Quentin Tarantino has never been shy about stating his intentions to retire. For years now, 10 has been the magic number; once he has made his 10th film, he’s always said that he’ll step away from directing.
Although it might seem confusing for such a renowned filmmaker and cinephile to retire, there’s a definite philosophy behind it. Tarantino wants be remembered as not just a great director, but as a great artist – and he wants to go out on his own terms. Instead of waiting for his career to decline, he’d rather go out in a blaze of glory at the peak of his powers.
No-one ever said he wasn’t dramatic.
With ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD being his 9th film, there’s good reason to be worried if you’re a Tarantino fan. That magic number 10 is coming up fast; we might not see too much more of a director who has had a massive influence on movies for more than 25 years now.
But now, in an interview with GQ Australia, he’s teased that he might not even make it to 10. ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD has received rave reviews across the board, giving him that very blaze of glory he’s looking for when he retires.
“If it’s really well received, maybe I won’t go to 10. Maybe I’ll stop right now! Maybe I’ll stop while I’m ahead. We’ll see,” he said, when asked whether he might be stopping soon.
Either way, one thing is for certain: we won’t be seeing much more of Quentin Tarantino in the director’s chair. Even if he decides to go on after ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, he claims he’s still only got one more film in him.
Of course, nobody really knows – not even Quentin Tarantino. It might just be possible that he loves the movies too much to give up, and finds himself drawn back in.
Here at WriteMovies, we certainly hope that would be the case. Tarantino is a great writer and director – and as far as we’re concerned, the more we see of him, the better.