Freedom to hate is a ‘right’ any human can exercise, and Quentin Tarantino appears to enjoy it the most. Recently, he went on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, where he announced his 20 favorite films of the 21st century. The list has plenty of great picks (and a few surprising ones), including Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3 (in second spot), Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down (in first place), and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (at position 20).
Controversy started boiling up when Tarantino revealed his No. 5 pick: Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. He boldly stated that Paul Dano, in a largely sympathetic turn, was the film’s biggest weakness and that he struggled next to Daniel Day-Lewis. But we’ll get to that.
Ever a priggish and outspoken individual, Tarantino has a history of making provocative and controversial remarks. A winner of two Oscars, two BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, the filmmaker has earned the right to speak his mind. Unsurprisingly, his comments often lead to the everlasting annoyance of fans and the subjects.
6
George Clooney Hasn’t Had a Good Movie in the Last 25 Years
During an interview with GQ Magazine, George Clooney was asked whether he’d like to work with Quentin Tarantino again, and after playing nice for a while, he took his gloves off. Clooney claimed the filmmaker talked badly about him during an interview, remarking that the Ocean’s 11 actor hadn’t had a hit movie since the year 2000.
“He did some interview where he was naming movie stars, and he was talking about Brad (Pitt), and somebody else, and then this guy goes, ‘Well, what about George?’ He goes, ‘he’s not a movie star’. And then he literally said something like, ‘Name me a movie since the millennium.’ And I was like, ‘Since the millennium?’ That’s kind of my whole fucking career.”
Tarantino’s dislike of Clooney is quite surprising, considering that the two starred together in From Dusk Till Dawn. Unknown to many, the director was also in charge of the E.R. episode, “Motherhood,” when Clooney was the medical drama’s lead actor. What went wrong and why? It’s hard to tell, but Tarantino couldn’t be more wrong about the Cecil B. DeMille Award winner’s career.
Contrary to Tarantino’s opinion, Clooney’s best work has been seen in the current century rather than the previous one. Batman & Robin? No! We love Gravity, Michael Clayton, Burn After Reading, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Spy Kids. In addition to that, he won an Oscar for his performance in Syriana. Tarantino’s opinion thus appears to stem from a personal feud with the actor rather than objectivity.
5
Paul Dano Was Terrible in ‘There Will Be Blood’
Back to Tarantino’s Paul Dano remarks. The Master of Pastiche argued that There Will Be Blood would have ranked higher in his list “if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is Paul Dano.” He expounded on his opinion, claiming Dano’s performance as twins Paul and Eli Sunday was way weaker than that of Daniel Day-Lewis as oilman Daniel Plainview, summarizing his controversial remarks with “Dano is just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.”
That’s quite the brutal take, capable of destroying someone’s confidence forever. Tarantino singled out Austin Butler as the actor he would have loved to see in the movie, stating that Butler, who was 16 when the Oscar-winning drama was made, “would have been wonderful.” As expected, several Hollywood players came to Dano’s defense, including Matt Reeves, who directed him in The Batman.
Watching the movie, one struggles to notice any weakness in Dano. In stark contrast to his showier turn as the Riddler, he plays ordinary brothers, one whose taciturn aura and conscience compel him to be a follower, and another who pushes himself to get what he wants. Paul (one of Dano’s twin characters) doesn’t argue, he doesn’t lament, he doesn’t cause chaos. He’s a miracle of courtesy and obedience. Perhaps that’s why Tarantino found him boring. But Dano’s portrayal of Eli is phenomenal. And, to be fair, most actors tend to look weak when sharing the stage with Daniel Day-Lewis.
4
Roman Polanski Was Innocent
In 1977, Roman Polanski, best known for directing Chinatown and The Pianist, was arrested for drugging and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He took a plea for the charge of unlawful sex with a minor. However, the night before his sentencing hearing in 1978, he was informed that the judge was likely to reject his proffered plea bargain (which only had probation as punishment), so he fled to Europe. Despite the weight of the allegations, Quentin Tarantino defended Polanski in a 2003 interview with Howard Stern, suggesting the encounter was consensual.
Tarantino appears to have a particular fondness for Polanski… a fondness that borders on sympathy. His movie, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, partly addresses the infamous 1969 incident when the fugitive filmmaker’s pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the cultists, the Manson family. In his film, Tarantino even delivers justice and a happy ending via an alternate history scene where his protagonists kill the Manson family attackers. On top of that, Tate ends up alive.
