Ridley Scott is 87 years old and has achieved everything a director could achieve in Hollywood (except winning a Best Director Oscar), so he’s free to give an entertaining, unfiltered interview. In a new sit-down with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott talked about planning to direct until the day he dies (“[Clint Eastwood is] f—ing 94! I’m 86 now, so I’ve still got a few to go”), meeting Russell Crowe before casting him in “Gladiator” (“Russell talked about being overweight endlessly. I said, ‘I believe you’re going to be able to lose weight,’ and he did”), and people sticking to what they’re good at (“There’s nothing worse than an actor trying to be a rock star, and there’s nothing worse than a rock star trying to be an actor.”).
But his best quote is about Quentin Tarantino, who has been saying since “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” that his next film will be his last. Tarantino is only 61, and he says he’s going to retire after his tenth film, while Scott is speeding up his pace, putting out four films in the past three years, all of which were large-scale productions. Asked what he thinks about Tarantino’s vow, Scott said he doesn’t think Tarantino will quit.
“I don’t f—ing believe that bullsh–. Shut up and go make another movie,” Scott said. “Quentin wrote a few things for my brother [the late Tony Scott; Tarantino wrote the screenplay for “True Romance” and did rewrites on “Crimson Tide”]. They got along great. I’m not sure I’ve met him.”
If Tarantino is anything like Scott — someone who lives to make movies — he will not actually retire after his next film. He might not keep working into his 90s like Scott plans to, though.
Scott’s next film, “Gladiator II,” which could possibly win him that elusive Best Director Oscar (not that he needs it), opens in America on Nov. 22.
