Quentin Tarantino talks superhero films, True Detective, casting, and more

Love him or hate him, you've got to admit that Quentin Tarantino gives good interview. Taking a break from post-production work on THE HATEFUL EIGHT, the director sat down with New York Magazine and spilled on a variety of topics including superhero films, his taste in television, and how THE HATEFUL EIGHT is like a Western RESERVOIR DOGS.

Quentin Tarantino on superhero films:

I’ve been reading comic books since I was a kid, and I’ve had my own Marvel Universe obsessions for years. So I don’t really have a problem with the whole superhero thing right now, except I wish I didn’t have to wait until my 50s for this to be the dominant genre. Back in the ’80s, when movies sucked — I saw more movies then than I’d ever seen in my life, and the Hollywood bottom-line product was the worst it had been since the ’50s — that would have been a great time.

Whether or not he feels pressure to cast big stars in his films:

No. If there’s a part that a huge star could play, and that star were interested in playing it, there would definitely be pressures to consider them. And I have no problem doing that, unless I don’t particularly like that actor. But just because somebody’s a star doesn’t necessarily mean my fans or their fans want to see us work together. There is such a thing as my kind of actor, and how well they pull off my dialogue is a very, very important part of it. This is a movie where a Brad or a Leo wouldn’t work. It needs to be an ensemble where nobody is more important than anybody else.

Tarantino wasn't a fan of HBO's True Detective:

I tried to watch the first episode of season one, and I didn’t get into it at all. I thought it was really boring. And season two looks awful. Just the trailer — all these handsome actors trying to not be handsome and walking around looking like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. It’s so serious, and they’re so tortured, trying to look miserable with their mustaches and grungy clothes. Now, the HBO show I loved was Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom. That was the only show that I literally watched three times. I would watch it at seven o’clock on Sunday, when the new one would come on. Then after it was over, I’d watch it all over again. Then I would usually end up watching it once during the week, just so I could listen to the dialogue one more time.

What made him cast Jennifer Jason Leigh in the 90's influenced HATEFUL EIGHT:

I’ve always really liked her. I thought in the back of my mind that Hateful Eight was sort of like a Western Reservoir Dogs, and I thought there was something very apropos about that for where I am in my career — there was a full-circle quality. To me, something screamed ’90s about this movie, and so I thought that this should have some of the really cool ’90s actors, but now: pretty boy Mike Madsen from the ’90s, but now. Pretty boy Tim Roth, with his blond hair, but now. And Snake Plissken [Russell], but now. So when I was looking for [the character] Daisy, I could have seen Jennifer Lawrence doing a good job with the role. I’m a very big fan of hers. I think she could end up being another little Bette Davis if she keeps on going the way she’s going.

There are definitely bigger Tarantino fans out there than me but the man is passionate about movies and you can always feel that passion come through in his interviews. Quentin Tarantino touches on many more great topics in the jammed packed interview and you should definitely take some time to read the rest of it. THE HATEFUL EIGHT will be released on December 25, 2015.