The American filmmaker, often critical of Hollywood in the 2020s, expresses his weariness with the new versions of stories already brought to the screen.
Quentin Tarantino is making a new rant against Hollywood. In an interview given to The Bret Easton Ellis Podcastthe director ofInglorious Basterds was annoyed to see so many remakes emerging from American studios, to the detriment of potential original stories.
The filmmaker was questioned about Dune: Part Tworeleased in February, second part of Denis Villeneuve’s saga inspired by the novels of Frank Herbert. “I saw the Dune by David Lynch (a first adaptation released in 1984, Editor’s note) several times. I don’t need to revisit this story,” he replied.
“It’s a remake here, a remake there,” he continued. “People ask me, ‘Have you seen ‘Dune’? Have you seen ‘Ripley’? Have you seen ‘Shogun’?’. And I say no, no, no , No.”
New serial adaptations
Replaya Netflix series released last April, is an adaptation of Monsieur Replaya British novel released in 1955 and the first volume of a five-book saga. The work has already been adapted for cinema in France by René Clément in 1960, with Alain Delon and Marie Laforêtunder the title Full sun. Another film called The Talented Mr. Ripleystarring Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released in the United States in 1999.
As for Shogunone of the television sensations of 2024 (18 awards at the last Emmy Awards), it is an adaptation of the novel of the same title released in 1975, already adapted into a mini-series in the United States in 1980.
“There are six or seven books in the saga Ripley. If you’re doing an adaptation again, why adapt one that has already been brought to the screen twice?” asked Quentin Tarantino. “I’ve already seen this story twice, I didn’t really like it in the two cases, so I’m not really interested in watching it a third time.” Same reasoning for Shogunof which he watched the first mini-series:
“I watched all 13 hours. That’s enough for me. I don’t need to watch this story again, I don’t care how they adapt it.”
Tarantino’s complaints
This is not the first time that Quentin Tarantino has been critical of current Hollywood productions. In 2022, he denounced the “Marvelization” of American cinema, believing that the actors who play the roles of superheroes in Marvel Studios films are in reality “not stars”, because they quickly become less popular than the characters they play on screen.
He also expressed concern about the omnipresence of these films in the current cinematic landscape: “I don’t hate them. That’s true. But I don’t like them. They’re the only things that seem to be made at the moment and which seem to generate any enthusiasm from the fans. There’s not really room for anything else. That’s my problem.
