Tarantino Talks Kill Bill, Jason, Bond, etc.
03-15-05, 10:58 AM
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Tarantino Talks Kill Bill, Jason, Bond, etc.
http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/focuson.asp?FocusID=3
Focus On: Tarantino Talks
By Joe Utichi.
You know, so much gets written about Quentin Tarantino that it's hard to separate fact from fiction. That's why it's go great to hear him talk for extended periods of time and he's always keen to cover just about any topic that can be thrown at him. FilmFocus caught up with the man recently and over the course of about half an hour we were able to get all the Quentin Tarantino rumour sorted out from the Quentin Tarantino fact and back on track.
So what did we learn? Friday the 13th, Casino Royale, Inglorious Bastards, the Mandarin movie, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, the best movies of last year according to QT and, it's official, his retirement announcement. But not for fifteen years. Confused? Read on. All will soon become clear.
First up, the bad news, Quentin told us he definitely wasn't going to be doing the next Friday the 13th movie. "There's no truth whatsoever to that rumour," he told us, being sure to mind his language, at least for the time being - we're family website after all, "I like Jason, but there's just no truth to the rumour at all."
One franchise he had set his sights on recently was James Bond - he and Pierce Brosnan were keen to make Casino Royale in the inimitable Tarantino house style, violent, aggressive and, therefore, true to the book. "I would have liked to do Casino Royale, alright, with Pierce Brosnan," he told us, "but then, once I heard that Pierce Brosnan wasn't going to be doing any more Bond films or anything like that, that kind-of killed that as far as I was concerned. You know, I always really loved the book and over the course of time, to me, he's really proven himself to be the James Bond for this generation and he can really pull off that sixties flair that Casino Royale would have if you were going to try and pull it off."
Tarantino is very specific about what he sees is wrong with the franchise as it is, "You know, it's not about someone trying to take over the World or speeding trains and helicopter action sequences. My Casino Royale would have been like the book. I would like to do a movie sometime with Pierce Brosnan, but now he's not doing anymore Bond films that idea has died in my mind as far as I'm concerned."
Of course, EON productions have recently announced that, Brosnan-less and without Quentin Tarantino in the director's chair, they will be making Casino Royale as the next Bond film. Does Tarantino think they have what is takes? "Well, I don't know," he said, "I mean, if they're going to do the book I can't imagine why they wouldn't hire me, alright, you know, I like it so much! So if they're not going to hire me it suggests that they're just going to use the title and do something else. I wish them all the luck in the world, but we'll see."
So now that's out of the way, what is next for the cult director? "I want do a Mandarin language movie, but I'm not sure it'll be the next movie. It'll probably be the next movie I do after the one I do next. I'm doing Inglorious Bastards next. It's my bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission movie. It's my World War 2 movie."
The film will star Michael Madsen for definite, more on that later in the week, and names like Adam Sandler and Bo Svenson have been circling around the project. Tarantino told us it was too early to talk cast, but that he has some people in mind.
Of films already released, at least in two halves, we quizzed Tarantino on his Cannes opus. "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is definitely getting a wide release," he told us, "actually, that'll probably be the first movie that Miramax, under their new company, will be releasing theatrically. It's the Japanese version, that's why I call it that, you know, it should probably come out in the next few months. It's going to be NC-17 in America. We couldn't do that when Disney owned the place but now Disney's the fuck outta there we can do anything we want! It's gonna be off the hook!"
We've seen the Japanese cut of Kill Bill and we've watched them together many a time. But to see both films attached at the cinema? We'll be there.
Tarantino's films are renowned for not only blowing away his audience but for introducing the same to a branch of cinema most hadn't discovered before. So what does he have to say of great movies he's seen recently we should be keeping an eye out for? "It's funny," he told us, "I didn't see many of them reflected in the Academy Awards stuff but I thought this was a great year for films. Now, I was the president of the Cannes Film Festival, so I saw a lot of really cool movies and everything, and I've seen some cool stuff that hasn't been released internationally yet, but I loved this year in movies."
And, a man after our own heart, he has a great favourite, "My favourite movie this year was Shaun of the Dead," he said, "that was my favourite script this year, that was my favourite movie this year. After that I also loved The Passion of the Christ. I loved Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. I loved The Incredibles. I loved Before Sunset, alright, there was a lot of really, really terrific movies this year. There were also I couple of movies that I thought were masterpieces that haven't opened up yet. One's a Korean film, Old Boy, which is magnificent. The first episode of the movie Three Extremes, the Fruit Chan segment, is magnificent. And I really loved this magnificent Russian fantasy that's going to be the Lord of the Rings for Russia, which is called Nightwatch. So I've seen a lot of terrific films this year. I'm very, very proud of the films that have come out this year."
