Oop, Ridley Scott would like potential retiree Quentin Tarantino to shut up, please

Ridley Scott has never been one to hold his tongue. After all, this is the same visionary director who made a black comedy about the Gucci family murder, and when challenged by the family, he simply said they should be “lucky” to have actors like Al Pacino portray them.

This time, it’s Quentin Tarantino who has attracted the uniquely hilarious ire of Ridley Scott’s words. Tarantino’s impending retirement has been the talk of Hollywood ever since he announced that he would only direct 10 films throughout his career and then retire. It’s especially rampant now, considering he’s technically already directed 9 (Tarantino counts Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2 as one film). For most people, filmmakers and fans alike, this seems far too soon.

Almost every media appearance Tarantino has made since making the announcement has led to questions about why he would cut his career short while still being so beloved and what he plans on doing afterward. As for his next steps, Tarantino has already begun his career as a novelist, releasing two books. But of course, it feels a bit like Michael Jordan’s first retirement from basketball, followed by a brief stint in baseball. We all feel like he’ll be back. So does Ridley Scott, who addressed the situation bluntly when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter: “Shut up and go make another movie.”

Scott was being interviewed for his new movie, Gladiator II, starring anti-content creator Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington. Scott can hardly relate to Tarantino’s more modest approach, considering he’s made 16 films in 20 years. Scott is honest with his self-assessment, though — he doesn’t consider all of those movies good. One of those 16 films is The Counselor, after all. But Scott’s refreshingly candid approach to his work allows him to avoid obsessing over what’s already been made, good or bad, and to focus on what’s coming next. The 86-year-old now looks up to 94-year-old Clint Eastwood, who has just released Juror #2, and hopes to continue making movies for that long.

As for Tarantino, he was recently a guest The Joe Rogan Experience, where he shared that the reason people are so upset about his retirement is because fans believe they should be the ones to decide when an artist retires at around the 1h 25th minute mark. While Tarantino’s perspective is understandable and there’s nothing inherently wrong with him wanting to protect his legacy as a director who never overstayed his welcome, it also comes across as overly cynical to view his fans as vultures waiting for his downfall. We’d be more accepting of his retirement if he said he’d said all he needed to say through his art, but anything less than that seems like overthinking on his part. Ultimately, though, it’s his choice. We just hope he makes a comeback after his 10th and final film.

Another surprising thing revealed in the interview was that Scott isn’t sure if he’s ever even met Tarantino, despite Tarantino’s frequent collaborations with his late brother, Top Gun director Tony Scott. Well, maybe now that Tarantino is retiring from directing and Scott wanting to keep directing into his mid-90s, Tarantino could resume his relationship with the Scotts and write some scripts for Sir Ridley.