What Will Be Tarantino’s 10th and Final Film?

Posted on 7 juni 2025 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

It is well established that Quentin Tarantino wants to complete his career as director with a total of 10 films. With Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) as his ninth, that that leaves just one final movie to cap off an iconic career.

Tarantino has taken long breaks between projects before. After Jackie Brown (1997), he didn’t return with another feature until Kill Bill: Vol. 1 in 2003. So the current six-year gap since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t unusual, but fans are still eagerly waiting for news.

In 2023, it looked like Tarantino had settled on his swan song: The Movie Critic. The film was to center on a character inspired by a real-life reviewer for an adult magazine Tarantino encountered as a teenager while restocking porno mag vending machines. During his work, Tarantino said he came to really appreciate the writing of this film critic.

“He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic”, Tarantino said. Tarantino wanted an actor he had never worked with as the main character and Brad Pitt was said to be in talks to join the cast, though not as the title critic. The project sounded promising, but in 2024, Tarantino shelved it for artistic reasons. Just like that, The Movie Critic was off the table.

There was also buzz about Tarantino tackling a Star Trek film – an unusual move, given his preference for original stories (with Jackie Brown, adapted from Elmore Leonard, being the lone exception). But on the ReelBlend podcast, he suggested that a Star Trek film perhaps wouldn’t ‘count’ as his tenth. That project, too, now seems dead.

So what’s next? According to The Hollywood Reporter, while rewriting The Movie Critic, Tarantino toyed with an ambitious idea: a ‘farewell metaverse’ in which characters from his past films might reappear in a ‘movie within a movie’ format – either as their original characters or as fictionalized versions of the actors who played them. But for now, that’s just speculation.

In my DVD collection, I left over a single place for Tarantino’s final film. His filmography as director so far: 1. Reservoir Dogs, 2. Pulp Fiction, 3. Jackie Brown, 4. Kill Bill (counting as one film), 5. Death Proof, 6. Inglourious Basterds, 7. Django Unchained, 8. The Hateful Eight, and 9. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The only concrete Tarantino-related project currently in the pipeline is The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth, a spin-off from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In this film, Brad Pitt’s character – stuntman and all-around tough guy Cliff Booth – becomes a Hollywood studio fixer. The film is being directed by David Fincher for Netflix, marking the first time since From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) that Tarantino is writing but not directing a film.

So what about the final film? At the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Tarantino addressed this very question. “I don’t want to rush into production”, he said. “I’ve been in a hurry for the last 30 years, but not right now.” The reason? His family. “My son turns five next month, and my daughter is two and a half. The idea of taking on a huge project when my kids are so young doesn’t appeal to me.”

Tarantino added that he wants to wait until his son is at least six. “That way, he’ll know what’s going on, he’ll be there, and it’ll be a memory for the rest of his life.” That could mean production starts sometime next year, but only if inspiration strikes.

Interestingly, Tarantino revealed at Sundance that he’s currently working on a stage play. While he didn’t share any details, he hinted that if the play turns out well, it might be adapted into his final film. “If it’s a fiasco, it’s just a play. But if it succeeds, maybe it becomes the movie.”

So there you have it: while Tarantino’s tenth film remains a mystery, we know he’s not in a rush. In the meantime, The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth promises to deliver more of the filmmaker’s signature style even if he’s not in the director’s chair this time. And who knows? That stage play just might be the unexpected final chapter in a legendary career.

10 Reasons the Nineties’ Cinema Kicked Ass

Posted on 16 december 2023 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

I was a little young to realize what a terrific time for cinema the nineties were. Holy crap. Around forty percent of my favorite movies come from the nineties, including my number one of all time: GoodFellas. In this article, I will give you 10 reasons why the nineties kicked complete ass as a movie decade.

1. Tarantino’s Arrival
In 1992, a young film maverick silently arrived with Reservoir Dogs. Many viewers and critics were a little off-put by the violence and immoral characters, but yet loved the non-chronological storytelling, the brilliant dialogues and the awesome performances. The talent of this new writer/director named Quentin Tarantino was undeniable.

Two years later he blew critics and audiences away with his epic Pulp Fiction. Tarantino was for the nineties what Scorsese was for the seventies; a significant promise. And he delivered. The nineties saw him direct an excellent third movie, Jackie Brown (1997), and two of his screenplays were turned into memorable films: True Romance (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1996 he also made From Dusk Till Dawn with another promising young director from Texas. Robert Rodriguez had debuted in 1992 with the low budget miracle El Mariachi which he followed up with Desperado (1995). A duo was formed…

2. It Was a Time to Thrill
The nineties was the decade of the thriller. Especially the detective versus serial killer genre flourished with The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Se7en (1995). Of course these two spawned countless imitations, but none as good. Another excellent movie in the psychopath category is Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery in 1990. That movie’s villain Annie Wilkes (played by Kathy Bates) is probably even scarier than Hannibal Lecter, Buffalo Bill and John Doe combined.

