During a recent talk show appearance, Academy Award-nominated director Quentin Tarantino called Tarantino has stated that he intends to retire following his tenth feature film.
Beginning his filmmaking career with the 1992 crime thriller Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino has quickly carved out his place in the history of modern Hollywood. Known for his distinct and unique nonlinear story structures, as well as his use of graphic violence, the director has told stories ranging from contemporary crime dramas, secretive elite assignments in World War II, tales of revenge across the Wild West, and the darker sides of 1960s Los Angeles. While the director has maintained his distinct style across his filmography, Tarantino revealed that he will retire following his tenth film in 2016 prior to the release of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, his ninth film. While he is one feature away from retirement, Tarantino is sure to remain a film connoisseur and continue to share his opinions on the movie landscape, as he did in a recent interview.
During a guest appearance on directed Kinji Fukasaku's 2001 adaptation of Battle Royale, a film that saw 42 school children left to battle to the death on a deserted island. But before Tarantino affirmed his wish he'd directed Battle Royale himself, he poked fun at how Lionsgate's The Hunger Games franchise ripped off the 2001 Japanese adaptation of Koushun Takami's novel. Read Taratino's comments, below:
"Oh wow! That's a good question, actually... It would have been great to- I'm a big fan of the Japanese movie Battle Royale, which is what Hunger Games was based on. Yeah, well, Hunger Games just ripped off, just straight up ripped it off. That would have been awesome to have directed Battle Royale."
As the director has looked back and reflected on his 30-year career, Tarantino revealed the first movie he showed his son during an interview in July 2022. The movie was Despicable Me, a surprisingly mundane choice for the eclectic director. Less surprising, though, is Tarantino's opinion on The Hunger Games. While he's certainly not the first to accuse the Jennifer Lawrence-led franchise of copying Battle Royale, it's also a comparison that largely ends with the 'children killing children' premise. Even Hungers Games author, Suzanne Collins, insists she wasn't aware of Battle Royale, and given how it's only been in recent years that foreign cinema has become more mainstream in America, her insistence is believable. Still, for a filmmaker like Tarantino who often litters his film with homages to other movies, the similarities between The Hunger Games and Battle Royale were too much to ignore. And when given a choice between the two, it's clear which he prefers.
Across his career, Tarantino has created some of the most distinct and memorable features released over almost three decades, forming his own instantly recognizable style. With the director's Eastern influences being recognizable across films like the Kill Bill duology, as well as his use of graphic violence, it is easy to picture why Tarantino would view Hunger Games as a sanitized ripoff of Battle Royale. As Tarantino prepares to release his own book discussing film theory and critique, fans of the director's filmography can look forward to more insight into Tarantino-director's own work as well as more of his unfiltered opinions on the movie-making.
Source: The Jimmy Kimmel Show
