Quentin Tarantino Talks About ‘The Movie Critic’ and More

The filmmaker also discussed why fellow auteur David Fincher is a good choice to direct the ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ follow-up starring Brad Pitt.

Oscar® nominee Quentin Tarantino arrives at the Oscar Nominee Luncheon held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, Monday, January 27, 2020. The 92nd Oscars will air on Sunday, February 9, 2020 live on ABC. Credit/Provider: Kyusung Gong / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

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Quentin Tarantino has been talking about his abandoning ‘The Movie Critic’.
He also discussed why David Fincher is a good choice for his ‘Cliff Booth’ script.
Tarantino says his current focus is theatre.

Though it looked for a while there like ‘The Movie Critic’ –– its details largely wrapped in secrecy even despite leaks that the filmmaker has since debunked –– might be Quentin Tarantino’s final movie.

But despite developing the idea as first a TV series and then a movie, he ultimately decided against it.

Why? Now he’s opening up on a podcast called The Church of Tarantino about his reasons why it wasn’t the follow up to ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood'.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

"In this town, it can all change… Like that."

RDrama Comedy Thriller

Audience
Score

Release Date: Jul 26, 2019

Run Time: 2 hr 42 min

Budget: $95,000,000

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie

Watch Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood Online

This is what Tarantino said about his decision:

“There was a challenge that I gave to myself when I did it. Can I take the most boring profession in the world and make it an interesting movie? Every Tarantino title promises so much, except ‘The Movie Critic’. Who wants to see a TV show about a f***ing movie critic? Who wants to see a movie called ‘The Movie Critic’? If I can actually make a movie or a TV show about somebody who watches movies interesting, that is an accomplishment. I was so excited about the writing, but I wasn’t really that excited about dramatizing what I wrote once we were in pre-production.”

So now we know. But that wasn’t all that was on QT’s mind! He also talked about why he chose not to make the more direct ‘Hollywood’ sequel, which is currently titled ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’. More on that one below…

What did Tarantino have to say about David Fincher directing the Cliff Booth movie?

Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.' Photo: Sony Pictures.

While we’ve gotten over our surprise that anyone save Tarantino would make the follow up to his most recent movie –– or that there would be a sequel to one at all –– ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’ has been shooting for a while, with David Fincher overseeing old pal Brad Pitt as Booth.

Tarantino was asked about why he handed it over to Fincher:

“I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground I’ve already walked. It just kind of unenthused me. This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory. I think me and David Fincher are the two best directors. So the idea that David Fincher actually wants to adapt my work, to me, shows a level of seriousness towards my work that I think needs to be taken into account.”

At least his ego remains unchanged…

‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ in case you’d missed some of the recent news stories, will be released via Netflix.

What is Tarantino working on now?

While he hasn’t revealed details, Tarantino has said he’s more focused on writing a play than anything to do with movies right now, and explained why in true QT style:

“They pay a lot of f***ing money to get into that seat. There’s no f***ing taping it, there’s no cell phone, you own the audience for that time. They are all yours, they are in the palm of your hand. It’s not just about doing art, it’s about wowing them, it’s about giving them a great night out. This to me is f***ing existing. It’s the last frontier.”

Quentin Tarantino accepts the Oscar® for original screenplay for “Django Unchained” during the live ABC Telecast of The Oscars® from the Dolby® Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, February 24, 2013.