Update: Ennio Morricone has come forward after news spread that he had called filmmaker Quentin Tarantino a “cretin” whose films are “trash” (see below). The legendary composer, who won an Oscar for scoring Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, claims this is, as they say, fake news. He has issued the following statement:
It has come to my attention that Playboy Germany has come out with an article in which I have stated extremely negative comments about Tarantino and his films, and the Academy. I have never expressed any negative statements about the Academy, Quentin, or his films — and certainly do not consider his films garbage. I have given a mandate to my lawyer in Italy to take civil and penal action.
I consider Tarantino a great director. I am very fond of my collaboration with him and the relationship we have developed during the time we have spent together. He is courageous and has an enormous personality. I credit our collaboration responsible for getting me an Oscar, which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgments of my career, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to compose music for his film.
In London, during a press conference in front of Tarantino, I clearly stated that I consider Quentin one of the greatest directors of this time, and I would never speak poorly of the Academy — an important institution that has given to me two of the most important acknowledgments of my career.
Original post: Saturday was the 90th birthday of Ennio Morricone, one of cinema’s great composers. If you don’t know his name, you know his music. His IMDb page lists 522 credits, including the earworm scores for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Untouchables, and The Hateful Eight. Speaking of which, Morricone called that film’s writer-director, Quentin Tarantino, a “cretin” whose movies are “trash” in a new interview with Playboy Germany.
IndieWire caught and translated the chat, in which Morricone explained why he dislikes his former employer, who’s hard at work on his star-studded Charles Manson film.
“The man is a cretin,” Morricone told the magazine. “He just steals from others and puts it together again. There is nothing original about that. And he is not a director either. So not comparable to real Hollywood greats like John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder. They were great. Tarantino is just cooking up old stuff.”
Morricone, who won an Honorary Academy Award in 2007, has unaccountably only won one competitive Oscar over his decades-long career. And what was it for? That’s right: It was for The Hateful Eight. That said, Morricone did not enjoy the experience.
“He calls out of nowhere and then wants to have a finished film score within days, which is impossible. Which makes me crazy! Because that’s just not possible,” he said. That may sound like he will never, ever, ever work with this man he depicts as a charlatan again, and yet he added, “I do not go there anymore. I told him that last time. But next time I will be tough.” Ah, showbiz.
(Via IndieWire)
