Quentin Tarantino has announced plans to retire after one final film.
The Oscar-winning writer-director, whose career spans over nearly 30 decades, shared the news on "Real Time with Bill Maher" while discussing his "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" novel.
Maher, who was clearly stunned by the revelation, was quick to point out that Tarantino was "too young to quit" and was "at the top of your game."
"That’s why I want to quit," Tarantino exclaimed. "Because I know film history and from here on end, directors do not get better."
Maher went on to state that both of them had begun their careers at around the same time and yet he had no plans to retire. Tarantino remained adamant that he was going to retire.
"I don’t have a reason that I would want to say out loud that’s going to win any argument in the court of public opinion or supreme court or anything like that," he explained. "At the same time, working for 30 years doing as many movies as I’ve done is not as many as other people but that’s a long career. That’s a really long career. And I’ve given it everything I have."
Tarantino then nodded at director Don Siegel as an example.
"If he had quit his career in 1979 when he did Escape from Alcatraz — what a final film! What a mic drop! But he dribbles away with two more other ones, he doesn’t mean it," Tarantino said in reference to Siegel’s final two films, "Rough Cut" (1980) and "Jinxed!" (1982).
As for his final film, Tarantino was reluctant to share details but did admit he had considered rebooting his 1992 classic "Reservoir Dogs."
"I’ve actually considered making a remake of Reservoir Dogs as my last movie," he told Maher, adding, "I won’t do it, internet! But I considered it."
This is not the first time Tarantino has suggested that he will be retiring. In 2019 he spoke with GQ Australia about stepping away from the industry.
“I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road," he said.
That does not mean that Tarantino will step out of the limelight completely. His attentions will just lie elsewhere.
"I see myself writing books and starting to write theatre, so I’ll still be creative," he explained. "I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies."
In an interview with the "Pure Cinema Podcast" earlier this year, Tarantino echoed his sentiments about wanting to end his career on a high note.
"Most directors have terrible final films," he said. "Usually their worst films are their last films. That’s the case for most of the Golden Age directors who made their last films in the late 60s and 70s, and then it was the case for most New Hollywood directors who made their last films in the late 80s and 90s... So it’s rare to end your career with a decent film."
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