On the eve of the 70mm roadshow debut of The Hateful Eight, filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson (who was nominated for six Oscars, including the Inherent Vice, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood screenplays) had an intimate conversation on the awards contender, classic film techniques of the past and the future of film in a digital age.
The interview with Deadline in Tarantino’s private theater in his home on Saturday night sheds light on preserving the moviegoing experience in a time when films are being pirated left and right. Tarantino expressed the importance of presenting films as they are meant to be experienced and praised 70mm as “what might be film’s saving grace” over anything digital, including Imax.
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“You can’t even have an intelligent argument about it being bested by the digital stuff. There’s no intelligent argument to be had that puts digital, even the greatest Imax situation, in front of that,” said Tarantino of the 70mm format. “How that actually might be film’s saving grace. It might be film’s last stand. It might be film’s last night in the arena and actually conquer. We’ll see what the deal is.”
On Christmas Day, The Weinstein Co.’s Hateful Eight (starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and Jennifer Jason Leigh) will be presented in a 70mm format that has not been seen in theaters for more than 40 years.The film will debut exclusively in 70mm in 100 theaters before expanding nationwide on Dec. 31.
Tarantino and Anderson’s “film geek” conversation is filled with memorable moviegoing experiences including Anderson expressing that watching The Empire Strikes Back was an eye-opener to how experiencing an action-filled picture should truly look and feel. The filmmakers discussed that the 70mm format, once glorified in films of the ‘50s and ‘60s, was fitting since Hateful Eight represents the same time period.
Tarantino, who told THR that he intends to make 10 films during his career, expressed the importance of the presentation of his films with techniques such as his use of the Cinerama logo (used in older films including How the West Was Won), and the inclusion of an intermission in Hateful Eight (Tarantino was impressed with the intermission in the film 2001). The conversation pays tribute to the classic ways of filmmaking with Anderson adding that any great actor like Samuel L. Jackson is “better than any f—ing special effect.”
The Hateful Eight hits theaters on Dec. 25. Watch Tarantino and Anderson’s full interview below.
