“It’s not etched in stone, but that’s the plan,” said Quentin Tarantino to an American Film Market audience in Santa Monica recently. No, the director was not talking about The Hateful Eight this time, the film dogged with controversy that he was there to promote, but about plans to retire after making movie number ten.
After which, the Kill Bill creator will concentrate on writing books and plays (or so he says) because “I like the idea of leaving them wanting a bit more.”
Tarantino has labelled directing “a young man’s game.” Granted, Quentin, your 51 years mean you’re not quite the spring chicken you once were, but just take a look at the likes of Steven Spielberg (67), Ridley Scott (76) and Clint Eastwood (84): all well into their twilight years and still going strong.
Maybe the former ‘enfant terrible’ has just had enough of the whole business. Online leakage of The Hateful Eight script left a bad taste in the mouth; so much so that filming was shelved back in January, with the decision to go ahead as planned only taken in the summer.
If the thoughts of The Hateful Eight cast, all present and correct in Santa Monica alongside their leader, are anything to go by, then there’s no real danger of him packing it all in. Samuel L. Jackson asked: “What’s Quentin going to do with himself if he’s not doing this?” Kurt Russell, meanwhile, was a little more candid: “You don’t actually believe that shit, do you?” Whatever happens, let’s hope this doesn’t drag on like some dreadful Premier League transfer saga, because that would be… well… dull.
And, love him or loathe him, that’s something Mr. T most certainly is not. What do you think? Is it seven down three to go, or will he be shouting ‘cut’ while in possession of a free bus pass?
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