December 25, 2024

Jamie Foxx Surprises Quentin Tarantino With R-Rated Rendition Of ‘Happy Birthday’ Song

Hot Fuzz #HotFuzz

Quentin Tarantino spent the last weekend of his 50s at the London Palladium with a two-night event for his ongoing book tour. The “Cinema Speculation” author didn’t leave quietly, however, and was ambushed with cake by Jamie Foxx — who sang him “Happy Birthday,” augmented by just a bit of NSFW language.

“We can’t let you leave yet, because at midnight it’s your birthday,” said director Edgar Wright, who hosted the event and shared footage of the surprise on Instagram. “It’s not midnight in London, but it is midnight in Tokyo. It is midnight in Finland. It is midnight in Greece.”

“And since this is the London Palladium and the home of all-around entertainers, who better to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ than all-around entertainer ―” Wright continued, as Foxx walked on stage with a birthday cake in tow.

Tarantino warmly embraced Foxx, who starred in his most financially successful film, “Django Unchained,” in 2012. Before leading the audience of 2,000 people in a singalong of “Happy Birthday” (with Foxx tossing in a “motherfucker” for good measure), the “Ray” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” star took a moment to thank the “Pulp Fiction” director.

“Thank you for letting me be your Django, man,” said Foxx.

The three men on stage had known each other for years, according to Entertainment Weekly. Tarantino, a fan of high- and lowbrow cinema alike, befriended Wright after watching his 2004 horror-comedy “Shaun of the Dead.” Foxx, meanwhile, starred in Wright’s 2017 blockbuster “Baby Driver.”

“Anyone who came to the Cinema Speculation shows this weekend at @thelondonpalladium will know what a glorious time I had interviewing the man onstage about his magnificent book,” wrote Wright in the caption of his Instagram post on Monday.

The directors appear to have bonded closely over the years, with Tarantino appearing on the DVD commentary of Wright’s 2007 film “Hot Fuzz” and letting Wright host his “Wright Stuff” film festival at Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Tarantino spent Sunday regaling the crowd with readings from his book, which serves as both a memoir and a work of film criticism, according to Deadline. The director, who revered both the late film critic Pauline Kael and 1970s Los Angeles, might return to that era for his 10th and reportedly final film.

In the end, the weekend provided a celebratory sendoff to Tarantino’s 50s — and a hopeful beginning for a whole new chapter.

“Feel lucky and proud to be your amigo and to have talked movies for nearly 20 years now,” Wright wrote on Instagram. “Here’s to (at least) 20 more!”

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