Quentin Tarantino Retires? Director Hints At Leaving Film

Quentin Tarantino is finally hitting mainstream success with 2009s Inglourious Basterds and the upcoming Django Unchained, but is that a message to the cult director to retire?

In an interview promoting his latest, Tarantino hinted that he may consider retiring after his next three films. Speaking to Playboy Magazine, the acclaimed director said that he doesn’t want to be an “old-man film-maker,” and suggested that after he hits his tenth film, it may be time to hang up his spurs.

“You stop when you stop, but in a fanciful world, 10 movies in my filmography would be nice. I’ve made seven … if I stop at 10, that would be OK as an artistic statement.”

Tarantino is also thinking about directorial burnout and what his legacy as a film-maker will be.

“I just don’t want to be an old-man filmmaker … Directors don’t get better as they get older. Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end. I am all about my filmography, and one bad film f**** up three good ones.”

In the same interview, Tarantino talked a bit about the casting process for Django Unchained, and how he thought of casting a number of actors for the main role before settling on Jamie Foxx. Among those considered for the lead were Idris Elba, Chris Tucker, Terrence Howard, and Tyrese Gibson.

He had originally written the role with Will Smith in mind, and joked that he planned to have the fore-runners compete for the role.

“I was going to put them through the paces, make them go off against one another and kind of put up an obstacle course,” he said. But it became apparent that Foxx was the right choice. “He’s from Texas; he understands what it’s like to be thought of as an ‘other.'”

The good news? Three more Tarantino movies guaranteed. The bad? He might retire after that.

What do you think? Should Quentin Tarantino retire after he makes 10 films?