Tarantino Off the Hook

Pulp Fiction director and wanna-be actor Quentin Tarantino, escaped a possible jail sentence last week when a court threw out a claim that the Hollywood bad boy had punched a woman in the face, according to the Associated Press. The 35-year-old filmmaker was accused of clocking fashion stylist, Leila Mwangi on the mush when he tried to throw a punch at her boyfriend, photographer Barron Claiborne after a row in a Manhattan restaurant turned nasty. Criminal Court Judge Judith Anne Levitt threw out the charge on the recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Julio Cuevas, who said there was no way to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The charge against Tarantino arose from an incident last May when he allegedly started arguing with Claiborne about how Hollywood portrays blacks. According to Claiborne, things became heated after Tarantino said, "I'm surprised that white Americans accept Wesley Snipes because he's so African looking." That little pearl apparently didn't go down well with Claiborne or Mwangi, who are both black. The two men were soon facing off, and Claiborne reckons Tarantino tried to sucker punch him, and when he ducked, Mwangi caught the director's fist in her face, causing a cut above her eye. Tarantino was not in court on Friday to hear the good news. According to his attorney, Paul Callan, he was at a film festival in Hawaii, where he's entered a documentary. If convicted, Tarantino could have faced up to a year in jail. "Our position has always been that Quentin acted in self-defense," said Callan. Mwangi has also filed a $15 million civil suit against the movie-maker, claiming she was "beaten, battered, and injuredwithout any cause or provocation," causing "severe nervous shock and mental anguish, great physical pain, and emotional upset." Tarantino admits he swung at Claiborne, but denies he hit anyone. He calls Mwangi's lawsuit "blackmail," and has threatened to counter-sue for "abuse of process and malicious prosecution." Callan claims that no one in the restaurant saw Mwangi bleeding, adding, "Her credibility in the civil case has been crippled as a result of the decision of the district attorney to dismiss this case."