On a positive note, the Reservoir Dogs maker apologized 15 years later. In a statement issued to Indiewire, he labeled his comments “ignorant,” adding that he “incorrectly played devil’s advocate in the debate for the sake of being provocative.” Interesting! Has Tarantino also made his other controversial remarks for the sake of being provocative?
3
Marvel Ruined the Movie Business
In 2022, Quentin Tarantino got the chance to guest-host the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast. While sharing his opinions on various Hollywood matters, he admitted that he disliked Marvel films despite being a lifelong fan of the comics. Notably, he doesn’t hate the quality of the movies, just the fact that superhero movies have taken over, leaving little room for other genres.
“They’re the only things that seem to be made. And they’re the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even for the studio making them.”
Though Tarantino wasn’t the only auteur to express concerns about the Marvelization of Hollywood (Scorsese went on a rant, too), his opinion caused outrage because of the franchise’s contributions to the industry. Other figures like Tom Hanks and Jared Leto tabled counterpoints, arguing that Marvel movies were responsible for keeping the theater business alive at a time when streaming services had emerged as strong competition.
On the Marvel issue, Tarantino’s intention was clearly not to offend but to draw attention to what he felt was the uncomfortable truth of how cinema was dying — through the systematic extermination of the artsy films and the exploitation of the blockbuster formula. But he was wrong. MCU movies, which have earned close to $30 billion globally, put money into many people’s pockets, ranging from Disney itself to theater owners.
2
Parents Who Never Believed in their Children’s Dreams Should be Denied Financial Support
Want to get Quentin to say something crazy? Put him on a pod. It happened again during his hour or so on “The Moment With Brian Koppelman.” The Kill Bill director recalled how he faced opposition from his mother when he began experimenting with writing scripts at around age 12. ‘This little writing career that you’re doing? That sh*** is f*** over,” he recalls her saying. At that moment, Tarantino vowed never to give his mother a penny if he became successful. “I later helped her out of a jam with the IRS, but no house. No Cadillac.”
Dissing Mama is something you’d only expect rappers to do (some of them), so Quentin’s words caught many by surprise and left them unimpressed. He and Eminem should link up for a remix to “Cleaning Out My Closet,” which features the harshest words ever said to a parent in the celebrity sphere. Interestingly, Quentin says something ironic in the podcast. “There are consequences for your words!” he adds, regarding his choice not to support his mother. So says someone who hardly ever watches what he says. Is he about to experience some consequences for his criticism of Paul Dano?
After the Mama-bashing, Mama actually responded, telling USA Today that she wouldn’t “participate in this salacious transactional media frenzy” where comments tend to “spin and go viral without full context.” She added that she was proud of him and his growing family, was happy to have danced at his wedding, and was thrilled about having a grandson. Classy!
1
‘Selma’ Didn’t Deserve an Oscar
Quentin Tarantino doesn’t appear to have taken any lessons after black critics and Spike Lee came after him for his excessive use of the N-word in his movies. Chatting with American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis for T Magazine, he revealed his opinion of Ava DuVernay’s Selma, which had been snubbed for various Oscar categories in 2015, resulting in heavy criticism towards the Academy. The film was nominated for best picture, but was left out of the acting and directing categories, something Tarantino didn’t consider an issue.
“DuVernay did a really good job on Selma, but Selma deserved an Emmy,” he said. An Emmy? The historical drama wasn’t released by a TV network. It was distributed by Paramount, grossing $68 million globally. Tarantino thus seems to imply that the Ava DuVernay picture was only as good as a TV show, not a movie.
Mr. I-Will-Retire-After-Ten-Movies might be a storytelling god, but he hasn’t mastered the skill of reading the room yet. When he made the comments, there were broader industry concerns about the lack of diversity in the Oscars. Whether he felt Selma was good or not, 2015 was not the time to say it. The remarks feel more insensitive when you consider the fact that the critically acclaimed drama was directed by a black woman and features a story about the greatest black anti-racism activist: Martin Luther King. Even worse, Tarantino later admitted in a Facebook exchange with film reporter Anne Thompson that he had never actually watched the movie.
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