Quentin Tarantino Scraps 'The Movie Critic' for a New Creative Challenge

Summary

• Quentin Tarantino scrapped The Movie Critic for being too similar to his last film
• He wants his final movie to be a new creative challenge
• He needs to explore “uncharted territory” for his last directorial effort

In a dramatic turn for his highly anticipated final film, legendary director Quentin Tarantino has officially scrapped his tenth movie, The Movie Critic, because he felt it was a retread of his previous work. He explained on a recent interview on The Church of Tarantino that as he began preparing for the film, he realized the story’s 1977 setting in Los Angeles was “too much like” his 1969-set film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and that he needed to be in “uncharted territory” for his final directorial effort.

Tarantino also candidly admitted he questioned the premise, asking, “Who wants to see a movie about a f**king movie critic?” While he believed his script succeeded at making the topic interesting, he felt his last film had to be a new creative challenge.

In a related move, the director confirmed he won’t be directing a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which he wrote and titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth. Instead, he has handed over the directing duties to David Fincher. He explained, “I wasn’t really excited about dramatizing what I wrote when I was in pre-production, partly because I’m using the skillset that I learned from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood [of] ‘How are we going to turn Los Angeles into the Hollywood of 1969 without using CGI?’ It was something we had to pull off. We had to achieve it. It wasn’t for sure that we could do it…The Movie Critic, there was nothing to figure out. I already kind of knew, more or less, how to turn L.A. into an older time. It was too much like the last one.” This decision reinforces Tarantino’s desire to push his creative boundaries for his final film. He stated that the idea of directing a sequel “unenthused” him, and he needs to “not know what I’m doing again.” The director’s comments have left his tenth and final project an open book, as fans now eagerly await a completely original story from a filmmaker who is willing to abandon a passion project to honor his artistic legacy.

Listen to his full interview below.