With each word uttered, Filmbrain's anticipation wanes

Today has sort of been wall-to-wall Quentin Tarantino. First, there is the Biskind book (Down and Dirty Pictures) that Filmbrain is slowly trudging through. (Biskind needs an editor - badly!) On the way to work, he read about how horrible Quentin was to his friends after the success of Pulp Fiction at Cannes -- how his ego just got out of control. Then there was the Four Rooms fiasco -- how Quentin had to be consulted for all decisions on the film, how his segment ran twenty minutes longer than everybody else's did but wasn't subject to cuts, and how he completely alienated himself from everybody else on the project. Arriving at work, Filmbrain checked in on two of his favorite blogs - Out of Focus and Cinecultist, both of which had rather interesting think pieces on Mr. QT that asked, "Who the hell does Quentin Tarantino think he is?" While their opinions of him as a filmmaker differ, both agree that his attitude, his ego, and his mere presence are all a bit too much. Cinecultist included some quotes from Tarantino that made Filmbrain's jaw drop. He dares to criticize Martin Scorsese? "There was a time we were in the same church, and I miss that." Don't flatter yourself Quentin, you wouldn't even be allowed to be an altar boy at his church. Perhaps Filmbrain need remind you that if Ringo Lam had never made City on Fire you'd still be working at the video store. At lunch, Filmbrain picked up a copy of the latest issue of Premiere, which includes yet another interview with Tarantino, equally as obnoxious. Has he really lost his mind? Have the positive early reviews of Kill Bill Vol.2 fueled his self-worship that much? For example: "And even though I was a young director, Reservoir Dogs showed that one, I write good material; two, I write really good material for actors; three, I write good dialog for actors; and four, I obviously know something about directing, because everyone was terrific in it." What is the difference between 'material for actors' and 'dialog for actors' anyway? Filmbrain won't even get into the condescending (yet totally ignorant) way he discusses Jean Luc Godard, Bande à part and Anna Karina, whose sweater in that film is not only the inspiration for this blog, but for the dance scene in Pulp Fiction. Tarantino says, "it's not an homage per se. . ." What is it then? Out and out theft? Filmbrain originally intended to post about his anticipation for Vol.2, but all this QT narcissism has soured him a bit. Perhaps a few QT-free days will change all that. Still, he does get a kick out of this rendition of The Bride, found on a Japanese tie-in website.

Comments

[Sean]

It seems like QT went to the GW Bush School of Deficiency Denial:

EW: If you were teaching a class on your own films, what deficiences would you point out?
QT: The answer is none. I'm sure somebody else might find weaknesses, but I can't. If there's a weakness, I don't do it — you'll never see the scene.

I'm with you. I used to be really excited about seeing Vol. 2. But as the release date approaches and the more I read some of the very luke-warm reviews and the more the "lantern-jawed freak" (as I prefer to call him) opens his big fat mouth, the anticipation is quickly going south. But I'm still going to see it, if not this weekend, but definitely next week. It's going to have to knock my socks off if I'm going to be more than charitable. But then Vol. 1 did just that, even after hearing Quentin babble on about his sex life, reading all the Hong Kong hagiographies, and contemplating the talk about Uma's toes. The movie transcended all the bullshit. Maybe Vol. 2 will too. Maybe QT just needs to make movies and shut the fuck up.