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Will Quentin Tarantino Really Retire?

Articles, Pop CultureBrandon MarcusComment
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When it comes right down to it, the question is this: is Quentin Tarantino more like Jay-Z or is he more like Gene Hackman?

The difference is major; one said he would retire from show business but never did (and in fact just became a God damn billionaire) and the other said he’d pack it in and never work again and…well, hasn’t. And that’s exactly what Quentin Tarantino has been threatening to do for years. The brilliant filmmaker has repeatedly said that he is going to make ten films. Only ten. After his tenth picture, he’s hanging up the director’s hat and will never release another film. The question on everyone’s mind as Tarantino’s ninth film, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, approaches release is just how serious is he? Is he still holding fast to his plan or was that something he said in the heat of the moment and intends to wow us with his cinematic masterpieces until we’re all old and grey?

No, he seems pretty adamant about retiring. Here’s Quentin speaking with GQ Australia:

I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road. I see myself writing books and starting to write theatre, so I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies.
— Quentin Tarantino
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And if you think he’s kidding, here’s his buddy Brad Pitt confirming that Tarantino really is wrapping things up soon:

No, I don’t think he’s bluffing at all. [...] I think he’s dead serious. And I kind of openly lament that to him, but he understands the math of when he feels like directors start falling off their game. But he has other plans and we’re not going to have to say goodbye for a long time.
— Brad Pitt

So it truly does sound like Quentin Tarantino, one of the greatest directors of all time, will be retiring within the next few years. And you know what? I believe him. Mostly. The man understands himself and what he is passionate about. Therefore I think he’s given this much thought. Plus he has had plenty of opportunities to backtrack and say he has changed his mind but he’s never altered his tune one bit. In fact, he has held true to retiring multiple times over the years. He’s had every chance to retract and has not. The guy is serious.

At the same time, he is such a fanatic of cinema and that love translates so perfectly to the big screen. Every Tarantino film feels like a labor of love because the man truly does cherish films. I can easily see him returning to the director’s chair after awhile because the pull is just too strong. Sure, he can write books and, sure, he can script some plays but the man is a perfectionist with a particular eye. No one would be able to deliver a Tarantino story like he can. Surely it would be hard for him to resist the urge to direct his own work again. He has also made no secret about how his muse strikes him sometimes at the oddest times. He has thought the creative well was dry before and then — boom! — another movie bursts forth from him! Sometimes he thinks he’s out of gas and then something comes along that he just can’t pass up. He may have every intention of never directing again but his muse may have other ideas.

I don’t want Quentin Tarantino to retire. You don’t want him to retire. No film fan wants one of the greatest to call it a day. But he has that right. And if he does, he will retire with one of the greatest filmographies in history. But how will it end? Will he indeed conclude his directorial career after ten movies? Will he continue on long until the 2020s and beyond? Will he really end it all with an R-rated Star Trek? However it ends, it’ll be worth watching.

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