Happy Sad Confused - Quentin Tarantino

Episode Date: December 28, 2015

One of the most celebrated filmmakers of all time, Quentin Tarantino joins Josh to end the year strong with a conversation about his latest film The Hateful Eight, why he wouldn't be able to make a horror film as good as The Exorcist, meeting his hero Brian De Palma, the early version of Kill Bill, and the possibility of a stage version of The Hateful Eight. Happy New Year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Please play responsibly. Hey, happy, sad, confused listener. This week's episode is brought to you by our good old friends over at LuteCrate. Would you classify yourself as a geek, gamer, or pop culture nerd? Well, then this is the subscription box for you. For less than $20 a month, you get six to eight items of gamer and pop culture, licensed gear, apparel, collectibles, unique one-of-a-kind items, and more. Make sure to head to luetcrate.com slash happy and enter the code happy to save $3 on any new subscription. Not that long ago, and depending on where you live, not so far away,

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that month's crate. And when the cutoff happens, that's it, guys. I'm afraid it's over. So go to luke crate.com slash happy and enter the code happy to save $3 on your new subscription today. One of our returning sponsors this week on Happy Say I Confused are our friends over at level up. Now you guys can showcase your geek chic style with level up a monthly mystery apparel subscription from Lute Crate. You can get two different. pairs of high-quality socks, once two fashionable accessories, or a wearable item like a long-sleeved shirt or lounge pants. Same themes as LuteCrate every month, and it serves as a great companion to your loot because there are no repeats. I repeat, no repeats. Each month's theme is inspired

by all your favorite pop culture brands like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Fall Out 4, and often contain high-quality exclusives. So go to lukerate.com slash sad, confused, to learn more. And remember to use the code sad-confused to save 10%. By the way, this month's theme is Galaxy, with Star Wars items perfect for Jedi, Padawans, rebels, and any serious fans of Star Wars. Get to it. Hey guys, welcome to the last happy, sad, confused of 2015. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Josh Horowitz. This is my podcast, and we're ending the year with a big one. One of the first. One of the most celebrated filmmakers of all time joins me on the podcast this week, the one and only, the visionary, the controversial, insert adjective here, Quentin Tarantino, director

of The Hateful Eight. We're going to talk about that a little bit and wrap up the year in film before we go to the interview. Sammy, hello. We are talking, we want to talk about a couple quick things. So we want to talk about the Hateful Eighth, which is Quentin's new film, which I'm a big fan of. It did not make my top 10, which I'm about to kind of go through. It was a tough list. There's a tough list. Well, here was my caveat. I'm going to list out for those that haven't, you know, a lot of people had asked me, like, what, if I was going to come out with the top 10 this year. And I was, it was because some years I do, some years I don't. And I always debate about it because, like, it's a very, you know, I don't know. I feel like my top 10

today is different than my top 10 next week and a week ago. So this is very kind of fluid, but Because you're a moody emotional person, so it changes. You can attest to that. So suffice it to say, hateful eight came in at number 13 on my list. I actually listed on social media. I listed my top 20 if you really care to dissect it in detail. And I don't really know why you would. But thank you for your interest.

But here is in order from 10 to 1, my top 10 films of the year. Sammy, you can insert brief commentary wherever you wish. I intend to. Okay. Number 10. And I apologize, by the way. I don't know how sensitive these microphones are. I'm taping this intro in the office.

And for some reason, someone is playing Natalie Mbruglia. Torn. Do you do Mbrug or Mbrulia? Mbrulia. In Brulia. Well, the thing is, a little backstory for everyone. Josh doesn't listen to music. No, I don't listen to music.

No, like a Dave Matthews band song was just playing and he literally didn't know who it was. I have been to a Dave Matthews concert. Yeah, but you didn't know. Did you, were you not listening? I could not name one Dave Matthew's song. Right. So Josh doesn't listen to music. I'm very focused in my interests.

Yeah. He only listens to his own podcast. Yes. The music of my voice. All right. Number 10. Number 10. Controversial for me, Star Wars, the Force Awakens.

I've seen it four times now. I've major issues with the film, but I love the film. I'm torn apart, much like Natalie and Brulia. We can spend an entire podcast talking about Star Wars and maybe we will one day, but it comes in at number 10 for me. me. Number nine, I loved Creed. Creed, the continuation of the Rocky Saga. Michael B. Jordan did a great job. Ryan Coogler directing, Slice Stallone, getting a lot of Oscar buzz. I love this movie. I need to see it. As a Philly Girl, I need to see it. You should definitely see it.

You actually had no business seeing it before me. Well, I did. Continue. At number eight, Anomalisa. Do you even know about this one? Have you heard about this one? A lot of people haven't. It's a small film co-directed by Charlie Kaufman. Charlie Kaufman, of course, known primarily a screenwriter of being John Malkovich and adaptation. Directed Schenectady a few years back. This is a stop motion. It's a very odd film, but a touching film. Jennifer Jason Lee's part of the voice cast, David Thuleas,

Tom Noonan, this character actor, who plays like a bunch of characters. It's a very kind of haunting film, highly recommended. This one, I know we were just talking about this before we started the podcast. today at number seven, Room, starring for previous podcast guest, Bree Larson. If you haven't heard about Room, check it out. This is a very exceptionally acted, well-directed film about a mother and son imprisoned, and I don't want to reveal too much, but it's a really touching film. Number six, this one I know I've gotten a lot of heat about, Crimson Peak.

