Quentin Tarantino delays final movie to work on stage play: “Theater isn’t another mountain to climb, it’s an ocean voyage”
Quentin Tarantino, who has consistently said he plans to make only ten movies, has revealed he’s diverted his attention to a new stage play ahead of working on his last movie.
During an interview with film critic Elvis Mitchell at the The Elvis Mitchell Suite presented by Darling&Co at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27th, the Pulp Fiction director revealed that he is currently working on a stage play that will take precedence over Hollywood. In fact, he sounded ambivalent about jumping back into movies.
“When it comes to being a filmmaker,” he said, “I’ve pretty much done everything I’ve wanted to do. I’ve always equated filmmaking with climbing mountains. I’ve climbed my Everest, I’ve climbed my Mount Fuji, my Kilimanjaro. I don’t really have any more mountains to climb in that respect. I’ve planted my flags – I’m proud of my achievements.”
In contrast, he said, “Theatre isn’t a mountain to climb, it’s an ocean voyage.” Although he was tight-lipped about the details of the play, it was clear that the medium itself has a lot to do with why he’s taking the leap. “You can’t tape it,” he said. “There is no cell phone. You own the audience for the duration of the play every night. It’s a great night out. It’s worth it for them. That’s fucking exciting!”
Tarantino didn’t reveal any plot lines for the stage play or reveal a timeline of when he expects it will come to fruition.
When discussing his final film, Tarantino revealed that he’s taking things slowly for a myriad of reasons. It’s been nearly six years since he released his ninth movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the same interval as there was between 1997’s Jackie Brown and 2003’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1. The rest of his movies have only been separated by a handful of years. Based on his comments in the conversation with Mitchell, his final film will have the longest interval yet after he previously shelved plans to make The Movie Critic.
“I’m in no hurry to actually jump into production,” the director said (via Variety). “I’ve been doing that for 30 years.” Part of the reason is due to a change in his personal life. He now splits his time between the US and Israel, where his family lives. In 2020, he and his wife, Israeli singer Daniella Pick, welcomed a son, and in 2022, a daughter.
“The idea of jumping on a voyage when they’re too young to understand it is not enticing to me,” Tarantino said. “I kind of want to not do whatever movie I end up doing until my son is at least six. That way he’ll know what’s going on, he’ll be there, and it will be a memory for the rest of his life.”
He struck an even more reflective note at the end. At 61, he’s already contemplating the end. “I’m a Rockabilly,” Tarantino said. “I’m not expecting to live that much longer, I don’t want to go out when I’m decrepit. I’ve done what I’ve wanted to do and I’m not holding on.”
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