In 2012, Quentin Tarantino set out to make a film about slavery. But unlike other movies that delved into the subject, the Pulp Fiction writer and director wanted to give "Black American males a Western ... folkloric hero that could actually be empowering." This meant that there would be revenge dolled out to those who deserved it. And for anyone who has watched a Tarantino film knows, revenge is shown graphically and in a way that can make the audience uncomfortable. A fact that was no different for Django Unchained.
What Tarantino was most proud of when it came to his highest-grossing movie to date is that it sparked a conversation about slavery that had been decades in the making. Regardless of whether the film was enjoyed or despised, there were still deep conversations being had. And these discussions may not have been had, were the ideas the Reservoir Dogs writer and director had never been put to paper.
Of course, there will always be questions swirling around the amount of violence Tarantino films have. While Tarantino has discussed his stance on violence in film versus violence in real life, journalists still like to press the issue from time to time. Occasionally, the Inglorious Bastards writer and director will entertain the questions. Other times, he will not. And it is when this happens that the passionate filmmaker and writer will shut down interviewers. Much like he did for one journalist who took the questions about the subject a bit too far.
Here is why Quentin Tarantino impressed fans with the way he handled an interview going off the rails.
Quentin Tarantino Interviewed With Krishnan Guru-Murthy
The interview in question was with British journalist, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, a person who is known for digging more into stars' personal lives and wanting to take conversations in a direction than asking questions about a project to help with promotion.
And the interview with Tarantino was no different.
Guru-Murthy's questions start off innocently enough.
The questions revolved around why the choice was made to pen a script that dealt with slavery, whether there was any shock at the fact that the film was considered controversial, and reactions to both the good and bad reviews received.
All of which Tarantino was happy to answer.
The line of questioning up to this point all helped to promote Django Unchained. And because of this, Tarantino had no complaints. In fact, the interview appeared to be going quite well. That is until a question set The Hateful Eight writer and director off.
And instead of moving on when it was clear that Guru-Murthy would not get the answer he was fishing for, the journalist decided to push harder.
Quentin Disliked The Line Of Questioning About His Projects
The interview started to go off the rails when Guru-Murthy made the statement, "Let me ask you about violence."
From that point forward, there was a pushback from Tarantino who refused to answer any questions about how violence in cinema affects violence in real life.
But to his credit, Tarantino kept his composure even when being pushed.
"Why do you like making violent movies?" Guru-Murthy asks. "I don't know," Tarantino replies. "It's like asking Judd Apatow, 'Why do you like making comedies?'"
"You just get a kick out of it or you enjoy it?" Guru-Murthy follows up. "I think it's good cinema," Tarantino states. "I consider it good cinema."
Tarantino goes on to explain, "But there's brutality to the slaves. That hasn't been dealt with in America to the extent that I deal with it and I'm showing you that there was two Holocausts in America. This is one of them."
"Then there's the cathartic violence of Django paying back blood for blood," Tarantino concludes.
"And is that why you think people like watching violent movies?" Guru-Murthy asks. "People who are not violent people or twisted people in any way. But that's why it's okay to go into a movie and enjoy the violence?"
"Well, yeah," Tarantino stated. "It's a movie. It's a fantasy. It's a fantasy, not real life."
This was the line that opened the door to Guru-Murthy to ask, "But why are you so sure there's no link between enjoying movie violence and enjoying real violence?"
Once this question was asked, the interview went sideways. Tarantino continued to tell Guru-Murthy that he was not going to answer his question because he had answered it several times over the past 20 years. A fact that is not untrue.
"The bottom line is I'm not responsible for what some person does after they see a movie. I have one responsibility. My responsibility is to make characters and to be as true to them as I possibly can," Tarantino said in 1993.
In 1994, Tarantino answered how he felt about violence by saying, "If you ask me how I feel about violence in real life, well, I have a lot of feelings about it. It's one of the worst aspects of America. In movies, violence is cool. I like it."
"To say that I get a big kick out of violence in movies and can enjoy violence in movies but find it totally abhorrent in real life - I can feel totally justified and totally comfortable with that statement. I do not think that one is a contradiction of the other," Tarantino explained yet again in 1994.
There are several more instances over the years where Tarantino is hounded to answer the question about how violence in films affects violence in real life.
And with every interview, the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood writer and director becomes increasingly annoyed. Which is exactly what happened during the Django Unchained interview.
Quentin Tarantino Shut The Interview Down
Instead of yelling at Guru-Murthy, Tarantino said several times that he was not going to answer his question. He went so far as to say, "I'm shutting your butt down," during the interview, a move that fans praised the Kill Bill writer and director for.
"Hahaha good for him. These people are suffering from the delusion that if they ask a question you have to answer it," one Reddit user stated.
Another user commented, "But, I don't know how to continue the interview if you don't answer this question. The following questions all rely on you answering this question. I didn't plan for the possibility of you not answering this question. Conclusion: Just keep asking the same question over and over."
"I hope I can carry this energy into my own life. Boundaries are power," a third Reddit user stated. There were plenty more comments that commended Tarantino for the way he handled the interview.
Perhaps, Guru-Murthy thought that he would get a rise out of Tarantino and boost ratings. Instead, he came off as looking desperate for an answer that would never come and in the process, made the interview painful to watch.
