According to a recent interview, director Quentin Tarantino is still mulling over the idea of retiring sooner rather than later. His biggest fear — releasing a box office flop (or several) during the sunset of his filmmaking career — is clearly his biggest motivating factor. In a new interview with the Pure Cinema Podcast this week, Tarantino eventually reiterated his own thoughts on the subject.
"Most directors have horrible last movies," Tarantino said. "Usually their worst movies are their last movies. That’s the case for most of the Golden Age directors that ended up making their last movies in the late ’60s and the ’70s, then that ended up being the case for most of the New Hollywood directors who made their last movies in the late ’80s and the ’90s. ... So to actually end your career on a decent movie is rare. To end it with, like, a good movie is kind of phenomenal. ... I mean, most directors’ last films are fucking lousy."
This isn't the first time that Tarantino has brought up taking a step back from movies, either. Last year, in a video interview with Rolling Stone to promote Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino also brought up the subject of his retirement. “I kind of feel this is the time for the third act [of my life] to just lean a little bit more into the literary, which would be good as a new father, as a new husband. ... I wouldn’t be grabbing my family and yanking them to Germany or Sri Lanka or wherever the next story takes place. I can be a little bit more of a homebody, and become a little bit more of a man of letters."
Of course, by "a man of letters," this likely means taking less of an active role behind the camera on set and focusing more of his energy on writing. He's currently living full-time in Israel with his wife Daniella Pick and their young son, Leo. Based on previous interviews, Tarantino still intends for his next movie to be his last.
As it is, the director has recently finished writing a movie novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The novel is slated to release at the end of the month on June 29, and is available for pre-order now. He's also currently working on a book titled Cinema Speculation, which is described as a “deep dive into the movies of the 1970’s, a rich mix of essays, reviews, personal writing, and tantalizing “what if’s,” from one of cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers, and its most devoted fan."