I love Crimson Peak. I know a lot of people hated Crimson Peak or didn't even bother with it. I just I think this is not Quentin this is Guillermo de Toro's one of his best films

I was just It's just because you love It's obviously It's not about Tom Yes it is It's not If anything The standout performance

For me is Chastain Chastaniac Well that's your other number one Well I'm allowed to pick my favorite actors And Guillermo Everyone knows how much you love You're just trying to get it No no no I will say

Pacific Rim was not Near my top 10 that year It did not like Pacific Rim very much. So take it for what it's worth. I love this one. Number five, Brooklyn, another small heartfelt film starring Sir Sharonin. I just like for saying her name. Is that really? Serre she said it like Swarri. I always said it like at Swarcy. She's amazing in it about a really touching immigrant story, just like a small story. It's, you know, big explosions or anything like that. But it's, again, exceptionally well crafted and great performances. And my

cold, dead heart was moved by it. Number four, you've heard a lot about. This is a potential Oscar winner for Best Picture, Spotlight. Everybody loves this film. I'm no different. Amazing true life story about the investigation into the Catholic Church abuses, abuse scandal. A lot of fun. Fun for the whole family. But great performances. A good Christmas Day viewing. An amazing ensemble. Michael King, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, love this one. Number three, Sicario. exceptionally well-crafted. I love the score. I love Benicio del Toro. I love all the three leads in this. This is another haunting film that I'm really into. De Nive Villeneuve Villeneuve is the director and he's one to watch. Number two, a lot of people didn't love this one. I did. Steve Jobs,

Danny Boyle kills this one. The screenplay, of course, by Aaron Sorkin. Michael Fassbender, for my money, you should win best actor. If you haven't seen it, check out Steve Jobs. And number one, I've obsessed about it week after week. Mad Max Fury Road. No surprise if you've listened to this podcast. How many times did you see it? What was the final total? I think five in theaters once on my TV.

So, you know, holding steady. I saw Hugh Jackman and the boy from Oz more than that. You've got larger issues than we can talk about here today. Anyway, that's my top ten. And I don't want to spend much more time than that before we go right to the Quentin interview. We'll talk more next week. We'll look ahead to 2016. But for now, enjoy this conversation with Quentin Tarantino.

Enjoy the hateful aid. I'm a big fan of this one. It is in theaters right now. Select theaters. See it if you can in 70 millimeter. It's playing in 44 cities around the country. And then I believe New Year's Day, it's out everywhere. A big three-hour epic film that's full of that delicious Quentin Tarantino dialogue and great performances.

And everything you love about Quentin Tarantino is this one. A lot of blood spatter. A lot of blood spatter. of blood splattered. So, yeah, again, fun for the whole family this holiday season. Sweet. Enjoy this great conversation with one of the masters of film, filmmaking. Quentin Tarantino.

Oh, let's say, just say film. Okay. Enjoy this. You are a man of your words, sir. Thank you for a great opportunity. Oh, my pleasure. Well, I appreciate. the support you've given us.

It's been fun. It's been fun, man. And at school, we're often rolling. I'm sorry. Sorry about that. All good. Things are falling apart in the office. The good news is we have Quentin Tarantino here. How's the press store been treating you? Oh, really good, actually. It's fun because it's like a, as opposed to like the press chunk of day,

which can be kind of intense and stuff, and it's a long day. And you're talking to a whole lot of people and little, little, bites and segments. This is more like, it's intense and I'm a little tired right now, but at the same time, they're real conversations. Yeah. And the different ones have a different tone to them. Right.

And so it actually, it's stimulating. This one, I've seen the road show version twice now. And it's exceptional. I think I've told you already, but for the record, I'm a huge fan of this one as I'm all your work. But I feel like, it's funny. I enjoyed it more of the second time around, which I think is always a good sign for a film. When you approach a film, whether from a screenplay or a directing standpoint, are you thinking about repeated viewings?

Are you thinking about how this is going to be returned to? Oh, absolutely. I mean, I am definitely coming from an egotistical place that I actually think that most people will watch my movie at the very least twice. Yeah, exactly. If not three or four or five times, at least over the course of a long period of time. We're not demanding within the course of a week. No, no, no, no, no. I mean, I've no problem with that, right?