The nineties also had more than its share in fantastic crime thrillers. Top examples include Brian de Palma’s Carlito’s Way (1993), Luc Besson’s Leon (1994), Michael Mann’s Heat (1995), Brian Singer’s The Usual Suspects (1995) and Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential (1997). Special mention in the Thriller department goes to Paul Verhoeven’s erotic contribution Basic Instinct (1992), an absolute classic in its genre.

3. Glory Days For the Coens
They already made an impression as independent filmmakers in the 1980’s. Both their debut Blood Simple and second feature Raising Arizona tasted like more. In the 1990’s they really became film-buffs’ favorites. Miller’s Crossing (1990) is a perfect take on Dashiell Hammett and possibly their finest crafted work. Later, this decade, they had a brilliant black comedy run with the unforgettable classics Fargo (1996) and The Big Lebowski (1998). These Coen Brothers are absolutely terrific.

4. History Can Be Fun
Sure, every period has produced great historical movies, but the nineties had a very impressive reaping in the War / History genre. Way above average to be sure. In 1990 a certain Kevin Costner brought the American frontier to the big screen with the Oscar-winning epic Dances With Wolves. It was a marvelous revitalization of the Western genre. World War 2 is also captured in several Oscar-winning pictures, most notably Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (the ultimate WWII film), but also in Saving Private Ryan (also by Spielberg), La Vita E Bella (by Roberto Benigni) and The Thin Red Line (by Terrence Malick).

Another great war story is spectacularly told in Braveheart (1995), the bloody epic that showed that Mel Gibson is a highly competent director. A number of excellent historical biographies also saw the light of day, most notably JFK (1991, Oliver Stone) and Ed Wood (1994, Tim Burton). And last but least, Titanic (1997, James Cameron) and Forrest Gump (1994, Robert Zemeckis) came out and successfully combined fictional stories with historic events.

5. Great Stand Alone Triumphs
While many masterpieces made in the nineties are part of a larger oeuvre or movement, there were also loads and loads of standalone triumphs. Movies that seemingly came out of nowhere and surprised friend and foe. Below, I picked one of my favorites of these surprises for each year of the nineties. Choosing just one was very difficult in some cases…

1990 Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)
1991 Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott)
1992 Hard Boiled (John Woo)
1993 Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)
1994 The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
1995 Toy Story (John Lasseter)
1996 Bound (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski)
1997 Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
1998 Festen (Thomas Vinterberg)
1999 Fight Club (David Fincher)

6. Harvest of Horror
O.k., so the eighties ruled in the Horror territory. That doesn’t mean the nineties sucked. What is so great about it then? Well, Wes Craven’s re-invention of the slasher genre with Scream (1996) and Scream 2 (1997) was a terrific postmodern treat leading to many new series, such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), and new installments of old horror series like Bride of Chucky (1998). It goes without saying that some of these were better than others.

Abel Ferrara made a significant contribution to the genre with Body Snatchers (1993), a very effective remake of the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Addiction (1995), a great original take on the vampire genre. Speaking of vampires, what to think of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola? It’s the best version since Tod Browning’s original from 1931.

The formidable Sam Raimi completed his magnificent Evil Dead trilogy with Army of Darkness, the funniest installment yet. Peter Jackson also combined humor and supreme gore in Braindead (1992) and also delivered The Frighteners (1996). Anything else? Certainly. A selection: Joe Dante’s Gremlins 2 (1990), Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder (1990), Ron Underwood’s Tremors (1990), David Fincher’s Alien 3 (1992), Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection (1997) and Taylor Hackford’s The Devil’s Advocate. Last but not least, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s The Blair Witch Project (1999) spawned a new horror genre with its handheld camera. It’s also the first movie that successfully used the internet to create a hype.

7. The Brits are Back in Town
After a period of recession, the British film industry bloomed again in the nineties. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) launched the career of Hugh Grant and was a smash hit at the box office. In 1995 James Bond returned after a long period in the pretty awesome Goldeneye. What’s really great about British cinema in the nineties is the emergence of new talent though. The trio John Hodge, Danny Boyle and Andrew MacDonald made a terrific debut with Shallow Grave (1994) and followed it up with one of the best films of the decade: Trainspotting (1996). In 1998 Guy Ritchie was another positive British surprise with the very funny and exciting Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

8. Scorsese Scores Big-time
He delivered brilliant work in the seventies (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver) and eighties (Raging Bull). In the early nineties the maestro showed that he could deliver masterpieces in every decennium. He started by breaking all cinematic conventions in GoodFellas (1990), the greatest film ever made about the real Mafia. Then he made the highly influential thriller Cape Fear (1991) and the excellent costume drama The Age of Innocence (1993) before returning to the mob genre with the superbly realized Casino (1995). He ended the decade with the underrated Bringing Out the Dead (1999).

