Quentin Tarantino Refuses to Watch Villeneuve's ‘Dune' Movies

Here’s another gem from Bret Easton Ellis’ interview with Quentin Tarantino. Ellis asks QT if he’s seen “Dune: Part Two,” and the answer has Tarantino unloading on Hollywood’s knack for continuously rehashing stories that have already been made into films and shows:

I saw [David Lynch’s] “Dune” a couple of times. I don’t need to see that story again. I don’t need to see spice worms. I don’t need to see a movie that says the word “Spice” so dramatically.

Tarantino goes on to rant about the lack of originality in TV and movies, giving as an example two critically acclaimed shows from this year for which he has zero interest in delving into:

It’s one after another of this remake, and that remake. People ask “have you seen Dune?” “Have you seen “Ripley?” “Have you seen Shogun?” And I’m like “no, no, no, no.” There’s six or seven Ripley books, if you do one again, why are you doing the same one that they’ve done twice already? I’ve seen that story twice before, and I didn’t really like it in either version, so I’m not really interested in seeing it a third time. If you did another story, that would be interesting enough to give it a shot anyway.

As for “Shōgun,” which was nominated for an inordinate amount of awards, has been a critical darling, and amassed a massive and loyal fanbase, Tarantino isn’t budging either with that one.

I saw “Shōgun” in the ‘80s. I watched all 13 hours. I’m good. I don’t need to see that story again, I don’t care how they do it. I don’t care if they take me and put me in ancient Japan in a time machine. I don’t care, I’ve seen the story.

This is the same Ellis interview where Tarantino praised Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux.” In any case, I should add from had previously been reported, that Tarantino isn’t alone in his unequivocal love for that film. Mark Romanek and Jason Blum also recently praised ‘Folie à Deux’, with Romanek adding that he knew many people in the industry who are huge fans of the film (hat tip to Tom Thomas).