Quentin Tarantino Talks David O. Russell, ‘True Detective,’ ‘It Follows’ And Much More

Quentin Tarantino still has a long road ahead before "The Hateful Eight" is in the can and ready for release in December, but if his interviews around that time are anything like what he’s given Vulture halfway through post-production on his western ("We’ve got a little bit more than an hour finished right now"), we’re all in for a treat in the months ahead as he jumps more fully into the press circuit. While the conversation did touch upon his film, it also wandered to a multitude of subjects, with Tarantino giving his unvarnished, honest answer on almost every question asked, so let’s jump right in with some of the highlights.

Quentin Tarantino Just Can’t Get Into "True Detective" But Loved "The Newsroom"
I tried to watch the first episode of season one, and I didn’t get into it at all. I thought it was really boring. And season two looks awful. Just the trailer — all these handsome actors trying to not be handsome and walking around looking like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. It’s so serious, and they’re so tortured, trying to look miserable with their mustaches and grungy clothes.

Now, the HBO show I loved was Aaron Sorkin’s "The Newsroom." That was the only show that I literally watched three times. I would watch it at seven o’clock on Sunday, when the new one would come on. Then after it was over, I’d watch it all over again. Then I would usually end up watching it once during the week, just so I could listen to the dialogue one more time.

Why "It Follows" Missed Out On Being Truly Great
I didn’t see anything this year. I’ve been making this movie for so long. I loved "Kingsman." I really liked "It Follows." It was the best premise I’ve seen in a horror film in a long, long, long time. It’s one of those movies that’s so good you get mad at it for not being great.

How could it have been great?

He could have kept his mythology straight. He broke his mythology left, right, and center.

Quentin Tarantino Digs David O. Russell, Thinks "The Fighter" and "American Hustle" Will Still Be Watched In 30 Years
The movies that used to be treated as independent movies, like the Sundance movies of the ’90s — those are the movies that are up for Oscars now. Stuff like "The Kids Are All Right" and "The Fighter." They’re the mid-budget movies now, they just have bigger stars and bigger budgets. They’re good, but I don’t know if they have the staying power that some of the movies of the ’90s and the ’70s did. I don’t know if we’re going to be talking about "The Town" or "The Kids Are All Right" or "An Education" 20 or 30 years from now. "Notes on a Scandal" is another one. "Philomena." Half of these Cate Blanchett movies — they’re all just like these arty things. I’m not saying they’re bad movies, but I don’t think most of them have a shelf life. But "The Fighter" or "American Hustle" — those will be watched in 30 years.

Part of [the reason "The Fighter" will still be watched in thirty years] is the explosion of David O. Russell’s talent, which had always been there but really coalesced in that movie. I think he’s the best actor’s director, along with myself, working in movies today. And "The Fighter" had impeccable casting. As an example, I really liked "The Town," which also came out in 2010. It was a good crime film. However, next to "The Fighter," it just couldn’t hold up, because everybody in "The Town" is beyond gorgeous. Ben Affleck is the one who gets away with it, because his Boston accent is so good. But the crook is absolutely gorgeous. The bank teller is absolutely gorgeous. The FBI guy is absolutely gorgeous. The town whore, Blake Lively, is absolutely gorgeous. Jeremy Renner is the least gorgeous guy, and he’s pretty fucking good-looking. Then, if you look at "The Fighter," and you look at those sisters, they’re just so magnificent. When you see David O. Russell cast those sisters, and you see Ben Affleck cast Blake Lively, you can’t compare the two movies. One just shows how phony the other is.

Quentin Tarantino Talks Retirement, Rules Out Many Of His Rumored Potential Movies, But "Kill Bill 3" Is Still On The Table
It would be wonderful to make my tenth movie my best movie — go out with a big bang, or with a small chamber piece after a big bang. I think about that every once in a while, but it’s not a real consideration. I just make one thing at a time. There are a few movies I’d like to do, but once I’m done with "Hateful Eight" and I’ve had a little time to myself, anything I think I’m going to do now, I know it’s what I won’t do later. I’ve got to leave myself open for the right story that talks to me.

So all the potential movies you’ve mentioned through the years — "Killer Crow," "The Vega Brothers," the "Django/Zorro" crossover movie — those will probably never happen, right?

No. I don’t think I’m going to do "Killer Crow" anymore, but that’s the only one that could possibly be done.

Is Kill Bill 3 also off the table?

No, it’s not off the table, but we’ll see.

null Quentin Tarantino Disagrees With Steven Spielberg And George Lucas’ Worries About The Movie Industry
People say that every six years. We all agree that the ’70s — or the ’30s, depending on what you feel — is probably the greatest decade in cinema history, as far as Hollywood cinema is concerned. I think the ’90s is right up there. But people said what Spielberg is saying all through the ’90s, and they said it all through the ’70s.

…If you go out and see a lot of movies in a given year, it’s really hard to come up with a top ten, because you saw a lot of stuff that you liked. A top 20 is easier. You probably get one masterpiece a year, and I don’t think you should expect more than one masterpiece a year, except in a really great year.

Quentin Tarantino Still Gets Studio Notes
The last really good one I got was on "Django [Unchained]." We were struggling with the length of the movie, and I cut out a section that I thought might move things along. Amy Pascal at Columbia was like, "In the script, wasn’t there a scene where Schultz explains to Django the history of Siegfried and Brynhildr?" I go, "Yeah, I thought I could lose that." She said, "No, I think that’s kind of important." So we tried it, and she was right. It was important. That was a good note.

"The Hateful Eight" Will Resonate With The Current Issues Of Race In America
My movie is about the country being torn apart by it, and the racial aftermath, six, seven, eight, ten years later.

Finally, the issue of white supremacy is being talked about and dealt with. And it’s what the movie’s about.

It was already in the script. It was already in the footage we shot. It just happens to be timely right now. We’re not trying to make it timely. It is timely. I love the fact that people are talking and dealing with the institutional racism that has existed in this country and been ignored. I feel like it’s another ’60s moment, where the people themselves had to expose how ugly they were before things could change. I’m hopeful that that’s happening now.

——

Be sure to read the full interview at Vulture which features lots more great little nuggets from the always quotable Tarantino, and as always, share your thoughts below.