# What has happened to Quentin Tarantino? Has he always been a jerk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863 "2014-01-27T17:41:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/1 "2014-01-27T17:41:49Z")
Quentin Tarantino is acting like a spoiled child. Bo Ho my script got published online. He’s going to take his marbles and go crying home. Not going to make my movie. That’ll show you. :rolleyes: A printed script isn’t the same as a movie. Words on a paper are just that. Words. The artistic expression of a great director and actors gives an author’s words life. Movies are made from books all the time. It doesn’t matter if people have read the book. They still want to see the author’s work on the silver screen. I remember when Quentin Tarantino first burst onto the scene. A goofy fast talking guy that was a walking encyclopedia of classic film knowledge. He cast all these washed up actors from the 70’s and reinvigorated their careers. Where did that guy go? When did he turn into a whiny prick? I’ve never understood why he’s such a one trick pony. He always talked about his love and study of classic cinema. Why doesn’t he stretch a little and make a great drama or comedy? Why just crank out super violent action flicks? > **[Quentin Tarantino Axes Film After Script Leak](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/quentin-tarantino-the-hateful-eight_n_4643470)** > > Quentin Tarantino Axes Film After Script Leak > [@](#): > > Maybe Quentin Tarantino’s next new film will be a Hollywood satire about a script leak. In an interview with [Deadline.com](http://Deadline.com), Tarantino revealed that he was scrapping his latest screenplay, a Western called “The Hateful Eight,” after copies of the project leaked online this week. > > “I’m very, very depressed,” Tarantino told [Deadline.com](http://Deadline.com)’s Mike Fleming in an interview on Tuesday. “I finished a script, a first draft, and I didn’t mean to shoot it until next winter, a year from now. I gave it to six people, and apparently it’s gotten out today.” > **[Quentin Tarantino Suing Gawker Over Leaked ‘Hateful Eight’ Script (Exclusive)](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/quentin-tarantino-suing-gawker-leaked-674424/)** > > The director takes legal action over the distribution of his script. > [@](#): > > Quentin Tarantino has filed a copyright lawsuit against Gawker Media for allegedly disseminating copies of his script, The Hateful Eight. > > Last week, the famous director was outraged after details about the Western circulated. He was so irate that he told the media that he wouldn’t be making the picture as his next film. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/2 "2014-01-27T17:59:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > A printed script isn’t the same as a movie. Words on a paper are just that. Words. I’m pretty sure Tarantino knows this better than you do (or I do). As far as I know he’s written and directed more movies than the two of us put together. Is he kind of a dick and maybe overreacting to this leak? Yeah, he very well might be. But he can also conduct his career the way he wants, and if this leak by people who he wanted to be collaborators made him change his plans, he can do that. I get the sense he does this a lot. I think he’s talked about publishing a few different stories as books or at least tried to do it and never actually done it: if I’m remembering right, at one point he wanted Django Unchained to be a book. So don’t be surprised if he changes his plans again. That’s not uncommon in Hollywood anyway. > [@](#): > > A goofy fast talking guy that was a walking encyclopedia of classic film knowledge. He cast all these washed up actors from the 70’s and reinvigorated their careers. Where did that guy go? When did he turn into a whiny prick? > > I’ve never understood why he’s such a one trick pony. He always talked about his love and study of classic cinema. Why doesn’t he stretch a little and make a great drama or comedy? Why just crank out super violent action flicks? Whuh? I think you’re asking why he’s changed and why he keeps doing the same thing over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/3 "2014-01-27T18:01:06Z")
I think most writers would feel more or less devastated if a draft was stolen or leaked and made public, and at least temporarily feel unable to continue working on it as if the creative progress was destroyed. Perhaps he can pick it up later on, I wouldn’t count that out, but his first emotional reaction on what has happened, seems just natural to me. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/4 "2014-01-27T18:01:15Z")
He is acting a bit spoiled, but that’s his prerogative. Other writers, directors, actors, etc have taken greater pains to prevent leaked scripts and been even more vocal about things when they leaked. I’m not sure why anybody’s ire should be especially directed at Tarantino over it. From [this website](http://flavorwire.com/380887/10-notorious-leaked-screenplay-scandals/3/), some pretty nasty consequences of leaking scripts. It’s not something you generally want, even if it’s not a finished product. As it happens, Tarantino actually likes having his scripts leaked - just not this early. He likes the buzz. He’s angry because he showed it to very few people and didn’t expect it to leak until filming started. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/5 "2014-01-27T18:05:20Z")
