The movie business, by nature, is completely unpredictable, always shifting and in a constant state of flux, meaning that it’s difficult for actors and filmmakers to go out on their own terms, but Quentin Tarantino remains adamant that his tenth feature film will be his last.
Of course, there’s every chance he could reverse that decision years or even decades down the line, but he’s been sticking to his guns about bowing out for a long time. That could also potentially mean we’ll be waiting a while for his next effort behind the camera, because someone as meticulous as Tarantino will go to every length to ensure that the exclamation point on his big screen career is a fitting one.
In a new interview, the two-time Academy Award winner once again outlined his reasons for wanting to go out on top, reiterating his belief that directors don’t get better with age, and he doesn’t want to end up as a shadow of his former self.
“That’s why I want to quit! Because I know film history and from here on in, directors do not get better. I don’t have a reason that I would want to say out loud that’s going to win any argument in the court of public opinion or Supreme Court or anything like that. At the same time, working for 30 years doing as many movies as I’ve done is not as many as other people, but that’s a long career. That’s a really long career. And I’ve given it everything I have.”
Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese are both two decades older than Quentin Tarantino and still delivering work of the highest quality. But the man behind Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs seems more determined than ever to call it a day. It’s not as if he’s disappearing entirely by any means, of course. In recent years he’s dabbled in writing comic books. And, of course, he could also pen scripts for other people’s movies. In addition, he’s working on both a novelization and stage play based on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and there’s also the lure of prestige TV to consider, which would be the perfect medium to luxuriate in his signature verbose dialogue.