You know, but at least maybe a couple of times, maybe during the initial run. And then, you know, maybe if you like it, every, you know, three years or so. Yeah. But in particularly in this one, because there is this aspect of, you know, there's a mystery aspect going on. And so I do like the idea that. there's that first viewing where it's, you know, it's about the surprises and the reveals that are going to happen. And there's twists and there's turns. And there's always twist and turns in my movies. So in the, you get that first screening out of the way where the plot is

driving everything. And then after that, then you watch it a second time. And now you kind of know the plot. You've got that down. And now you can watch it in a different way. And now, especially in this one, now you really watch. it in a different way. Because now you know, now you're watching it with a whole different point of view. Now you know what some of the surprises and twists are. Well, and in a literal fashion, you can be studying a different portion of the screen. I mean, obviously, as we know, you shot this in 70 millimeter and the framing of this lens itself to, there's always something in the background and foreground that is contributing to the mystery. And I feel like it plays out

well to just sort of like focus, oh, wait, what's, what's he doing back there? What's happening? Oh, no, no. I mean, that's, uh, that's almost like a, uh, that's almost like a, uh, a visual motif in the movie. Yeah. Because there is this aspect that the characters are almost like pieces on a chessboard. Yeah.

And they're moving into place. And they're being repositioned as the game gets further. And this character is going to, you know, this pawn is going to take out this bishop. And so there always is to one degree or another, there is the foreground play that's in any given shot, which is the actors dealing with, they're closer to the camera, but then there's always

the background play going on. And unless I don't want you to know where the other characters are, the point of this story is that you always know where the other characters are in the room in relation to everybody else. It's hard for me to pinpoint a favorite performance. In this film, I truly love all of them. One I'll mention not necessarily as my favor, but just it was a reminder to me watching this film how criminal it is that Samuel Jackson has not received an Oscar yet. I know. I agree. It's insane. I absolutely agree. And, uh, well, I'm knocking my head right now, uh, hoping that, uh, this might be the case. Well, I'm curious, like, how important has it been? He obviously has been with you almost

from the start. When you, when this career started to build, build momentum, was it in your head that you wanted to create a bit of a, some relationships that would continue, a bit of a bit of a repertory kind of feel to the company that you would keep? I mean, is that something that you always knew would kind of develop? Well, I kind of figured that that would end up being the case because, you know, you work with somebody, you like them, you have a sense of what they can do, they have a sense of what you can do, and you just like them. So it's easy to cast them and it's always a fun little reunion whenever you get back together again. But also, you know, from watching director's careers over the years

and really being enamored with them. You know, almost all the directors that I really cared for had a stock company of actors that they used again and again. And it's actually kind of fun to see, you know, the stars that they had an affinity with and they worked with time and time again. And even the character actors

that they really liked and showed up. I mean, like, just if you're a big Brian and a Palmer fan, there's this actor named Jay Patrick McClain. Tamara, all right? And he would just show up in these little tiny roles in like so many De Palma films. Dennis France, you know, way before NYPD Blue. He was a diploma actor. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm curious also that, like, I mean, in addition to, of course, the returning players, one I have to mention is Jennifer Jason Lee, who's extraordinary, is Daisy in this. I was so thrilled when it was announced that you would cast her because for anyone,

you know, anyone that loves films, she's insanely talented from the start. And, and, I mean, There's a wonderful character actress. I'm curious, like, what the algorithm is for you in terms of, I mean, a lot has been made over your career about reinventing, reinvigorating, you know, careers. Does that factor in it all in terms of when you're casting someone, or is it simply what, at the end of the day, is who's fitting the role best or? You know, I mean, maybe to one degree or another, maybe not as much as people emphasized in the 90s, but maybe in the first 10 years, that might have been on my mind just a little bit in

maybe the John Travolta incidents or in particularly the Pam Greer situation. And Robert Forster, though, for instance, I wasn't necessarily going out to reinvent his career. I just thought he was perfect casting for Max Cherin. And I was right, he was perfect casting. You can't imagine anybody else playing that wrong. But as time has gone on, I, um, I, um, I, um, as time has gone on, I, um, I don't think that way anymore. I am, it's all about my characters.

Yeah. And I am literally just trying to find the best actor to play my character. And that really is the only consideration I have. Now, if that perfect actor to play my character is a movie star, well, all the better. And I think I found a perfect actor to play Calvin Candy when I use Leonardo in Django. And same thing with Brad Pitt. in, uh, as Aldo Raine. In fact, I really can't imagine the movie without Brad Pitt, you know, to tell you the

truth. Totally. And, um, and, you know, but, uh, I wasn't going out to make Christoph Waltz a star when I cast him as Colonel Landa. I was all about Landa. I had to find the right actor for Landa and I did. Yeah. And then everything that's happened since is just, uh, I mean, it's incredibly gratifying.

Couldn't happen to a better. man, couldn't happen to a better actor, but that's just, that just ended up coming with the territory. Is it, uh, is it all true that, uh, you know, these lists are bandied about that Jennifer Lawrence was somebody you talked about for days? I didn't eat with her because, uh, well, I'm a big, big fan of hers. I mean, I think, um, I've, I've, I quoted in an interview once that I obviously, you know, um, she has a quality that, uh, reminds me a bit of, uh, a young Betty Davis, to some degree or another. And I actually really do think that the work that her and David O. Russell are doing together is very reminiscent of the collaboration between William

Weiler and Betty Davis. And that's a hell of a thing to say about two people. But I think they bear it out. Would her Daisy have been that much different, you think? Well, I think whoever played Daisy, it would be very, very unique, if I cast the right person, would be very, very unique and different. There would be no... Daisy was very open for an actor. to invest in. There is this, as specific as she is, it's meant to be interpreted.