Talking of his career in general, and where he thought it was heading, Tarantino told us, "It's not like having a different Mount Everest to climb I just have to be good enough to climb the same Mount Everest again, and again, and again. I'm kind-of making the same movie again, and again, and again. But the thing is, it's not about looking for a different mountain, it's just having the energy and the tenacity to just keep climbing the mountain. Again, and again, and again. And doing it with the same energy and vitality, and hopefully artistry that I've brought through all the other mountain's I've climbed."
But then a shock, Tarantino told us he wasn't necessarily going to be climbing the mountain for the rest of his life, "I don't really intend to make movies to a ridiculously old age," he said, "because I don't necessarily want to make old-man movies. I may change my mind at some point, when I become an old man, but right now I don't really want to make old-man movies. You know I'm forty-one now, I really can't imagine making movies that much past fifty. Maybe fifty-five, something like that, but that's going to be the end. I don't really want to make movies if I can't get it up anymore! I don't really want to see movies from people that can't get it up anymore, and I don't really want to make movies if I can't get it up anymore. I'm not going to be this old guy that just keeps cranking them out, like some old boxer who still thinks he's got another one in him. So I think I've got another fifteen years to still kick ass and after that I'm out of it."
But there's always Viagra Quentin... "I don't wanna see a movie where the guy's gotta take Viagra," he said, "I see too many of those movies already!"
So 55 years old and all that time to kill. Surely not? "My plan, basically, is to have a theatre by that time," he told us, "and I'll be in some small town or something and I'll be manager of that theatre. I'll be the crazy old movie guy, alright, I've made enough money that nobody even has to show up at the theatre, and that's alright, I just have something to do. And by the way, having something to do when you're that age, I could live 'til a hundred, alright. I have my big print collection so I'll show my movies and whoever shows up, shows up. And I'll do my little speech before the movies and, you know, that sounds like a pretty fucking cool life. I can write reviews, I can write film pieces, artistically from 55 on, I'll probably write novels."
Ladies and Gentlemen, Quentin Tarantino has left the building. And, whether he can get it up or not, he's always got a place here at FilmFocus if he wants to start writing reviews. We can dream.
Focus On: Tarantino Talks
By Joe Utichi.
You know, so much gets written about Quentin Tarantino that it's hard to separate fact from fiction. That's why it's go great to hear him talk for extended periods of time and he's always keen to cover just about any topic that can be thrown at him. FilmFocus caught up with the man recently and over the course of about half an hour we were able to get all the Quentin Tarantino rumour sorted out from the Quentin Tarantino fact and back on track.
So what did we learn? Friday the 13th, Casino Royale, Inglorious Bastards, the Mandarin movie, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, the best movies of last year according to QT and, it's official, his retirement announcement. But not for fifteen years. Confused? Read on. All will soon become clear.
First up, the bad news, Quentin told us he definitely wasn't going to be doing the next Friday the 13th movie. "There's no truth whatsoever to that rumour," he told us, being sure to mind his language, at least for the time being - we're family website after all, "I like Jason, but there's just no truth to the rumour at all."
One franchise he had set his sights on recently was James Bond - he and Pierce Brosnan were keen to make Casino Royale in the inimitable Tarantino house style, violent, aggressive and, therefore, true to the book. "I would have liked to do Casino Royale, alright, with Pierce Brosnan," he told us, "but then, once I heard that Pierce Brosnan wasn't going to be doing any more Bond films or anything like that, that kind-of killed that as far as I was concerned. You know, I always really loved the book and over the course of time, to me, he's really proven himself to be the James Bond for this generation and he can really pull off that sixties flair that Casino Royale would have if you were going to try and pull it off."
Tarantino is very specific about what he sees is wrong with the franchise as it is, "You know, it's not about someone trying to take over the World or speeding trains and helicopter action sequences. My Casino Royale would have been like the book. I would like to do a movie sometime with Pierce Brosnan, but now he's not doing anymore Bond films that idea has died in my mind as far as I'm concerned."
Of course, EON productions have recently announced that, Brosnan-less and without Quentin Tarantino in the director's chair, they will be making Casino Royale as the next Bond film. Does Tarantino think they have what is takes? "Well, I don't know," he said, "I mean, if they're going to do the book I can't imagine why they wouldn't hire me, alright, you know, I like it so much! So if they're not going to hire me it suggests that they're just going to use the title and do something else. I wish them all the luck in the world, but we'll see."
So now that's out of the way, what is next for the cult director? "I want do a Mandarin language movie, but I'm not sure it'll be the next movie. It'll probably be the next movie I do after the one I do next. I'm doing Inglorious Bastards next. It's my bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission movie. It's my World War 2 movie."
The film will star Michael Madsen for definite, more on that later in the week, and names like Adam Sandler and Bo Svenson have been circling around the project. Tarantino told us it was too early to talk cast, but that he has some people in mind.
