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Quentin Tarantino, cinema’s ultimate wild card, may have just pulled his strangest move yet, stepping away from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s sequel, all because of his self-imposed “10-movie rule.” That’s right, the man who gave us foot-closeups, long-winded diner banter, and more fake movie posters than we can count has decided ten and done is the magic number for his directorial career.
And now? Netflix is picking up the pieces, with none other than David Fincher set to direct the follow-up, bringing back Brad Pitt’s lovable stuntman Cliff Booth for another round of retro mayhem.
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Sure, Fincher and Pitt have a killer history (Se7en, Fight Club, Benjamin Button, hello!), but it’s still bittersweet that Tarantino, the original mastermind behind the dreamy, sun-soaked chaos of 1969 Hollywood, won’t be behind the camera. Instead, he’s just penning the script. The sequel might be in capable hands, but let’s be honest, it’s gonna feel just a little less Tarantino without him calling “Action!”
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Quentin Tarantino has always had a flair for the dramatic, and not just on-screen. The man who gave us dancing hitmen, Nazi-scalping soldiers, and revisionist Hollywood endings has also created his own real-life cinematic cliffhanger, his self-imposed “10 movies and done” rule.
For years, Tarantino has warned us that his directorial career would end after ten films, because he doesn’t want to become an old filmmaker clinging to past glory and cranking out duds. Noble? Maybe. Limiting? Definitely.
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Case in point, The Movie Critic. Originally planned as his 10th and final film, the project started as a gritty story about a film reviewer writing for a sleazy ’70s porno rag. But somewhere along the way, it evolved into something much more exciting, a continuation of Cliff Booth’s story from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. That’s right, a sequel. A rare Tarantino sequel.
But just as cameras were about to roll, Tarantino bailed. Why? Because directing a sequel as his swan song didn’t sit right. He hit the creative brakes, suddenly unsure if this was “the one” to end on. Instead of embracing the idea that maybe a few extra films wouldn’t hurt, he clung to the 10-movie legacy like it was a sacred commandment.
So now, Cliff Booth will ride again, just not under Tarantino’s direction. And honestly? That 10-movie limit might be the villain of this Hollywood tale.
If there’s one thing Quentin Tarantino loves more than feet, it’s film. Actual, celluloid film. The idea of Tarantino handing over a movie, especially a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel, to a streaming platform like Netflix? Blasphemy! If he were directing this follow-up himself, it would never land on a streamer. This is the man who refuses to shoot digitally and treats theatrical releases like sacred rituals.
Even though Netflix and Tarantino teamed up in the past to turn The Hateful Eight into a miniseries, that was repackaging, not premiere. There’s a big difference between a cinema and a couch, and for QT, only one deserves his final film. That’s why it makes perfect sense that now that he’s not directing, Netflix swooped in like a silent producer in a shadowy backlot. It’s a twist that Tarantino fans probably didn’t see coming, and definitely one Tarantino himself wouldn’t write.
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