Right. And so there is this idea of casting the right actress and the role and having her show me this character. And me and Jennifer, and I'll get back to the

Jennifer thing, Jennifer Lawrence thing, in just two seconds. But me and Jennifer talked about it. And I go, I really don't want you to presuppose this character.

I don't want you to think about results as far as this character is concerned. I want you just give yourself over to her. And the most important thing is don't make her an other. You need to become her and do not judge her. Just become her. And then me and you can create her together day by day, week by week, scene by scene. And she was committed to that. And she loved that idea and that's what we did.

And, you know, there'd be no way to do, like, the last sequence in the movie any time earlier than the end of the film. Right. Because that you had to almost, she almost had to live through the movie and live through the character to be at the right spot to do that last sequence. But in the idea of Jennifer Lawrence playing the character, you know, I'm a big fan of hers. And I could absolutely see a world where she was playing Daisy. So we got together and we talked. And ultimately, it just wasn't going to work out. She, you know, hunger games and joy and all this thing.

The busiest woman in the darn world, all right? She was just actually, frankly, I think just being nice meeting with me. All right. I think she was just being respectful, frankly, to say the truth. Which, I was polite. I was very happy about all that. But as I went further on the idea, I realized that I thought Daisy should be older. there was this kind of

there's kind of a throwback to the 90s in this whole movie I mean most of the actors are kind of actress from the 90s and I'm from the 90s and I thought well the actress should be an actress

from the 90s and one of the things you know about Jennifer Jason Lee's career in the 90s in particular was she was kind of thought of by all of us as a female Sean Penn

yep well and that's That's kind of what I needed for Daisy. I needed a female Champagne. And I needed a female Champagne to throw her weight around, you know, with these ugly mugs that I have in this movie. And that's what I got. And I couldn't be happier with it. Do you think this is not a new observation, but I'm curious.

I mean, I know you read a lot of film criticism. You obviously, this probably has occurred to you. But it seems to me like revenge is, if there's one theme that resonates through all of your films, It is revenge. Is that safe to say? Is that something that's... I think people have made a little bit more hay out of that than is the case. I mean, like, there is a revenge motif or ambiance to Django.

But his mission isn't that of revenge. It's that of rescue. Yeah, get his woman. Now, revenge ends up happening. It's a consequence of the journey. He's trying to, he's trying to just. just saver. If what happens in the drawing room didn't happen, then they would, he'd have the bill of sale of Brumhilda, and they'd get out, and that would be that.

Right. Is, looking at the career, do you feel like you've evolved more as a writer or a director? Like, where do you see your own evolution in terms of that? Well, I think, as far as like working with my talent, I think I've evolved in both, in both cases. However, I will say that, and I actually, oddly enough, I actually think this movie highlights it, I think, more than the others. I mean, there is an ease to the blocking and the staging in this movie, where actually the blocking and the staging is probably far more important than in maybe most of the movies before. And there was kind of an ease to it that I don't think would have been there, you know, years and years earlier that actually really just showed, oh, wow, I'm just, you know, I wasn't thinking about that. I just kind of knew how to do it.

But I do think that there is an aspect of me taking my writing much more seriously. I think ever since Kill Bill, there's been a veer towards the literary when it comes to my work, maybe possibly to the detriment as far as some people are. concern. But I do think there is more of a, I take my writing very, very seriously now in a way that maybe I took it seriously, but now I take it more seriously than I did before. Was there a shift at some point in terms of thinking about, because in hearing you talk, I know, it sounds like you can correct me if I'm wrong, that you value the body of work, what you are leaving behind, this film legacy. No, the filmography is the most important thing. Absolutely. The end all.

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Padawans, rebels, and any series fan of Star Wars. I'm curious, like, as you and you've talked, you know, a lot about potentially it being 10, we'll see, give or take, you know, when all said and done, at what point into the film career were you thinking, you know, I could actually do 10 for 10. Like I could actually like, I could do it without making a misstep and maybe this is the philosophy to go, to go with. I think, um, sometime around in glorious bastards. Mm-hmm. I don't think I ever had those thoughts before. And what, what was the, like,

what precipitated it? Um, I think the idea was just about the idea that I was, uh, I was getting older. getting into that 10th year or a little bit more than that in the career and just looking at the track record and and you know but actually that's a really good question no one's actually put everyone like why why why no one's posed a question the way you've posed in and congrats um also there is a big thing is um in the last uh five, six years, in between films, I've done a tremendous amount of study on films. And I always have, but I've been doing even more in between films. It's what I do, to clear the palate, so to speak, and kind of figure out where my next things are going to be. And I do study on careers, and I do study on filmographies. And you start to see the patterns. And I see where, you know, directors go astray.