Of films already released, at least in two halves, we quizzed Tarantino on his Cannes opus. "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is definitely getting a wide release," he told us, "actually, that'll probably be the first movie that Miramax, under their new company, will be releasing theatrically. It's the Japanese version, that's why I call it that, you know, it should probably come out in the next few months. It's going to be NC-17 in America. We couldn't do that when Disney owned the place but now Disney's the fuck outta there we can do anything we want! It's gonna be off the hook!"
We've seen the Japanese cut of Kill Bill and we've watched them together many a time. But to see both films attached at the cinema? We'll be there.
Tarantino's films are renowned for not only blowing away his audience but for introducing the same to a branch of cinema most hadn't discovered before. So what does he have to say of great movies he's seen recently we should be keeping an eye out for? "It's funny," he told us, "I didn't see many of them reflected in the Academy Awards stuff but I thought this was a great year for films. Now, I was the president of the Cannes Film Festival, so I saw a lot of really cool movies and everything, and I've seen some cool stuff that hasn't been released internationally yet, but I loved this year in movies."
And, a man after our own heart, he has a great favourite, "My favourite movie this year was Shaun of the Dead," he said, "that was my favourite script this year, that was my favourite movie this year. After that I also loved The Passion of the Christ. I loved Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. I loved The Incredibles. I loved Before Sunset, alright, there was a lot of really, really terrific movies this year. There were also I couple of movies that I thought were masterpieces that haven't opened up yet. One's a Korean film, Old Boy, which is magnificent. The first episode of the movie Three Extremes, the Fruit Chan segment, is magnificent. And I really loved this magnificent Russian fantasy that's going to be the Lord of the Rings for Russia, which is called Nightwatch. So I've seen a lot of terrific films this year. I'm very, very proud of the films that have come out this year."
Talking of his career in general, and where he thought it was heading, Tarantino told us, "It's not like having a different Mount Everest to climb I just have to be good enough to climb the same Mount Everest again, and again, and again. I'm kind-of making the same movie again, and again, and again. But the thing is, it's not about looking for a different mountain, it's just having the energy and the tenacity to just keep climbing the mountain. Again, and again, and again. And doing it with the same energy and vitality, and hopefully artistry that I've brought through all the other mountain's I've climbed."
But then a shock, Tarantino told us he wasn't necessarily going to be climbing the mountain for the rest of his life, "I don't really intend to make movies to a ridiculously old age," he said, "because I don't necessarily want to make old-man movies. I may change my mind at some point, when I become an old man, but right now I don't really want to make old-man movies. You know I'm forty-one now, I really can't imagine making movies that much past fifty. Maybe fifty-five, something like that, but that's going to be the end. I don't really want to make movies if I can't get it up anymore! I don't really want to see movies from people that can't get it up anymore, and I don't really want to make movies if I can't get it up anymore. I'm not going to be this old guy that just keeps cranking them out, like some old boxer who still thinks he's got another one in him. So I think I've got another fifteen years to still kick ass and after that I'm out of it."
But there's always Viagra Quentin... "I don't wanna see a movie where the guy's gotta take Viagra," he said, "I see too many of those movies already!"
So 55 years old and all that time to kill. Surely not? "My plan, basically, is to have a theatre by that time," he told us, "and I'll be in some small town or something and I'll be manager of that theatre. I'll be the crazy old movie guy, alright, I've made enough money that nobody even has to show up at the theatre, and that's alright, I just have something to do. And by the way, having something to do when you're that age, I could live 'til a hundred, alright. I have my big print collection so I'll show my movies and whoever shows up, shows up. And I'll do my little speech before the movies and, you know, that sounds like a pretty fucking cool life. I can write reviews, I can write film pieces, artistically from 55 on, I'll probably write novels."
Ladies and Gentlemen, Quentin Tarantino has left the building. And, whether he can get it up or not, he's always got a place here at FilmFocus if he wants to start writing reviews. We can dream.
03-15-05, 11:07 AM
#2
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Pretty cool interview. I kind of hope he keeps his promise of retiring around 55, it seems like a good time ito do so, he could probably fade out of the public eye fairly well, but still maintain his love of film and storytelling and end on a high note.
I would love to spend my remaining years like that actually, just owning a theatre and showing whatever films I wanted and not have to worry about money.
I would love to spend my remaining years like that actually, just owning a theatre and showing whatever films I wanted and not have to worry about money.
03-15-05, 11:34 AM
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Of films already released, at least in two halves, we quizzed Tarantino on his Cannes opus. "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is definitely getting a wide release," he told us, "actually, that'll probably be the first movie that Miramax, under their new company, will be releasing theatrically. It's the Japanese version, that's why I call it that, you know, it should probably come out in the next few months. It's going to be NC-17 in America. We couldn't do that when Disney owned the place but now Disney's the fuck outta there we can do anything we want! It's gonna be off the hook!"