9. Indie Cinema to the Max
Tarantino and the Coens are already honored in this overview, but there are many other great independent American directors who made their entrance in the nineties or definitely established themselves as masters. In the debut department, we saw Richard Linklater arrive with Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993) and Before Sunrise (1995). Kevin Smith also made a super impression with the low budget comedy Clerks (1994).

Other indie directors delivered some of their finest work in the nineties. For instance, Jim Jarmusch made Dead Man (1995) and Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999), David Lynch made Lost Highway (1997) and The Straight Story (1999), Steven Soderbergh made King of the Hill (1993) and Out of Sight (1998) and Todd Solondz made Happiness (1998). If we could only go back to re-experience this richness in indie cinema again. Oh boy.

10. Sci-Fi is Booming
The early nineties saw Schwarzenegger star in two of the most kick-ass Sci-Fi / Action movies of our time: Total Recall (1990) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The director of the first one, Paul Verhoeven, would write more sci-fi history in 1997 with Starship Troopers (1997). Other excellent movies in this genre that came out in the nineties are: Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future III (1990), Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993), Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys (1995), Roland Emerich’s Independence Day (1996), Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997), Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon (1997), David Cronenberg’s ExistenZ (1999) and Dean Parisot’s Galaxy Quest (1999).

The final year of the millennium also saw Star Wars return to the big screen, but Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) was not an all positive experience. It was another sci-fi film released in 1999 that formed the perfect transition into the new millennium: the cyberpunk story The Matrix by the Wachowski brothers (now sisters). An exciting (and very, very good) surprise hit and the greatest ending imaginable for a movie decade that completely rocked.

Full Tilt Boogie: The Making of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’

Posted on 23 juni 2022 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

After Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez both had personal success with Pulp Fiction and Desperado, in 1996 they announced their collaboration on a horror movie, called From Dusk Till Dawn.

Tarantino wrote the script and would play one of the lead roles and Rodriguez would direct. The horror-part was saved for the second half of the film, a strategy inspired by Stephen King, explains Tarantino. “First you let the audience get to know the characters, like them, and then you put them through hell.”

“Many horrors deliver too soon”, says Rodriguez in Full Tilt Boogie, a documentary about the movie’s production released a year after the film in 1997. “There are no clues that the vampires will show up, so the audience members – like the characters – are totally surprised. All of a sudden they’re just there.”

Full Tilt Boogie spends a lot of time interviewing the people that normally don’t get attention; the assistant directors, the personal assistants, the drivers, the best boys, the gaffers, the special effects people, the stunt guys, the caterers… Even the extras get their few minutes of fame. Like Bob Ruth who was also in Pulp Fiction (“I was the coffeeshop manager; ‘I am not a hero’”).

What’s interesting is that while for the creative team (writer, director, cinematographer) it is all about the creative process, for most of the others it is just a job. Sure, they all like movies, but they could easily switch to another industry if it would pay better. They are all mostly concerned with getting overtime paid and complaining about the food, the accommodation and millions of other things.

Still, if you are gonna work on a film then From Dusk Till Dawn is a good choice. It has hot new directors and a hot new star (George Clooney in his first big movie film role after many successful years in television) and lots of groovy special effects and stunts. There were also a lot of parties obviously.

But there were problems as well like sand storms, permits, extreme heat and the union going after the 18 million dollar independent film. Not because there were complaints from workers, but – according to the makers – because of the success of Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender. And because Rodriguez did almost everything himself. The unions weren’t used to that.

Full Tilt Boogie is ultimately a disappointing documentary, because you learn surprisingly little about the filmmakers. I would rather listen to Tarantino and Rodriguez talking for 90 minutes than watch a lot of film people that don’t have a lot to say about the beauty of the medium.

Dungeon Classics #20: From Dusk Till Dawn

Posted on 12 juni 2022 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, USA | Mexico)

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Harvey Keitel
Running Time: 108 mins.

The early nineties saw the rise of filmmakers and friends Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez (they both debuted in 1992). They collaborated a number of times, but From Dusk Till Dawn is probably the greatest success in terms of cult appeal. Tarantino wrote the script and plays one of the lead roles and Rodriquez directed and edited the movie. The result is a cult classic. The first half is like watching a Tarantino neo-western crime movie. The dialogue is pure Tarantino and thus essential stuff for the cinema obsessive. The cast is excellent with Clooney in a formidable lead role as ruthless criminal Seth Gecko. The dynamic with his crazy, rapist brother Richard (played by Tarantino) ensures many extremely funny moments. During the second half, From Dusk Till Dawn surprisingly turns into a horror movie. A vampire flick to be more precise. It surely is thrilling, though not as good as the terrific first half. But some great supporting parts (by a.o. Fred Williamson and Tom Savini) add to the bloody fun.