Or when, you know, the creative mojo is there for a while. And then we see the spiket start to dry up a little bit or it's not flowing the way it was. And, you know, there is that time where there is just an excitement around a director or a musician or a novelist or, or anything. any kind of artist where they're at a certain place and their new work is exciting. Yeah. And it's an event. And you keep coming for that. And there's when it stops being less exciting and where it's just not as an event anymore. And they're not quite working with the same amount of passion or the same amount of drive as they had before. I mean, one of the directors

that managed to overcome it to quite a degree was Stanley Kubrick. but the way he overcame it was by not making a movie. Very deliberate, to say the least. Yeah, exactly. You know, every seven years, all right? Well, but that goes a long way of why he didn't burn out. Yeah. He lived a life and he devoted years into pre-production and then however long it took to make the film.

And so each movie was a big, he wasn't was a big deal and it was an artistic achievement that whether you accepted it or rejected it, that, it was what it was. And he wasn't just making a movie because he didn't know how to do anything else. Right. Is it, do you then cease the careers of folks in recent years where, you know, I would cite someone like George Miller this year.

I would cite, you know, Woody Allen, who's on and off, but has had some real successes in recent years, Scorsese, Wall Street, et cetera. Are they just random anomalies? Are they just, that they have somehow evaded these? Well, here's the thing. I mean, I'm in the, you know, I mean, like, in particular,

when you're talking about George Miller's achievement with Mad Max Fury Road. You're a fan. Yeah, I'm a big fan. And it took me a long time to see it because I was against the idea of, what's the point of a Mad Max movie without Mel Gibson? I mean, in a world where Mill Gibson exists,

what the hell is Tom Hardy doing in the goddamn movie? Right. You know, and also there was even the whole idea of, I mean, that's what I want to see is, you know, Mel Gibson, you know, 30 years later in this post-apocalyptic wasteland surviving during this entire time. That's what I want to see. Having said that, and I, you know, I mean, to me, it would be literally as, and then I don't quite feel the way, but I felt strongly about this. It's like, you know, if John Carpenter was doing a new escape from New York and felt he could do it without Kurt Russell as Snake Pliskin, I'm sorry. I'm just not interested. I'm with you.

You know, Gerard Butler is not the same. Having said that, the movie was an incredible achievement, and I actually thought Tom Hardy did a really terrific job. It helped the Charlize Theron is the real star of the movie. Amazing. And she was amazing. But I actually, but I'm not, I'm not giving a backhead and, a, a, uh, a disc to Tom Hardy. I actually thought he was actually quite iconic in the film. I would have liked it better if he was at Max Rododoski.

I would have liked it better if he was the feral child having grown up. I, yeah, it's funny you say that. I mean, I actually, my take was, I, I love the movie. I've seen it five times in the theaters. I've seen it. I saw it three times in a week. And when I finally broke my, my protest. I got a print of the movie

and I watched it at my house and I got it on a Friday so I had it all weekend long. I watched it three times before I gave that print back in a weekend. I will still say, and I do love Tom Hardy,

I want to see that exact same movie with Mel Gibson just playing that role. That's in my mind's eye. I mean, that's almost, I mean, that's almost too great to imagine. I know, exactly. I mean, it really is too great to imagine. I know.

When you look at something like that or any film, I'm curious, like, are there skills that you acknowledge, like, okay, that's just not. not my skill set. I can do a lot of things better than virtually anybody. I can't do this kind of a film on that level that I would want to do it. Oh, I don't know about that. I mean, I like my car chases in death pressure. I'm not even saying specifically about Mad Max. I'm just saying generally in other genres that you appreciate. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, like, for instance,

you know, I have my own revival movie theater in Los Angeles called The New Beverly on La Brea and Beverly Bullard. And so during October, I got a gorgeous print of The Exorcist. And we showed it every Saturday at midnight during the month of October. And actually, Freakin doesn't allow film print. The thing about my theater is I only show 35mm, sometimes 16, but no digital. And he actually doesn't allow film prints to be shown of The Exorcist. He only wants DCP.

So I called him up personally and asked him. And he allowed us. He gave Warner Brothers permission for me to show The Exorcist. on film. And so we showed it and it was an amazing experience. I actually hadn't seen the movie in quite a while and it was killer, absolutely killer. And it's so good that I went and saw it like twice during the month that it played for the four times at midnight. And I sat there and watching it and I, you know, I imagined doing like a horror movie like that. And I even started reading some of the horror novels of the day to see, is there just one, you know, wasn't made

into a movie or was made to a movie, wasn't made well. I was like reading The Sentinel, all right, and you see, well, how does that as a book? Actually, the book's really horrible. I'm still reading it, but I still want to get the end of it. But I had to be honest with myself. And I could never make the exorcist the way he made it because um i don't think i could commit to that sober tone and that's what the film is it's that atmosphere that just lingers over you and washes you it's one note one note but beautifully one note atmosphere i i i would be forced I just could

but I don't think anyone wants me to do that that would be me working at half speed that would be me chained to the floor to some degree or another I mean you know as a student of Brian De Palma I really really really

appreciate obsession I think it's a very good movie but it is De Palma working as effective as a movie as it is, it is working with one hand tied behind its back because it doesn't have his humor. Yeah. And it doesn't have his satire.

