“The Hateful Eight” rolls into cinemas on Christmas Day, and as the posters proclaim, it’s the “8th Film By Quentin Tarantino.” The number is significant because in recent years, the director has asserted that he’ll step away from filmmaking after number ten — but there’s an exception to his rule. Recently, he’s been talking about going long-form on television, particularly with the Elmore Leonard adaptation “Forty Lashes Less One,” and he says should he go to the small screen, it won’t eat into the structure of his retirement plan.
“It usually takes me about three years to make a movie anyway, so you’re talking about almost a decade left. What about TV? Does that count? I might do a TV thing in between, and that wouldn’t be part of the 10,” he told Time Out New York. As for why he wants get away from being behind the camera, Tarantino once again asserts it’s all about making sure he goes out on a high note.
“I don’t want to be the guy who’s doing this forever. There should be an end. And I should take responsibility for that. I’ve gotten more solid on that idea. I think a lot of directors, if not all directors, think they have more time than they do. By time, I mean either mortality or changes of fortune in the industry. You never know what will happen. And so, I think every director walks around thinking, even when they have only one more movie to go, that they have six left,” he said, adding that by having a limit, it makes him question each decision.
“Certainly the reasons for making a film become sharper. It’s not about making a movie to pay for your alimony. You don’t make a movie just because ‘blah blah blah’ wants to work with you,” Tarantino added.
Meanwhile, over on the west coast, the director chatted with LA Weekly, and revealed that he might actually see “Chi-Raq.” The comment raises eyebrows given Tarantino’s history of clashing with Spike Lee, particularly over the use of the n-word in his scripts. But the concept of Lee’s latest, a riff on Aristophanes‘ sex comedy “Lysistrata,” is one that Tarantino finds compelling.
“I haven’t seen a Spike Lee movie since ‘Clockers,'” the director said, who admits before he knew what it was about, he had pretty much written off seeing “Chi-Raq.”
“Before I found out what it was about, the answer would have been no. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually saw him give an interview on it, and then I read something else on it, and I go, ‘I think I might be intrigued to see this movie,'” he added. We can’t wait to hear his review.
If you can’t see “The Hateful Eight” on Christmas Day in limited release, don’t worry, because it goes wide on January 1st.