Quentin Tarantino gets a birthday surprise from Jamie Foxx and Edgar Wright at London Palladium event

The cinema savant and auteur was promoting his book, Cinema Speculation, when he got a special visit from a friend.

Quentin Tarantino has been promoting his new book, Cinema Speculation, at the London Palladium for a two-night event, and there was a twist that the director didn’t see coming. Today, the acclaimed director turns the big 6-0, and at the end of the event last night, Jamie Foxx made a surprise appearance to lead a birthday celebration with event host Edgar Wright for Tarantino. Deadline reports on the exciting birthday reveal.

As Tarantino famously forbids cell phones on his sets, this promotional event was no different. The entire crowd was told to shut off their phones and secure them in a pouch. This, unfortunately, means that there aren’t any pictures from the event that have been made available. Wright would interview Tarantino on a reflection of his career. Now that he’s in the planning stages of his final movie, The Movie Critic, it’s an even more ideal time to look back at his journey.

The promotional event was originally planned to be a one-night event, but Tarantino’s vast array of film knowledge can’t seem to be contained in just one night, so Saturday quickly became Saturday and Sunday. Wright had also inquired about the director’s history with London. “After his debut film had come and gone as a specialist title in America, London was the first city to see Reservoir Dogs as a mainstream hit, with many critics giving it lead-review status over Brian De Palma’s Raising Cain, which came out here the same week. It was only when he was recognized buying a pile of P.A.L. videos at Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus that he realized that his film had somehow become part of the zeitgeist.”

Tarantino had discussed his experiences as a child and going to the movies. He credits his mom, Connie, for allowing him to accompany her to the movies, and more particularly, R-rated movies that weren’t exactly appropriate for his age at the time. It didn’t matter, though. He would go on to see films like Deliverance and The Wild Bunch as a wee lad. According to Deadline, later in the interview, Wright suggested that a film like Taxi Driver couldn’t be made today. Quentin would rebuff, “I could do it. I could make Taxi Driver. I could set it up at any studio I wanted.” This, then, prompted Wright to joke, “This is why you can’t retire.”

At the end of the night, Foxx walked on stage to an eruption of cheers and applause. He would congratulate Tarantino on becoming “30 times two.” Tarantino would be ever so receptive to his friend’s gesture and exclaimed, “You’re my Django, baby!”