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Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
Quentin Tarantino is a mad professor in his movie lab, concocting whatever recipe he can to make a script-heavy film everyone will deem an “Indie Genius.” He’s also a touch hypocritical. I’ll explain.
As a youth, Tarantino was an avid dork. He loved Saturday morning cartoons, enjoyed action figures, and collected comic books. He shared with Amy Schumer’s “3 Girls, 1 Keith” podcast that his favorites were Luke Cage: Hero for Hire and Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu. That iconoclast fascination of his led him directly to Hollywood to become one of those most prolific storytellers on screen. But he was still a dork.
He even tried making a Luke Cage movie when his star was at supernova status but was unceremoniously denied the opportunity. Why? “My comic book geek friends talked me out of it.” Wait, what?! He let someone talk him out of something? Must have been one hell of a persuasive debate.
The point is Quentin Tarantino loves nerdy things, so when he sat down recently with the Los Angeles Times to talk down on the comic book movie genre…yeah. Uh, sanctimonious much?
People get older, and opinions change, but this is elitist babbling. Like no one will hit the rewind button on the Interwebz and find a few things the avant-garde director has said on the topic. So, let’s do this…
Let’s Give Quentin Tarantino a “Hand”
(Credit: Andrew Cooper via Dynamite Entertainment/DC Comics)
“You have to be a hired hand to do those things. I’m not a hired hand. I’m not looking for a job.”
Quentin Tarantino, Los Angeles Times, November 2022
Hot off the presses, the force of nature after Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Django Unchained (my personal faves) told the newspaper that he wasn’t such a fan of comic book movies because the vision behind the camera isn’t his exclusively. That can be understood because his autonomy on the set is unquestioned.
No one is telling this cat what to do, which is why his films are seminal and successful. Yet, he allowed some “geek friends” to talk him out of a Luke Cage movie? Then, we later learned he wanted to make a Silver Surfer film. Yet, he has a problem with CBMs. See what I’m saying?
Anywho, that wasn’t all he had to say about comic book movies.
Tarantino compared comic book/superhero movies to the lustrous musicals from those massive production houses back in the late 1960s. Those owned Hollywood back then. Though not nearly as popular and influential as today, indie directors had a huge problem with those tap-dancing musicals. All the star power and earned all the awards, so yes, some other movie makers were envious.
In the Times article, Quentin Tarantino sounds butthurt like they did back then. His comparison alludes to CBMs having a similar “chokehold” on the industry, sharing where he stands with today’s directors who “can’t wait for the day” comic book movies are declared similarly dead.
The War Against CBMs
As far as I can see, the commercial product that is owned by the conglomerates, the projects everybody knows about and has in their DNA, whether it be the Marvel Comics, the Star Wars, Godzilla and James Bond, those films never had a better year than last year [2019]. It would have been the year that their world domination would have been complete. But it kind of wasn’t.
Quentin Tarantino, Los Angeles Times, November 2022
Yes, he sounds like a control freak with a big boo-boo, but what auteur doesn’t? Like the other cantankerous old farts of his ilk (i.e., Coppola, Scorsese, Scott), Quentin Tarantino has earned the right to say whatever he wants in Hollywood. But there’s a way to be authentic, bro.
The former comic geek and faux martial arts enthusiast has turned coat and declared war on Marvel and DC. Why? Because they make far more money than his critically acclaimed stuff. The man is a storytelling savant–one of the most revered in cinematic history. That said, we understand you’d love to make a $1 billion movie, but that won’t happen.
Unless, of course, you resurrect and shop around that Luke Cage or Silver Surfer script. Surely, Kevin Feige would take your call. Right? If he doesn’t, offer him one of your own comics! Sheesh.
Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
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