Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary have revealed the heroin-fueled night out in Paris that inspired the latter’s film Killing Zoe.

Avary directed the bank heist film in 1993, starring Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction) and Jean-Hugues Anglade (Nikita) as two safe-crackers attempting to rob a bank, with Julie Delpy (Before Sunrise) playing the titular Zoe, a sex worker who also happens to work at the bank.

The film emerged as part of a wave of movies by independent filmmakers in Hollywood during the early ‘90s, alongside Tarantino, with whom Avary later collaborated on the story for Pulp Fiction.

In a recent interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast, both Tarantino and Avary discussed the whirlwind night in Paris that spurred the screenplay for Killing Zoe. Avary shared, “I had just been traveling through Europe,” and explained how Tarantino suggested a film idea called Roger Takes A Trip.

Tarantino humorously quipped, “I still think it should’ve been called that.” Avary recounted meeting a friend from Los Angeles in Paris, who invited him to experience the real Paris. “Next thing I know, he’s doing heroin…He was like, ‘Now, we do heroin, hold my arm’. I did hold his arm, I had never seen anything like that,” Avary reflected.

As Avary absorbed the peculiar experiences surrounding him, he noted, “His friends were like, ‘Ohh, doing it through the nose doesn’t even affect me anymore’, and I’m like writing these lines down, like, ‘This is great shit!’.” He explained that the film’s narrative grew from this experience, pivoting to focus on the friendships and misconceptions surrounding the heist plot.

Avary has previously described Killing Zoe as an art-house film aimed at both coffeehouse crowds and exploitation fans. It was ultimately shot in downtown Los Angeles, despite its Paris setting, and premiered at the Raindance Film Market in October 1993, later screening at Sundance and winning the 1994 Cannes Prix Tres Special award. Following this acclaim, Avary and Tarantino achieved an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Pulp Fiction and Avary moved on to create films like The Rules Of Attraction and Lucky Day, along with writing screenplays for Silent Hill and Beowulf.