The Pulp Fiction moviemaker is in the U.K. for the London premiere of his latest film Django Unchained on Thursday evening, and ahead of the screening he agreed to an interview with a TV crew from Channel 4 News.
Respected broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy sat down in a studio with Tarantino for the eight-minute long chat, but the conversation became heated when he asked the director why he is so adamant violence in movies is not to blame for real-life killings.
Tarantino fumed, “I’m not going to tell you why I’m so sure. Don’t ask me a question like that, I’m not biting. I refuse your question… I’m not your slave and you are not my master. You can’t make me dance to your tune. I’m not a monkey.”
As Guru-Murthy attempted to quote from a recent interview with Jamie Foxx, who takes the lead role in Django Unchained, Tarantino became visibly annoyed and cut in, saying, “Then you should talk to Jamie Foxx about that, and I think he is actually here so you can… I don’t want to (talk about it) because I am here to sell my film. This (interview) is a commercial for my movie, make no mistake… I don’t want to talk about what you want to talk about, I don’t want to talk about the implications of violence. The reason I don’t want to talk about it is because I have said everything I have to say about it… And I am shutting your butt down.”
Asked why he believes there is no correlation between movie violence and real-life massacres, Tarantino exploded, shouting: “It’s none of your damn business what I think about that… I’m saying no, and I’m shutting you down… I don’t have any responsibility to you to explain anything I don’t want to…
“I’ve explained this many times in 20 years but I just refuse to repeat myself over and over again because you want me to – for you and your show and your ratings.”
The moviemaker recently attacked critics who are blaming bloody blockbusters for the recent Newtown, Connecticut school massacre, insisting such comments are disrespectful to the victims.
Growing frustrated on the subject of violence in movies in a recent NPR interview, Tarantino raged, “I’m really annoyed. I think it’s disrespectful… to the memory… of the people who died to talk about movies. Obviously, the issue is gun control and mental health.”
Tarantino’s latest film, blood-soaked, shoot-em-up slave drama Django Unchained was released just days after the Newtown massacre, during which 20 children were killed.
