“I’m not a monkey!”
That’s just one of the gems from Quentin Tarantino to UK journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy in an interview promoting his latest film, DJANGO UNCHAINED. The movie is set to open next week in the UK and Tarantino has been on the press circuit, which seemed to be going off without a hitch until the director squared off with Guru-Murthy, who was insistent on getting a pull-quote from Tarantino about the link between movie violence and real life violence.
“It’s none of your damn business what I think about that,” Tarantino told Guru-Murthy. The journalist continued to pursue the line of questioning, even after Tarantino flatly stated, “I’m shutting your butt down.” It’s not the first time Tarantino has gotten curt with the press, letting them know exactly where he stands. While he was intent on simply promoting his film, Guru-Murthy was intent on leading the filmmaker into sound bite territory with questions that allude to the recent tragedy in the U.S.
It’s a typical thing, really, for journalists to link current events to whatever they can and it’s evident that Guru-Murthy was looking to turn the interview into a goldmine of quotetastic Tarantino, taking him down a rabbit hole over gun violence, rather than discussing the movie they were there to discuss. I can see why Guru-Murthy pursued this line of questioning, but I can also see why Tarantino doesn’t want to get pulled into it.
He certainly doesn’t owe any kind of explanation about gun (or any) violence and movies, because there is no scientific proof that links one to the other. DJANGO UNCHAINED has already proven to be a controversial film, with everyone from peers, critics, organizations, and even fans decrying it as “too this” or “too that,” so I can see why Tarantino would be more on edge than usual.
Hit the 4 minute mark to watch the fireworks:
Quentin Tarantino‘s DJANGO UNCHAINED is now playing in theaters. Also, I have not attempted to whip, shoot, or sic dogs on anyone as a result of watching it. Nor have I attempted to buy a Little Lord Fauntleroy blue suit and wear it in public. Yet.