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August 2009
INGLOURIOIS BASTERDS | An Interview with Director Quentin Tarantino

INGLOURIOIS BASTERDS
An Interview with Director Quentin Tarantino
By Wilson Morales


August 17, 2009





From 'Reservoir Dogs,' Pulp Fiction,', 'Jackie Brown,' to 'Kill Bill (Vol. 1 & Vol. 2),' and 'Death Proof,' director Quentin Tarantino continues to amazes us with such incredible films. Coming up next for him is a film that he's worked on for year until the right pieces were put together.

Starring Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender
Eli Roth, and Til Schweiger, 'Inglourious Basterds' is set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, where a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as 'The Basterds' are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

In speaking exclusive with Blackfilm.com, Tarantino talks about finally having his labor of love come to the big screen, having Pitt star in the film, and other genres he'd like to tackle.


  From what I read, this film has been a labor of love for almost 10 years for you until it comes out this week. What kept you working on it?

Quentin Tarantino: I wasn't working on it continuously for 10 years. I worked on it for two years at the beginning. This was right after 'Jackie Brown' in 1998. It just got too big. I couldn't continue the story. It might have been a twelve hour miniseries, but it wasn't a movie per se. Finally, I put it aside and I did 'Kill Bill' instead. Incredibly, that wasn't one movie either. I would take it out from time to time and go over it. In 2008 I decided to work on it some more and reworked the storyline. Back then I had come up with characters for the first two chapters of the movie. The storyline changed and it involved the Nazi propaganda movie, and the premiere for it, and that would have been what the Basterds' mission was, to blow up the Nazi premiere.

1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine is such a vibrant character and I know that you wanted to work with Brad Pitt for some time. What made you think this was the right role for him?

QT: It's hard to describe why he was right for it. I've had Aldo in my head for ten years. Aldo Raine and Shosanna Dreyfus have been living for a long time, and I never considered actors for them. I took pride in that they were just characters. Half way into writing it this last time is when I started to think about who could play it and it was a fact that me and Brad wanted to work with each other and this could be it, then it would be really groovy. Once I came up with Brad, I couldn't think of anyone else. Normally, I'm happy to have a second and a third choice. Thankfully, it all worked out, but I was a bit nervous.


Mélanie Laurent, who plays Shosanna Dreyfus, is paired with the Black French actor Jacky Ido, who plays her lover and a projectionist at Mimeux's cinema. How were Blacks seen by the Germans during that time period.

QT: There weren't many Blacks in Germany, but definitely there were Blacks in France. There was a nice population of Blacks in Paris during the 30s. In particular, there were American ex-patriots, and Black Americans had moved to France for better freedom, and there were Blacks who grew up there. Some had wondered, 'Wouldn't the Nazi do something about that?' The answer is no because Hitler's views on Blacks are very well known in Mein Kampf, yet there was nothing set aside to deal with Blacks. We're talking about Europe the way the Nazis thought about it. There wasn't a 'Black problem' the way they considered a Jewish problem, or a communist problem, or a homosexual problem. The only place you could find Blacks in Europe would be France. Here's the interesting irony. If I was a Black guy in France, I'd probably keep a low profile during the Nazi occupation. The reality is that under Nazi occupied France, the character Marcelle would have had more freedom than he would have had in downtown Dallas, or downtown New York. In France, he could walk into a restaurant, sit down, and order a meal. He could also sit at a bar with White people and order a drink.


Where did you find Christoph Waltz, who did a phenomenal job as Colonel Hans Landa?

QT: That was literally a situation where I wasn't familiar with his work. He's known for his TV work in Germany. He just came in, did an audition, picked up the script, and was reading the opening scene at the farmhouse. Halfway through, I was like, “This is my guy. This is Landa! He's off the page.”
 



 


Why should anyone see 'Inglourious Basterds?'

QT: At the end of the day, you will get an experience from watching this. There are a lot of things you can do on a given weekend or nights, and you don't have to go to the movies, and you don't have to definitely see my movie. But if you go see my movie, you will know that you saw a movie that night. You may not even like it, but you'll know you were at a movie theater watching a film.


What's next for you? Would you like to tackle a sci-fi or children's film?

QT: I'm not that interested in sci-fi per se. I don't see myself making a movie about a spaceship. I don't know what I'll do next, but I would like to do a western. I do like the idea of doing a children's film. They are a good audience. If they like the film, they will see it like 30 times. Of I ever came up with an idea that would work, I'd be happy to do it.


What about a 70s style gritty horror film?

QT: I would love to do a horror film. I sort of dipped my toe into the genre with 'Deathproof' but I did it my own way. I would be interested in doing a full out horror movie where the goal is scare the hell out of you.


With Eli Roth producing Rza's 'The Man with the Iron Fist,' will you be involved on it as well?

QT: I don't think I will be involved in an official capacity, but I'm at their beck and call for anything they need. I will be a spiritual coach and fan. It's better to keep me out of it until Rza has his first cut.


INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS OPENS ON AUGUST 21, 2009












 

 








 

 


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