Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have always had a lot in common. They’re both attracted, in different ways, to violence. They love a good pop song soundtrack. The bantering, pop culture-obsessed hitmen of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction would be nowhere without the likes of Mean Streets and Goodfellas. Of late they’re both attracted to absurdly long yet never dull films. But there are a lot of differences as well, one of which Scorsese was eager to point out.
During a recent chat with The Associated Press (as caught by Variety), Scorsese was asked about Tarantino’s vow to retire from filmmaking after his 10th film, which is slated to be The Movie Critic. Scorsese has two decades on Tarantino, and yet he has no plans to give up, maybe even try something less stressful than film directing, like writing books, which Tarantino has been doing.
The interviewer then asked Scorsese if he’s simply built differently than Tarantino, which he said, “I am.” But how so?
“He’s a writer,” Scorsese replied. “It’s a different thing. I come up with stories. I get attracted to stories through other people. All different means, different ways. And so I think it’s a different process…I respect writers and I wish I could. I wish I could just be in a room and create these novels, not films, novels.”
Besides, Scorsese still loves making movies. “I’m curious about everything still,” Scorsese said. “That’s one of the things. If I’m curious about something I think I’ll find a way. If I hold out and hold up, I’ll find a way to try to make something of it on film, but I have to be curious about the subject. My curiosity is still there. I couldn’t speak for Quentin Tarantino or others who are able to create this work in their world.”
Tarantino could always break his retirement vow and make an eleventh film, then a twelfth, then a thirteenth, and so on. After all, he’s not great with keeping promises about the films he swears he’ll make. Why should people believe he’ll stick by his guns to swear off the medium he adores above all. How is sitting in a room in front of a keyboard more fun than making Leonardo DiCaprio use a flamethrower? Perhaps he’ll learn the answer to that one sooner rather than later.
You can watch Scorsese’s AP interview below. Tarantino’s Killers of the Flower Moon is now in theaters.
(Via Variety)
