A commentary on Defamer’s open letter to Quentin
I just read Defamer’s “rant” about Tarantino’s “overexposure” (regarding the publicity surrounding the scarce but exciting Inglorious Bastards news), basically an op-ed/open letter piece arguing for him to “free” himself from the cradle of the Weinstein Company (let me know if I understood that article wrongly). Defamer rolls out a lavish praise of Quentin Tarantino, only to conclude with the words “Is your loyalty to the Weinsteins worth suffocating your work in the crib or pulling the rug out from under your own persona? We always knew you loved exploitation, but come on. Dump those chumps and reclaim a little pride; you deserve it. And if you determine you don’t, fine. Just quit bringing us down with you.” In response to that, I certainly have to raise the question who, if not the Weinsteins, would make sure that nobody would pull the rug from under his persona? The mutual relationship he has build up with the two brothers and their company, the success they’ve had (and the failure, admittedly, albeit a financial one), provide Quentin with something that not so many directors in the business enjoy today: working with a company and their “big shots” as partners and friends, not as client and servant. Tarantino is not a gun for hire, he is no Michael Bay or anyone of that low caliber. I don’t think any big studio would have had the balls to dish out the dough for Grindhouse, for Kill Bill, heck, even for Pulp Fiction! I am not an expert on the motion picture industry (and I doubt Defamer is either), but before I would agree with that editorial, someone would have to convince me really hard, that “dumping those chumps” would be of any interest to the two groups of people who matter for Quentin’s films: Quentin, and the audience.