So it looks like the working relationship between the legendary Ennio Morricone and recent Oscar winner Quentin Tarantino has come to an end. And, from the sounds of it, not an amicable one. Morricone recently took questions about working with Tarantino during a Q&A at LUISS University in Rome where he basically said he would never work with the director ever again.
“I wouldn’t like to work with him again, on anything. He said last year he wanted to work with me again ever since INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, but I told him I couldn’t, because he didn’t give me enough time. So he just used a song I had written previously.”
So, Morricone is upset that Tarantino used old music instead of asking him to write new music? Didn’t Morricone produce a completely new track for DJANGO UNCHAINED? The 84 year old composer complained that Tarantino “places music in his films without coherence” and “you can’t do anything with someone like that.” Forgive me if I am wrong, but isn’t the point of Tarantino’s music selections meant to be anachronistic to the film itself? I just don’t think Morricone gets what Tarantino is going for in his movies.
Quentin Tarantino has featured the works of Morricone in each of his films since KILL BILL. But, according to this Hollywood Reporter article, the rift came when he was asked to score INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. When he couldn’t, Tarantino used 8 old tracks, which were all likely in the public domain. So, is Morricone pissed that he didn’t get paid for the music? If so, that seems a petty reason for this feud.
I highly doubt this will stop Tarantino from paying homage to Morricone in future movies, but you never know. The composer did call out DJANGO UNCHAINED for being “too bloody”.