Disney is still going to own the place (Miramax) and is, as far as I know, keeping the Miramax library (while letting some currently-in-development projects go with the Weinsteins as part of their settlement). Seems to me they're still going to need Disney's permission to recut and release any Kill Bill film.
Disney is still going to own the place (Miramax) and is, as far as I know, keeping the Miramax library (while letting some currently-in-development projects go with the Weinsteins as part of their settlement). Seems to me they're still going to need Disney's permission to recut and release any Kill Bill film.
03-15-05, 12:41 PM
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Tarantino name-dropping Oldboy and Nightwatch...
... see, that's just one reason why I love my multiregion DVD player. I'm watching the same flicks Tarantino is, before most of everyone else does!
... see, that's just one reason why I love my multiregion DVD player. I'm watching the same flicks Tarantino is, before most of everyone else does!
03-15-05, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by DonnachaOne
Tarantino name-dropping Oldboy and Nightwatch...
... see, that's just one reason why I love my multiregion DVD player. I'm watching the same flicks Tarantino is, before most of everyone else does!
... see, that's just one reason why I love my multiregion DVD player. I'm watching the same flicks Tarantino is, before most of everyone else does!
03-15-05, 12:51 PM
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nice interview. glad to see though he axed that F13 rumor.
03-15-05, 01:42 PM
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Yeah, definitely would have loved to see his Casino Royal with Brosnan.
Nochnoi Dozor is a phenomenal Russian movie made on an extremely low budget, I think around 3 million. I've had the DVD for a while & if it takes Tarantino talking about it to get people to realize that there are amazing movies being made outside of the US then so be it.
Nochnoi Dozor is a phenomenal Russian movie made on an extremely low budget, I think around 3 million. I've had the DVD for a while & if it takes Tarantino talking about it to get people to realize that there are amazing movies being made outside of the US then so be it.
Last edited by Sessa17; 03-15-05 at 05:03 PM.
03-15-05, 01:46 PM
#11
I can't believe he's 41. I always thought he was younger than that. Everytime he said "alright" I had Saturday Night Live pop into my head. I wish he'd make more movies and not get all Kubrick on us.
03-15-05, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by DonnachaOne
Tarantino name-dropping Oldboy and Nightwatch...
... see, that's just one reason why I love my multiregion DVD player. I'm watching the same flicks Tarantino is, before most of everyone else does!
... see, that's just one reason why I love my multiregion DVD player. I'm watching the same flicks Tarantino is, before most of everyone else does!
03-15-05, 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by DonnachaOne
Indeed yay for me! 
Why not get a multiregion player, Shel?
Why not get a multiregion player, Shel?
You waited for a multiregion dvd player to see films while they were in different markets? There's many who were doing it before that luxary came about. Good ol' fansubs.
03-15-05, 07:44 PM
#17
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Cool interview and I'm glad he addressed pretty much all the bullshit floating out there.
I was never a big bond fan but it would have been pretty cool to see what he would do with it.
Inglorious Bastards seems to be his definite next but really......who the hell knows?
I was never a big bond fan but it would have been pretty cool to see what he would do with it.
Inglorious Bastards seems to be his definite next but really......who the hell knows?
03-15-05, 08:44 PM
#19
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Yes, he said he would not be doing it, no truth to the rumor at all.
I would have loved to see him do a Bond film with Brosnan. Goldeneye is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Looking forward to Inglorious Bastards.
I would have loved to see him do a Bond film with Brosnan. Goldeneye is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Looking forward to Inglorious Bastards.
03-15-05, 08:48 PM
#20
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Figured he wouldn't be doing Friday the 13th. Don't know how in the world people let the internet get so out of hand in terms of the credibility it has as a news source.
03-23-05, 03:09 PM
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Here is an interview with Michael Madsen from March 18, 2005. He discusses Sin City, Inglorious Bastards, and his history with Tarantino.
http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/newsdetail.asp?NewsID=314
http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/newsdetail.asp?NewsID=314
03-23-05, 05:54 PM
#23
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Good interview. On Casino Royale, given that the Broccoli's are going to throw out Ian Fleming's original story as they always do and just use the title for the next Bond, why couldn't Tarantino get the rights to the story and film it with a different title and different names for all of the characters? That way, the Broccolis would have two movies to release, instead of just one, and we would get Tarantino's version of a Bond Spy movie.
03-26-05, 09:55 AM
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Quentin still wants Willis, Sly, & Arnold for Inglorious Bastards:
http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/856.htm
http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/856.htm
03-26-05, 10:01 AM
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Originally Posted by fryinpan1
Quentin still wants Willis, Sly, & Arnold for Inglorious Bastards:
http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/856.htm
http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/856.htm