Quentin Tarantino finds himself in a unique predicament. The filmmaker has long said he would stop making movies once he hit his tenth or turned 60 – whichever came first. But why retire when you've got a good thing going? In any case, ever since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, fans have been pressed to learn details about what that final film might look like and Tarantino has been hesitant to dish them out, until now. In a new interview, the director confirmed that his next and final work will be a project set in 70s Los Angeles called The Movie Critic. Everything we know about it, below.
What is The Movie Critic about?
Truthfully, Tarantino is keeping most of the details about his latest project under lock and key. However, at a recent Q&A event in Paris, Tarantino announced that the film would be set in the year 1977 – very specifically – which was a big year in the world of cinema (hello Star Wars). It was also a time where Hollywood was being swept by a new wave of filmmakers – from Scorsese to Coppola to Spielberg and Lucas.
While Tarantino has denied that the film would follow real-life 70s film critic and essayist Pauline Kael, he has said that the film's critic protagonist would draw similarities to Taxi Driver's anti-hero, Travis Bickle.
Who is in the cast of The Movie Critic?
It wouldn't be a Tarantino film without a set roaming with Hollywood's most treasured actors. In the past he's managed to draw in names like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Uma Thurman, Margot Robbie, Margaret Qualley and more. Given that the film is billed as Tarantino's last, we imagine actors will be scrambling over each other to book a role.
Despite no actors are confirmed as attached to the project as of yet, and with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike halting most casting discussions at the moment, it's been rumoured that one Leonardo DiCaprio was offered a part – and our own Margot Robbie might also be in talks.
Why will The Movie Critic be Tarantino's last film?
The idea that Tarantino would only make 10 films emerged from an interview the director did with Playboy back in 2012 while promoting Django Unchained. He told the publication, "I just don't want to be an old-man filmmaker. I want to stop at a certain point. Directors don't get better as they get older," he controversially stated. "Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end. I am all about my filmography, and one bad film fucks up three good ones..."
However, he also admitted there's no hard and fast rules once he hits the auspicious number. "If I have a change of heart, if I come up with a new story, I could come back." Let's see if retirement sticks.
