Kurt Cobain once said that it's better to burn out than fade away, and part of me wonders if Quentin Tarantino feels the same way.
Recently while appearing on the Pure Cinema Podcast, Tarantino, once again, spoke about his plans to retire from filmmaking. It's been over one year since Tarantino said he would call it quits after the release of his tenth film, and it sounds like he plans to make good on his claim.
“Most directors have horrible last movies,” Tarantino said (via MovieMaker). “Usually their worst movies are their last movies. That’s the case for most of the Golden Age directors that ended up making their last movies in the late ’60s and the ’70s, then that ended up being the case for most of the New Hollywood directors who made their last movies in the late ’80s and the ’90s.”
Wanting to make his point clear, Tarantino brought Bonnie & Clyde director Arthur Penn to the discussion, saying, “I’m not a super huge fan of this director, but the fact that Arthur Penn’s last movie is ‘Penn & Teller Get Killed’ is a metaphor for how crummy most of the New Hollywood directors’ last, last films were. So to actually end your career on a decent movie is rare. To end it with, like, a good movie is kind of phenomenal.”
“I mean, most directors’ last films are fucking lousy,” Tarantino stated before jokingly suggesting that his last film should have been Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
As the conversation continues, Tarantino sounds as if he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if his last film turned out to be a flop. I'll admit that it's hard to imagine a world where he fails to deliver the goods, but he'd be a fool to think it couldn't happen.
“Maybe I should not make another movie because I could be really happy with dropping the mic,” Tarantino said. “That’s the frustrating part… a lot of the really terrific directors, it’s like their third-to-the-last movie would have been an amazing, amazing one to end on, which goes back to what I was saying about myself. Or you know, if Don Siegel had stopped with ‘Escape from Alcatraz,’ oh my fucking god. What a career…he really said it all. The other two were just jobs.”
It's important to note that Tarantino is a family man, which can affect your work-life balance in untold ways. The last thing he wants to do is fly off to a faraway film production while your nearest and dearest are back at home. Some people are cool with that, but it doesn't appeal to everyone for obvious reasons.
“Maybe I should not make another movie because I could be really happy with dropping the mic,” Tarantino said. “That’s the frustrating part… a lot of the really terrific directors, it’s like their third-to-the-last movie would have been an amazing, amazing one to end on, which goes back to what I was saying about myself. Or you know, if Don Siegel had stopped with ‘Escape from Alcatraz,’ oh my fucking god. What a career…he really said it all. The other two were just jobs.”
If Tarantino plans on sticking to his retirement guns, what type of movie will assure he goes out with a bang? Will he be able to stay away? Some who retire early end up getting antsy and want back in the game. I wonder which way the wind will blow for him in the coming years?