Quentin Tarantino says movies died in 2019 and one thing is to blame
MiramaxQuentin Tarantino has been raging about the current state of movies, claiming the industry died in 2019, and the situation has only got worse since.
The movies have been in flux for the last few years, due to crises like the global shutdown, and lengthy writer and actor strikes.
While cinemas were closed, studios sent movies direct-to-streaming, which upset many directors, most notably Christopher Nolan, who wasn’t a fan of how Tenet’s release was handled.
When cinemas returned, those same studios then shortened the window between theatrical and streaming release, which ate into box office returns, and meant movies could be watched at home while they were still in cinemas. A situation that has enraged Quentin Tarantino.
Quentin Tarantino rages about the death of movies
During a wide-raging interview at the Sundance Film Festival, Tarantino revealed why he won’t be directing his final film anytime soon, then questioned what cinema is in this day-and-age.
“What the f**k is a movie now?” Tarantino bemoans in the above video. “What the f**k is a movie? Something that plays in theaters for a token release for four f**king weeks and by the second week you can watch it on television? I didn’t get into all this for diminishing returns.
“It was bad enough in 2019, and that was the last f**king year of movies. And that was a sh*t deal as far as I was concerned. The fact that it’s gotten drastically worse, and that’s is just a show-pony exercise now, the theatrical release. In two weeks you can watch it on this one and that one.”
Why QT is pivoting to theater
Sony PicturesIn the same interview, Tarantino revealed that his next project would be a play, and elaborated on his reasons.
Tarantino: “Theater – you can’t do that. You have to pay a lot of f**king money to get in that seat. But there’s no f**king taping it. There’s no f**king cellphones… you own the audience for that time. For that moment they are all yours. They are in the palm of your hand.
“And it’s not just about doing art. It’s about wowing them. It’s about giving them a great night out. Make it worth it for them. Now that to me is exciting.”
Head here to check out our list of Quentin Tarantino movies in order, or here for details of the one movie Quentin Tarantino will never watch.