Tarantino Bloodying 'CSI' Team
Thursday February 24 1:23 AM ET

Call it "Kill Gil."

Quentin Tarantino has signed to direct the season-finale episode of primetime's most-watched series, CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Tarantino also has come up with an original story for the episode, which is expected to shoot in early April and air May 19, according to "CSI" executive producer Carol Mendelsohn.

Tarantino has long been a fan of the stylish forensic drama as series creator/executive producer Anthony Zuiker learned when he bumped into Tarantino at an awards show during "CSI's" first season. They have pursued him to direct an episode for some time, and after members of the "CSI" crew ran into Tarantino a few weeks ago while the show was doing some location shooting in Las Vegas, the stars finally aligned for him to helm the show's fifth-season closer, Mendelsohn said.

"He knows everything there is to know about 'CSI,' and he is into the whole mythology of 'CSI,"' Mendelsohn said. "Quentin came in a couple of weeks ago. We had a story meeting with the writers. He had a great idea, and it was so much fun to have him in the room. . . . We are positively giddy."

Zuiker, in particular, "worships Quentin," she added.

Mendelsohn said the story will involve a plot that finds one of the key members of the CSI team, led by Gil Grissom (William Petersen), in serious jeopardy.

"There will be more bugs and blood this time," Mendelsohn joked.

Tarantino, who earned an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay to his 1994 smash "Pulp Fiction," directed a 1995 episode of "ER" and appeared as a guest actor on ABC's "Alias" in 2002 and last year. His other features include the "Kill Bill" films, "Jackie Brown" and "Reservoir Dogs."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/va/20050224/110923699600.html

Finally we'll get some backstory on Grissom's days as a werewolf hunter.

das

There is a mythology to C.S.I.? Yeah, I don't think so.

Is Peterson still signing off at the end of this season? Or has the fresher story lines persuaded him to stay? Anyone?

The C.S.I. guys love to use the word "mythology" to mean "Backstory".

I think he's signed on for one more season. But even with that, he's still be crazy to leave. All he has to do is look at CSI:Miami to see what happens when an actor leaves a successful show.

Oh, wait, maybe that's not a good example...

-jason

I wonder what Tarantino's take on Horatio from Miami would be. Death by sunglasses?

No, not really.

Is this a reference to Caruso who left NYPD Blue? FWIW, he was down on his luck for a while before hitting it big again with this one.

What? No love for the highly original Jade?

das

I know it's blasphemy, but I've always thought Tarantino was highly overrated as a director. I'd rather have him direct it than appear in it, like he did in Alias.

i actually enjoyed Tarantino's performance in alias (at least the first season, i'm not up to his episode yet in season 3) and this is coming from somone who loves his work but thought he was a bit stiff (but funny as hell) as Jimmy in pulp fiction

In entertainment industry terms, a loooooooooooong while.

Hmm, if he's going to provide the story, why not let him write the thing?

Because then you end up with an episode like "chinga" on the X-files. Written by Stephen King. Great story idea, poor execution.

KISS OF DEATH is the best movie ever.

I'll give Jade credit for having a good car chase. That's about it though.

Didn't QT direct an episode of ER a while back?

Face it, you're a closet QT fan with that Freudian slip.

Oh come on ... it's easily Joe Eszterhas' second best copy of Basic Instinct!

das

This could be very cool.
Some of the CSI members are on the cover of TV Guide this week. They talk about how they are excited about their characters being explored a bit more.

I.
Be.
Watching.