Dimension Films
Quentin Tarantino famously does not lack for chutzpah. He’s not shy about singing his praises, and wrote a whole book loaded with contrarian opinions in 2022’s “Cinema Speculation.” He doesn’t mince words and brooks no trash talk, as evidenced by the time he went upside a rival producer’s head in a chichi Los Angeles power lunch spot.
Has Tarantino earned the right to be so unvarnished? It’s a free country, so he can say whatever he wants, but he’s got a little more backing up his opinion than that. His writing-directing debut, “Reservoir Dogs,” is easily one of the most shockingly assured first films ever made, while his second feature, “Pulp Fiction,” laughed in the face of the sophomore slump by becoming one of the most influential films of all time. “Pulp Fiction” was so outlandishly great that people underestimated the cool mastery of his third film, “Jackie Brown.” Since then, every single new Tarantino movie has been a cinematic event, a seeming referendum on the state of the medium as viewed by an aging veteran who knows his celluloid days are numbered.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” dripped with this elegiac tone, which was enhanced over the last few years by Tarantino reinforcing his pledge to call it quits after his next movie. Plans for that production, “The Movie Critic,” were placed on hold when Tarantino slammed on the brakes before it could go before cameras. But since he’s got us thinking about his legacy somewhat prematurely, it’s only natural to wonder how his movies will age and how he’ll be remembered once he mothballs his viewfinder. Unsurprisingly, Tarantino has an opinion on this, too, and it is nothing short of brazen.
Tarantino (jokingly?) thinks the Best Original Screenplay Oscar could use a new name
The Weinstein Company
In a 2015 interview with GQ, Tarantino unleashed what might just be the most hilariously irritating thing to ever come out of his mouth. In discussing Woody Allen’s Academy Awards record for most Best Original Screenplay wins (he currently has three), Tarantino revealed that his life’s mission is to win two more, which he hopes will force the Oscars to posthumously name the award in his honor. Seriously. As he told GQ:
“I’m not competitive as a director. But the thing about it is, if I win a third screenwriting Oscar, I will tie with Woody. I can’t beat Woody until I tie with him. I want to have more original-screenplay Oscars than anybody who’s ever lived! So much, I want to have so many that — four is enough. And do it within 10 films, all right, so that when I die, they rename the original screenplay Oscar ‘the Quentin.’ And everybody’s down with that.”
The cheek of this man. And to think he might’ve had a shot at pulling off four wins had “Parasite” not become the Oscar sensation of 2019 and swiped the Best Original Screenplay Oscar away from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Now, if Tarantino is truly serious about calling it quits with movie number 10 (and he has yet to waver on this claim), he can only tie Woody Allen, and that’s simply not good enough.
Later in the interview, I think Tarantino accidentally made the correct call. If the Academy wants to name the Best Original Screenplay trophy after a screenwriter, they should christen it The Preston Sturges Award. Because no one wrote more invigoratingly original scripts than the man behind “The Lady Eve,” “Hail! The Conquering Hero,” and “Sullivan’s Travels.” Let right be done, AMPAS.