Quentin Tarantino is confident, to the say the least, and it’s a personality trait borne from the success of his films, and his reverence among corners of the film community. But there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and it’s one that the director tends to walk like a tightrope, particularly in his latest interview with GQ.
While we’ll have to wait and see how "The Hateful Eight" bodes with voters, a few years back the Academy gave their approval to "Inglourious Basterds," with the picture earning eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenwriter. And Tarantino is little cheesed that it only walked away from the ceremony with one statue.
"I didn’t shamelessly promote ‘Inglourious Basterds’ in any way, shape, or form. But I did what was asked of me. I did a genuine campaign, all right? And maybe I did a little too much. And yeah, we won Supporting Actor, but I was a little pissed off by the results. And I probably won’t ever do that much again," he said. And yet, here’s Tarantino giving interview upon interview for ‘Hateful,’ and while he plays down his competitive nature, he also reveals his rather outsized vision for his place in cinematic history.
Meanwhile, among the possible contenders for Oscars for "The Hateful Eight" is Ennio Morricone‘s score for the picture, though it is surprising to see them team up. It was just a couple of years ago that the legendary composer dissed the director stating he “places music in his films without coherence." But Tarantino took the criticism in stride.
"I think he was talking to a class, and he was just saying that he didn’t care for my all-over-the-map approach in the case of ‘Django Unchained’ and some of the other things that I’ve done and whatever. But it wasn’t necessarily a criticism of me, per se. It’s just not his cup of tea," he said. "I think it’s kind of a generational thing, and that I completely understand. He apologized. And he said nothing he needed to apologize about. He later clarified it, because it was blown out of proportion. Some asshole nimrod who wants some sort of power thing leaked it to whatever thingy so he can just have the fun of watching it in three hundred outlets. I felt [Morricone] was betrayed by that person. I knew that was where he was coming from! I knew that’s how he felt about my shit! It was nothing new to me. And almost in a generational way, he was left out to dry. He is such a great artist, he can say any fucking thing he wants."
And the composer also says the quote was taken out of context. "The only thing I criticised of Quentin Tarantino was a single scene in a single movie which, for me, was too violent and too ghastly. I couldn’t watch it," he told BBC News. "People should pay a lot of attention when they write something down."
"The Hateful Eight" opens on Christmas Day.