CANNES – Quentin Tarantino held court at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival today with a press conference that was supposed to reflect on the 20th anniversary of “Pulp Fiction” winning the Palme d'Or in 1994. Instead, he mostly discussed his opinions on everything from digital projection (which he considers the “death of cinema”), finding himself watching “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” on Showtime, that the Palme d'Or means more to him than his Oscars (ouch) and what his next picture may or may not be. The most intriguing bit of news, however, was when he waxed over revisiting his Academy Award winning blockbuster “Django Unchained.”
Tarantino revealed he has over 90 minutes of footage from “Django” that hasn't been seen. That being said, he doesn't think audiences are interested in a four-hour extended version of the film, though. Instead, he's considering a slightly unconventional reformatting for TV.
“[I'd] cut it up into hour chapters like a cable mini-series, like a chapter one, two, three, four,” Tarantino said. “And people love those. You present someone with a four-hour movie and they roll their eyes. [But] they are just dying to watch all four episodes in one go.”
Whether Tarantino can even pull this off based on the film's original TV rights seems dubious, but a four-night “Django” event? There's got to be a pay cable player interested in that.
Tarantino also gave an update on the movie that was supposed to be his next project, “Hateful Eight.” He raved about the rehearsal process behind the one-night script reading in April, but still isn't sure whether it will move forward as a movie. While his lawsuit against Gawker needs to be refiled in court, he admitted he has “calmed down a bit from the knife in the back. The wound is starting to scab.”
Those dreaming of “Eight” coming to the big screen shouldn't lose hope, though. Tarantino added, “Maybe I”ll shoot it. Maybe I”ll publish it. Maybe I”ll do it on the stage. Maybe I”ll do all three.”
In the meantime, Tarantino will be on hand for the “Pulp Fiction” screening tonight alongside stars Uma Thurman and John Travolta and will then introduce Sergio Leone's “A Fistful of Dollars” to close the festival tomorrow night.