And to drain those aspects out of his film is to hamper De Palma. Right. Because he was actually one of our best satirist, even in his thrillers. And his comedy is very, very funny. And so for him to not work with from that point is not the best use of his talents. It feels like I haven't seen the new documentary about him, but hopefully I feel like there's a new appreciation of De Palma coming back around. Oh, that, I would love that.

I mean, I'm so excited. I mean, he was my man. All through the 80s of the movie brats. He was my dude. He was my guy. Have you ever spent time talking to him? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

In fact, it was, frankly, one of the highest achievements I had ever achieved, actually. And it was like, oh, my goodness. This is actually worth telling in a couple different, sections. Go for it. To some degree or another. I was such a fan of Brian De Palma. He was my director hero of the living directors currently working.

And you need that if you want to be a filmmaker or if you love film. You need to have some director who is out there working at the highest points of their capabilities that is currently making movies. You have to have those heroes that you can't wait. Just see their new movie. And De Palma was my guy. And I saw, you know, I'd count down the day so the new movie opened. I'd collect all the reviews and put them in a little scrapbook.

People would see my scrapbooks and they'd see, oh, you can see little pictures of Quentin, you know, when he was younger. It's body double. It's just body double reviews, all right, you know. Literally, and that's what body double reviews. And so I'd go and I'd see the new Brian DePaulma movie, first show, first day. And no one could go with me. I had to just see it by myself. Then I saw it and I thought about it all day long and all night long and then I'd go see the midnight show that night.

And then I could actually have friends with me by that point. And then I just, you know, see it periodically, you know, during the rest of the run. So at least twice in Los Angeles, I remember going to see at the Bruin and Westwood the early show. First show, first day, 1030 of Tucker. Coppola, great. Yeah, Copeland's movie. And there's maybe three. people at the box office in front of me in line and I'm waiting and I look over my shoulder

and I see Brian De Palma lumber around the corner and then stand behind me to buy a ticket to see Tucker. Amazing. And I'm like, oh my God, there's my hero. He's right behind me. And I thought about, I mean, there probably was no living artist that meant as much to me at that time. You know, he was like my Bob Dylan, you know, and I decided not to talk to him. The reason I decided not to talk to him is because he meant so much to me. There'd be no way I could express that in any kind of meaningful way in the 30 seconds that I would have had his attention. And I knew I would just be disappointed. by the encounter.

Well, and what you probably wanted was in exchange of ideas as opposed to... But he doesn't want that. Yeah, exactly. He doesn't need that. And so I would just be

disappointed by the encounter. And so I said, no, I'm not going to bug him. I'm not going to introduce myself or anything. I will meet him at some point when I've actually done something.

If I had made a movie, I would have talked to him. But I'm not going to talk to him as a video clerk. Right. Unless he bucking him video store, which, you know, that happened once. Tom Savini walked in, and I actually talked to him. All right. Frank Herbert walked into the video story, and I talked to him. Amazing. Yeah,

that was kind of cool, frankly. And so the thing about it was, so I met Sundance, and he was married to Gail and Hurd at the time. And she produced a movie called Water Dance. That was in the Sundance Festival, the same year as Rosebord Dogs. Helen Marin, right? Yeah, exactly. I'm Aaron, Helen Hunt. And so I'm going to go see Water Dance. And so I'm going to go see Water dance and you know she made the movie and you know she's on the lobby and um she's talking with larry estes who was a big important guy uh with rcia columbia for independent uh home video independent films actually at that time and uh um so i'm introduced to galan hurd and was very happy to meet her so i shake her hand say hello and i go to her um and she's she hadn't seen

reservoir dogs but she heard of it so i go um you know i got to say you know you know you you're married to my hero. And she goes, oh, that's great. I like being married to somebody's hero. Well, you are. But he's not going to like my movie. So just, you know, he shouldn't even see it. Why?

Why wouldn't he like your movie? Because he's stated on, he's been on the record as saying he doesn't like movies of people talking to each other. And all my movie is is people talking to each other. She goes, oh, wow. You do know him. He doesn't like movies about people talking to each other. Oh, no, that sounds horrible for him. No, yeah, yeah.

And then Larry Estes was really cool. Oh, no, but your dialogue scenes are like action scenes. So anyway, I think I impressed her. And so I went into the theater and watched the movie, and that was that. Well, we made the movie with a company called Live Entertainment. Galen Hurd and Brian DePalma requested a print to screen the movie. And I didn't know this. And so they screened the movie, and they watched it together.

And then about a week later, I get this call that Brian Napalma and Gaylan Hurd would like to meet me. And literally, what I'm thinking at that line to go see Tucker is actually happening. And he's seen my movie, and he sought it out. And by the way, Gaylan Hurd is not chump change either. It was like the year after she did Terminator. two. Like, she is, you know, the woman. So you have the audience with the king.

