The Pulp Fiction director forces all actors and crew members to check their mobiles before arriving at the studio because he’s tired of having his scenes ruined by the sound of a ring tone.
He tells U.S. TV host Jay Leno, “Nobody can be anywhere around my camera with a cell phone. We actually have a Checkpoint Charlie (phone check point)… I’ve done scenes in movies and all of the sudden somebody’s cell phone on the crew goes off and ruins the scene. That can’t happen. We’re here to do something, we’re really conjuring up something, and I can’t have my actors’ acting, or anything that we’re trying to do, be messed up by a cell phone.
“People can say, ‘Oh, well I’ll remember to put it on silent.’ ‘I’m not here to test your memory. We’re here to do this. You will screw up everything we’re doing.'”
And the Oscar winner insists his rule also helps cast members get to know each other better.
He explains, “Now that everyone has these smart phones, it’s had an even more meaningful reason, because you go on most sets now that don’t have this rule and people actually aren’t working with each other anymore. They’re always on their cell phone, they’re updating their Facebook, everyone’s always kind of in their own little world – and the whole thing about a movie is everyone is all coming together to work together and you get to know everybody.”
