Quentin Tarantino says one film’s box office performance was ‘a shock to my confidence’

Director explained how he came to make ‘Inglourious Basterds’ after film studios began sending him ideas again

Quentin Tarantino has opened up about how one of his film’s performances at the box office served as a shock to his confidence as a director.

During a press stop in Spain in support of his Cinema Speculation book tour, the 60-year-old spoke about how his 2017 film Death Proof “didn’t do well at the box office”.

Death Proof is a stuntman action-thriller starring Kurt Russell. It contains two features combined under one title.

One has Mike, a stuntman, killing women using his car; the other has a bunch of people fighting for survival against the flesh-eating zombies.

“I have been lucky enough to write stories that have connected with many people, and this has allowed me to practice my art without the restrictions that most filmmakers have,” Tarantino told Spain’s Diari ARA.

“Now, a funny thing happened: for a while I was getting a lot of project proposals, until the studios ended up assuming that I do my stories and it wasn’t worth the effort. But after Death Proof, which didn’t do well at the box office and was a bit of a shock to my confidence, I started getting proposals again.

“They must have thought, ‘Perhaps now he’s touched and his temper has gone down, now is the time,’” Tarantino added. “And there’s nothing wrong with making commissioned movies for Hollywood. They always offered me interesting projects. But I preferred to reinvest in myself and made Inglourious Basterds.”

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Tarantino’s book Cinema Speculation is part personal history, part movie criticism, and part film reporting.

According to the synopsis, “[the book] takes a look at several key 1970s movies from director Quentin Tarantino’s perspective. While he discusses each movie, he sometimes also indulges in a few what-ifs.”

Last month, it was rumoured that Tarantino is preparing to announce his final film, which will reportedly be set in the Seventies.