Summary
- Tarantino accused Disney of "extortion" in a heated rant on The Howard Stern Show, claiming they prevented his film from playing at a prestigious theater.
- Howard Stern pleaded with Disney CEO Bob Iger to show "graciousness" and allow Tarantino's film to be screened, despite their differences.
- Tarantino vowed to never work with Disney again and expressed resentment towards their focus on blockbuster superhero movies.
In December 2015, Quentin Tarantino went on The Howard Stern Show to promote his then-new film The Hateful Eight. It started with a nice discussion about the writing process of the director who's worth $120 million. But then he went on an explosive rant about Disney's alleged "extortion" of blockbuster franchises like Star Wars or the MCU.
Tarantino is known for fiery interviews which he'd walk out of sometimes. But this time, the host let him express his anger at the multi-billion studio. Stern even pleaded to its CEO. Nearly a decade later, fans still believe that Disney isn't fair with non-superhero movies. Here's what really happened back there.
Howard Stern Noticed Quentin Tarantino Was "Nervous" While Calling Out Disney On "Extortion"
Tarantino has a track record of calling out his peers like Wes Craven. But Stern noticed the filmmaker was "nervous" before revealing why he was "pissed off" at Disney. "I just learned something the other day. It was real bad news and it really f---ing pissed me off. And I think I want to voice it right now," the Pulp Fiction creator said at that time.
"We were going to play at the Cinerama Dome on the 25th (December 2015). We were going to play there exclusively for three weeks," he explained. "And Star Wars was going to play the two weeks before us... Disney, who owns Star Wars decided, 'Well, you know what, maybe we want to play throughout the entire Holiday season. So we're going to the Cinerama Dome and say they can't honor their contract.'"
Tarantino was furious about the decision as he'd "imagined" screening The Hateful Eight in the "big deal" Cinerama Dome which he'd always worshiped, growing up in Los Angeles. But The Force truly Awakens. The writer recalled Disney being all like, "If you honor your deal with The Hateful Eight, we will not allow you to have Star Wars, the biggest movie in the world, we will not allow you to show it at any of your ArcLight movie theaters."
After spilling the tea, Tarantino — seemingly calmed by Stern — claimed: "They are going out of their way to f--k me. As far as I'm concerned, let all the entertainment reporters call up Disney, as of now, and ask for their comments about their extortionist practices."
The Hateful Eight grossed $156 million worldwide while Star Wars: The Force Awakens made $2.07 billion.
Howard Stern Asked Disney CEO To Be "Gracious" With Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight'
Howard Stern at The Friars Club Roast Of Quentin Tarantino
After Tarantino's rant, Stern made a plea to Disney CEO Bob Iger, whom he'd met at parties before. "Listen Bob, I don't give a s--t about this theater," said the host. "Quentin's a weirdo. Sorry, Quentin. The f---ing kid, they got the stupid 70 millimeter, all that s--t thathe cares about. He just wants to show his goddamn movie there."
Stern added: "You're sitting on top of the world. You got Star Wars... Do me a favor Bobby, for me. And you know we've had many private conversations. I f---ing partied with this guy over Jimmy Kimmel's. Bobby, be a gracious man. I want Quentin to show this new movie. He's worked his a-- off, he wants the equipment. Hateful Eight. Would you do it for me? It's Christmas, [for] Christ's sake."
Speaking of Tarantino's hard work, here are his movies ranked according to box office earnings:
| #10 | Reservoir Dogs (1992) | $2.99 million |
| #9 | Death Proof (2007) | $50 million |
| #8 | Jackie Brown (1997) | $75 million |
| #7 | The Hateful Eight (2015) | $152 million |
| #6 | Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) | $154 million |
| #5 | Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) | $176 million |
| #4 | Pulp Fiction (1994) | $213 million |
| #3 | Inglourious Basterds (2009) | $317 million |
| #2 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) | $377 million |
| #1 | Django Unchained (2012) | $450 million |
Quentin Tarantino Vowed Never To Work With Disney After 'The Hateful Eight' Premiered At Cinerama Dome
The Hateful Eight eventually premiered at Cinerama Dome. But Tarantino's dispute with Disney left a permanent mark on him. Back then, he told NY Daily News: "I would never work with them in any way, shape or form after what they did to me." He went on to claim that "they f---ed me over and I made them a lot of money for Pulp Fiction, and that really is a bad way to treat a former employee who has worked very well for them."
His rant on The Howard Stern Show resurfaced in 2022. At that time, fans noticed that Doctor Strange 2 had 70 screenings in a single day at the AMC Theater in Times Square. Tarantino also stated there was a "war" between his films and Disney's blockbusters in 2020. He obviously still resents these superhero flicks. Speaking to Stern about Disney favoring these projects, he said: "It's vindictive, it's mean and it's extortion."
Quentin Tarantino has won two Oscars for Best Original Screenplay for his work on Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained.