He’s a genius. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t behave strangely every so often. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/6 "2014-01-27T18:40:06Z")
He’s changed as a person and apparently not in a good way. Tarantino was so eager and happy to be making movies in the early days. There were some great interviews of him talking about his days working at the video store. I never saw anyone that lived and breathed classic movies. His interview about meeting John Travolta for the first time is a classic. The ultimate fan that got to cast his favorite actor in a film. Tarantino was like a kid in a candy store. His recent interviews are just so angry and whiny. He seems to have forgotten where he came from and how lucky he is to make movies. As a director he’s a one trick pony. Look at the body of work other current directors are doing. You have to take chances and grow as an artist. > [@Marley23](#): > > I’m pretty sure Tarantino knows this better than you do (or I do). As far as I know he’s written and directed more movies than the two of us put together. Is he kind of a dick and maybe overreacting to this leak? Yeah, he very well might be. But he can also conduct his career the way he wants, and if this leak by people who he wanted to be collaborators made him change his plans, he can do that. I get the sense he does this a lot. I think he’s talked about publishing a few different stories as books or at least tried to do it and never actually done it: if I’m remembering right, at one point he wanted Django Unchained to be a book. So don’t be surprised if he changes his plans again. That’s not uncommon in Hollywood anyway. > > Whuh? I think you’re asking why he’s changed and why he keeps doing the same thing over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/7 "2014-01-27T18:48:39Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > He’s changed as a person and apparently not in a good way. Tarantino was so eager and happy to be making movies in the early days. I’m not sure it’s fair to compare his reaction to a frustrating setback with how he felt about making movies 20 years ago. Do you understand why a writer might be upset about this? > [@](#): > > As a director he’s a one trick pony. Look at the body of work other current directors are doing. You have to take chances and grow as an artist. Again with the movie advice. :smack: I agree, actually, that a lot of his movies feel the same in some ways. But they’re pretty different from each other in others. You can’t tell me Django Unchained was that much like Death Proof. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/8 "2014-01-27T18:55:57Z")
The NBC article has more information. I didn’t realize Tarantino had written this script himself. I can see where he’d be more defensive of his own writing. I think Gawker thought this was the typical script release/leak that Tarantino has done before. So they published a link to it. Now they are getting sued. > **[Quentin Tarantino files lawsuit a week after script leak](https://www.today.com/entertainment/quentin-tarantino-files-lawsuit-week-after-script-leak-2D11999979)** > [@](#): > > In his interview with Deadline, Tarantino also acknowledged he enjoys Internet feedback on his work. He just wasn’t prepared for the chatter to begin before he even had a conversation with Harvey Weinstein about how they were going to make it, he said. > > “I am not talking out of both sides of my mouth, because I do like the fact that everyone eventually posts it, gets it and reviews it on the net,” Tarantino said. “Frankly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I like the fact that people like my [expletive] and that they go out of their way to find it and read it. But I gave it to six [expletive] people!" > > Requests for comment from Gawker Media’s legal department had not been returned at time of publication. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/9 "2014-01-27T19:02:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I didn’t realize Tarantino had written this script himself. … I’m starting to question your expertise in matters Tarantino. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/10 "2014-01-27T19:03:30Z")
As I have mentioned on this board several times, Quentin Tarantino used to be my neighbor in West Hollywood - a couple of houses down the street - and we would say “hello” when passing on the sidewalk. I mention this as even after he became famous, he continued to live in that little house/apartment for several years. This proved to me he was far more into film making than taking the money and living some lavish lifestyle. I can’t blame him for being royally pissed that his script was suddenly leaked for the world to see. Sure - many films have been made from popular books, so the idea of people knowing the story before seeing a film is nothing new. But part of the fun for a film maker is giving the audience a surprise - something new and original. Now he probably feels like he would have thousands of people looking over his shoulder while he is filming the script he wrote. That would take the wind out of my sails as well. When I worked at the movie studio, almost nobody got a digital copy of a script and even hard copies were printed on red paper with pink text - hard to read but also impossible to photocopy or fax. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/11 "2014-01-27T19:08:05Z")
