By know you've probably heard that Quentin Tarantino has finished writing Inglorious Bastards, his WW II epic and that he's decided to make it two films, a la Kill Bill. Setting aside for a moment that it might not be a good idea to make every movie longer than it was originally intended to be (which happened with both Kill Bill and Death Proof) and ignore the question that brings up about his self-editing ability, let's talk about Tarantino's blessed career. Anne Thompson writes Tarantino is one of most fortunate writer-directors in Hollywood. While other filmmakers white-knuckle their way from project to project, hoping to finance their fantasies and get them up on screen just the way they want them--which never happens--Tarantino can count on long-time mentor/patron Harvey Weinstein to be there for him. As soon as the director is ready, he gets a greenlight, and can move forward into production.I take a different tack here. Isn't the struggle part of art? I love Tarantino's filmography. Every film (save Death Proof by my estimation) has been a gem. But has the coddling made him lazy? Tarantino gets a green light whenever he wants one and yet in 16 years in the business he has only made 6 features --5 if you count Kill Bill as a single film since that's what it was when he was making it -- Half of those films were in his first five years when he was establishing the reputation he still enjoys as an artist and showman. Once you add in the time it will take to actually get around to making and releasing Bastards (I'm guessing 2012 rather than the intended 2010) the lack of productivity will seem even more pronounced.
Tarantino's filmography from 1998 to 2008. That's it.In the past 11 years he's only delivered Kill Bill and Death Proof. I'm not sure the ease with financing is helping. If he had to struggle a little more, would there be a fire lit under him? Would self editing be a honed survival skill? Would "Director" be the first job description to show up on IMDB instead of "Actor" Yes, he's acted far more often than directed. [shudder]
For comparison and conversation's sake in roughly their first 16 years as feature filmmakers these auteurs made
- Steven Soderbergh. 15 features (+ a television series)
- Clint Eastwood. 12 features
- Pedro Almodóvar. 11 features
- Woody Allen. 11 features
- Steven Spielberg. 11 features (+ a television series)
- Ang Lee. 10 features
- Ridley Scott. 8 features
- Peter Jackson. 8 features
- Wong Kar Wai. 8 features
- David Lynch. 6 features (+ a television series)
- Todd Haynes. 4 features
- Terence Malick. 2 features
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