Yeah. And so I'm like, you know, I literally, it's like, I'm going to see Oz, all right? And the little map I get to their place in Santa Monica, right, like right on Ocean Boulevard is like, oh wow, this is the yellow brick road. And then I get to the Emerald City. And so I go there. Aaron. And I walk in the office and through the offices and then the office door opens and there he is sitting on the couch. And that's him. That's Brian De Palma. I know exactly what he looks like. You know, I have a little cassette tape that I made, I mean a video cassette tape called Mondo de Palma. That's like a collection of all of his interviews on television that I've been building for years. And there he is. And I'd heard he's kind of a prickly guy. You know, not the warmest fellow in the world. Well, he ended up being very warm with me because, you know, I was in love with him, you know, and he appreciated it. Amazing.

And we had wonderful talks and a whole discussion. And then an interesting thing happened. They were like, so what are you thinking about doing next? And I'm like, well, well, I start kind of mentioning the Pulp Fiction idea, you know, but it's still in the embryonic stages. And, and I realized. there was an agenda to the meeting Gayle and Hurd wanted to produce my next movie

and actually finally if Gayleyn Hurd wanted to produce my next movie if she had never married to Palma that could have been enough yeah all right I mean she was you know she was she was I had nothing but admiration for that lady

but the idea was to lure me into the situation with Brian. I'm not saying in a skulldougarous way. They were being very positive. They wanted to produce my film, my next movie. And Brian was like, yeah, well, you know, Gail has done, you know, at that time, the biggest movie, the most expensive movie ever made, you know, and also she'd done

water dance, which cost a million dollars. And I could be the executive producer on the movie. What a mind trip. What a, like, to have your hero selling you on his wife to produce your film. It was a mind-bending experience. You know, in The Matrix, when everything goes, well, that was what was going on in my mind. But there also was this really kind of gratifying aspect.

I had already made my deal with Jersey films, David's company, to do Pulp Fiction. Right. So I didn't know. need them. I didn't need a big name director to sign on as executive producer of my movie to get it done. I had final cut already. So there was something immensely gratifying about being actually even further along in my career and in my place than they even knew I'd was. Yeah, you had the most power in that room. And it was a very, it was a very gratifying,

very lovely experience. And everyone was all very friendly. And then later, because the movie, it just played its first festival. I mean, you know, as far as they knew, I was just like straight out of film school or something. But, you know, months and months later, I've been on the film festival festival festival, Reservoir Dogs, and he was there just hanging. And he was there just hanging out. And then so we ended up hanging out at a party. And then we're talking and having a good time. And he was referring to me like he knows me. You know, he's having some argument with like your discussion with some young film students. Quentin, come over here for a second. Where would you be without those actors? You need those actors. I'll tell these kids that, you know.

And all of a sudden, I'm up here and he knows me. And it was just, it was just really wonderful. As a fellow obsessive of the palm, I appreciate that immensely. I'm curious. I mean, And reading about your films, just I always am fascinated by kind of alternate histories that that could have been written. I'm very fascinated by stuff like that. Well, I don't even meet. I'm not even talking like in glorious. I'm talking more about the casting kind of thing. Oh, no, I know exactly what Jimmy.

You know, Frank Sinatra playing Dirty for Irving Kirstner. Because exactly, exactly. I mean, because I can't imagine anyone but David Carrady and, of course, in Kill Bill. But the fact that Warren, who infamously, Warren Bady, who infamously is tough to pin down for anybody. I'm thoroughly actually directed a movie that we're eventually going to see. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, like, that one always intrigues me, Warren Beatty. There's folklore about Daniel Day Lewis for Vincent Vega.

Well, he was interested. He was interested in the part. Yeah. Well, the Warner-Bady was kind of an interesting thing because the one-bitty thing is interesting because I've never published the Kill Bill script, you know, in, like, book form. Yeah. And that's going to happen coming up. I made a deal with a book company that finally actually published it coming up. And that one in particular or is it going to be all the works together?

No, no, no, no, no. It'll be that one. I mean, that one, you know, you know, Kill Bill is one script. Nice. And I mean, some of the other, some of them have gone out of print. And a lot of them, they picked up the right to do them, but it's not one thing together. Got it. Do you think I am?

So, so Kill Bill is coming out. And I've made it a point that I want to, um, For the most part, release the first draft because once I cast David Keratin, I did a lot of little rewrites, getting to know David to actually shift the character more into David's kind of sphere. And it was really interesting reading Kill Bill again that very first draft because that's the, that's the Warren Beatty version. I'd be fascinated. You know, and he's much more of a James Bond type of character. like James Bond as Blowfield, basically. And so, and, you know, that guy never really got betrayed.

And I have no problem with how it all ended up working out. And also, you know, there was this idea that David Carrey could hold on to this mysticism. And I was a little worried that maybe Warren Beatty might look faintly ridiculous to some degree or another in this. Actually, the reason I ended up casting David Carity more than anything else, as much as I was a big fan of his as an actor and the work. He did it as Kane in particular, but in all kinds of movies, long writers and a bunch of other movies. But he was his autobiography. He wrote one of my favorite, if not my favorite autobiography of an actor, if not my favorite autobiography, frankly.

It's called Endless Highway. And he really had a Dickensian life. And he was a, David was a very, very good writer. He wrote a bit like Dickens. He wrote a bit like Jack Kerouac and a whole lot like David Caradine. And, I mean, the life really was a hell of a life. And it was a fascinating book. And in the course of reading the book, I was like, this guy would make a fantastic bill.