I’m just a fan. I identified strongly with Tarantino when he got his first break. The ultimate movie fan that got to make movies. Something I dreamed of doing. I even looked into getting my Masters of Fine Arts at the Univ of Texas Austin in film. I went down there and visited the campus and film dept. Just a stupid pipe dream. I had a family to support. I have tried to watch his interviews over the years. I know he’s written scripts before. > [@Marley23](#): > > … I’m starting to question your expertise in matters Tarantino. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/12 "2014-01-27T19:12:50Z")
Yes. See his relationship with Mira Sorvino. And I _like_ QT. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/13 "2014-01-27T19:14:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > He’s a genius. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t behave strangely every so often. Agree with the genius but disagree that he’s acting strangely. I completely sympathize with his ire. I hope that by going public with this he puts the fear of god into the asswipe who leaked the script, gets them fired and blackballed in the industry, and makes future potential leakers think twice about screwing him over. Tarantino fans like me were probably thrilled to hear him say “I’ve got 10 more where that came from.” If he’s a “one trick pony” I love that pony in all its various and wonderful forms, and want more more more, as many as possible as fast as possible. Maybe he’ll make a romantic comedy next with Rachel McAdams and Chris Hemsworth to please ace. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/14 "2014-01-27T19:19:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I know he’s written scripts before. He’s written every movie he’s directed except one. Not to be all “everybody knows that,” but I’m surprised you consider yourself a far and seem unaware of this. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/15 "2014-01-27T19:24:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He’s written every movie he’s directed except one. Not to be all “everybody knows that,” but I’m surprised you consider yourself a far and seem unaware of this. And he got his break as a writer, as well, parlaying his work on “True Romance” and “Natural Born Killers” into a shot at doing “Reservoir Dogs”. I’d like to think many, if not most, film geeks/Tarantino fans knew this. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/16 "2014-01-27T19:27:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He’s written every movie he’s directed except one. Not to be all “everybody knows that,” but I’m surprised you consider yourself a far and seem unaware of this. Except one? Pretty sure he’s written every single movie he’s directed. Jackie Brown wasn’t an original story like the rest are, but he still wrote the adaptation. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/17 "2014-01-27T19:30:24Z")
> [@Hellestal](#): > > Except one? Pretty sure he’s written every single movie he’s directed. Jackie Brown wasn’t an original story like the rest are, but he still wrote the adaptation. I looked at his filmography and saw he’s listed as director and not writer of Sin City. I see he actually only directed one scene. So yes, in real terms he’s written every movie he’s directed. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/18 "2014-01-27T19:32:10Z")
Tarantino’s problem here is that he said what he actually thought, that he was completely honest about why he was doing something and his reasons for doing so. Another director would have said nothing, or got his PR people to spin out some meaningless drivel about changing projects for creative reasons. If Tarantino hadn’t been quoted as saying what he was really thinking, if he had just said nothing, then people on a message board probably wouldn’t be calling him a jerk right now. Personally then, I would rather he continues to be a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/19 "2014-01-27T19:33:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I looked at his filmography and saw he’s listed as director and not writer of Sin City. I see he actually only directed one scene. Robert Rodriguez directed “Sin City”, though he shared directing credit with Frank Miller and had Tarantino do a short segment. I forget which one, but it’s in the Clive Owen substory. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863/20 "2014-01-27T20:16:02Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Tarantino’s problem here is that he said what he actually thought, that he was completely honest about why he was doing something and his reasons for doing so. Another director would have said nothing, or got his PR people to spin out some meaningless drivel about changing projects for creative reasons. > > If Tarantino hadn’t been quoted as saying what he was really thinking, if he had just said nothing, then people on a message board probably wouldn’t be calling him a jerk right now. Personally then, I would rather he continues to be a jerk. I agree. I don’t even realize why this makes him a jerk? It’s his creative work, and he can do what he wants with it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-happened-to-quentin-tarantino-has-he-always-been-a-jerk/679863.md?page=2)