Quentin Tarantino.
Does he have dementia? Suffer from verbal diarrhea?
Is he on the spectrum?
The director of “Pulp Fiction” broke the golden rule on Bret Easton Ellis’s podcast this week. He dissed popular and talented actors in a vicious way.
Tarantino said of beloved actor Paul Dano starring with Daniel Day Lewis in the acclaimed movie “There Will Be Blood”:
“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander. But it’s also drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander,” Tarantino said. “[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. [Daniel] is eating him [alive]. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn’t need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn’t need anything. It’s supposed to be a two-hander and it’s not! … you put him with the the weakest fucking actor in SAG? The limpest dick in the world?”
WTF? Dano does a remarkable job in that movie, as he does in everything in which he’s featured. He’s one of our top talents of this generation.
Tarantino continued: “I am not saying he is giving a terrible performance, I am saying he’s giving a non-entity performance… I don’t care for him.”
This from the man who made the absolutely dreadful film, “The Hateful Eight,” two and a half hours of torture other than Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Tarantino also insulted Owen Wilson, star of Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris.” Although he said Woody’s film was his 10th favorite of this century, he had to add: “Oddly enough, I really can’t stand Owen Wilson. I mean, I can’t stand him. And I spent the first time watching the movie loving it and hating him. The second time I watched the movie, I was like ‘Okay, don’t be such a prick. He’s not so bad. He’s not so bad.’ And then the third time I watched it I found myself watching him.”
Is Tarantino suffering from dementia? He also insulted Matthew Lillard, who did such great work in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.”
What Tarantino has done here is break the unwritten rule of not dissing working actors. It’s petty and mean spirited and designed only to be hurtful. He’s crossed a line and should make amends immediately. Maybe he can send these three guys Tom Cruise’s coconut cake for working Thetans.
As for Dano, he deserved an Oscar nom for “There Will Be Blood.” He’s been amazing in everything including “Love and Mercy,” “Dumb Money,” “The Fabelmans,” “Escape at Dannemora,” and so many others.
Tarantino is getting a major time out. Sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done.