So when it didn't work out between Warren, I knew where to go as far as David was concerned. But nevertheless, reading that first, which I haven't done in a long time, reading that first draft of Kill Bill again, where it's just definitely the David Carrotene version. Yeah, yeah. I mean, definitely the Warren Beatty version of Bill. That is interesting. Is, in your mind's eye, do you have a different version of, obviously, natural porn killer's true romance were directed by other filmmakers? Does that gnaw at you that you never got a chance to do either of those on your own to interpret that as you would have? No, no, I would have, actually, oddly enough in both cases, because both of those movies were made post-reservoir dogs.

Tony was going to do true romance and he did true romance and I love the movie he made I absolutely adore the movie he made oddly enough before Patricia Charkett Jennifer Jason Lee was offered the role of Alabama and she turned it down oh wow she regrets it to this day she had a pretty good reason though

she felt she had played that character in Miami Blues and she's not wrong which I think she said up until this moment was her favorite character she has a great amazing film, yeah. And frankly, to tell you the truth, way before I saw the movie,

to some degree or another, I had read that book Miami Blues, and there is a link between the Alabama character and her character from the novel. Interesting. I didn't rip it off,

but I was definitely inspired to some degree. So I was actually thought, wow, Jennifer Jason Lee's pretty smart. She actually kind of sees the linkage there. But the thing is, Tony had the piece and his producing partner came to me

you know, Quentin, you just said reservoir dogs we could now get the money to do like an $8 million version of true romance and you could do it. Tony wants to do it absolutely but he would step back and executive produce the movie

if you wanted to do it. And this is before I wrote Pulp Fiction. And frankly, the producers that had natural-born killers offered me the same situation before they went to Oliver Stone. And I refused both of them. And the reason I refused them was because both of those movies were written to be my first movie. And I read I made my first movie with Reservoir Dogs.

And it wasn't about going back in time to do something that I had written earlier. They were all written to be showy debuts. Well, I did my showy debut. And now I had to do my second movie. And your second movie is not the same as your first movie. And your second movie is even more important than your first movie. And so I needed to sit down and start from scratch what my second movie would be.

And that was Pulp Fiction. Last thing for you, because I think you're, you're, you're leading, I think, I think, I think, I think Kurt might be outside waiting for us. I'm not sure. But I do want to... Snake Pliskin. You don't want to piss him off. But I'm curious... You're a real ass.

You've talked about a stage version of this of Hateful Eighth. Have you thought about when you tried to retain the cast? Have you thought about different casting variations? Or have you gotten that far in terms of what changes you'd make, if any, et cetera? Part of the reason I want to do it is to actually have other actors have a chance to play my characters, to have them possibly live on in different guys. Okay, I keep saying that And the actors from the movie

Don't want to hear that And keep pontificating about Well, we could all get together and do it Or wouldn't that be wonderful? And just, you know, but on the other hand, there is these You know, I mean, it's like I'm They're just, I'm speaking a different language They just refuse to acknowledge

that I have ever said anything like that, you know And give me the stink eye Of which I actually just take fondly That means that they love the character Can't imagine anybody else playing their roles, which, you know, good on that. But, yeah, I have thought about how I would do it. And I considered the idea of doing it, you know, at one point, I was like, why? I mean, if I actually were to do it first as a play, I mean, that would be a really interesting piece of original material to go to Broadway with.

not some revival or anything like that would be that would be kind of something special but I would the mystery would not be an important element to me if I was doing it on the stage and so the mystery is only going to work one time and that would be on the film because the way I would do it and again talking a bit in code here that's what I think I haven't tried to do it yet But my theory would be, theoretically, is it would never leave Minnie's haberdashery. And it would start with Chapter 5. Oh, interesting. So you would see the setup of everything.

And then it would just be the other character showing up two by two. Got it. I can't thank you enough. I got a chance to do the press conference for you guys the other day. And I asked you, and you were a man of your word when you said you do the podcast. That was my pleasure. You did such a good job. really appreciate the support you've given me no thanks man i'm as you can tell i'm a huge fan and

this is a hell of a piece of work uh everybody should go check out the hateful eight see it if you can the uh the full road show edition but regardless i'm sure it's a good time at the movies um clinton it's good to see you man my pleasure so gender fluidity Maybe you've heard of it before, but you don't really know what it means. I'm Deanna Chang, and every week on OMFG, my co-host, Emily Foster, and I talk to the youth of America to try and understand things like, what's the big whoop about Snapchat, and how one sets a thirst trap. On our first OMFG investigates Howell Special, called Do Millennials Hate Being Straight? we learn about every shade of the LGBTQIA rainbow, and we even go to a pansexual party.

Listen today on Howell Premium, and don't forget, you can get one month free if you go to howell.fm and sign up with the offer code, OMFG. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop, pop, pop, pop. This has been a Wolf Pop production, executive produced by Paul Shear, Adam Sacks, Chris Bannon, and Matt Goorley. For more information and content, visit wolfpop.com. American history is full of infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences,

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