a recent oral history on the iconic soundtrack to his 2004 comedy-drama “Garden State” that Quentin Tarantino approached him and jokingly cursed him off when Braff’s film won the Grammy Award for best compilation soundtrack for visual media over Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. 2.”
“I was up against Quentin Tarantino. I certainly didn’t think there would ever be a chance where I would beat Quentin Tarantino at anything,” Braff said. “My father wanted to come, and I was like, ‘Dad, there’s no way I’m gonna win a Grammy. Tarantino is winning the Grammy, and you’re wasting your trip from Jersey out here.’ And then we fucking won! I couldn’t believe it.”
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Braff continued, “Tarantino jokingly said, ‘You stole my fucking Grammy, man!’ and then gave me a big smile and a hug. He was super sweet and supportive. I was the kind offilm-school kid that would have put a‘Reservoir Dogs’poster on my wall.”
“Garden State,” which Braff directed, wrote and starred in opposite Natalie Portman, was the indie film sensation of 2004 with $35 million at the box office on a production budget under $3 million. The film’s beloved soundtrack featured The Shins, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation and more.
“I didn’t ever think a Grammy was something I should even dream about,” Braff told The Ringer. “I never in a thousand years would have thought this would be what happened to this movie, but whether it’s the soundtrack or the film itself, it’s rare that a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me about it. It was a seminal movie for a lot of people at a time in their life when they really needed to see it.”
Tarantino was not the only auteur director to give Braff his kudos for “Garden Sate.” Braff revealed that he also once received a letter from Steven Spielberg amid the success of the movie in 2004.
“I have a letter from Spielberg. It’s framed on my wall,” Braff said. “It was a dream letter to get from one of my heroes saying that he loved the film. I’m paraphrasing, but it was something like, ‘On behalf of so many others, I’d like to welcome you to Hollywood,’ or something like that.”
Read the full “Garden State” soundtrack oral history on The Ringer’s website.
