Quentin Tarantino, Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay for ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Django Unchained’: “This CGI bullshit is the death knell of cinema”
The director of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and ‘Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood’ lashed out at digital effects.
George Lucas, the creator of ‘Star Wars,’ has always been a champion of new technologies and innovation in film. That’s why the prequels were heavy on CGI and digital effects. However, not all filmmakers are fans of these technologies. In fact, over time, many directors have chosen to prioritize practical effects. Quentin Tarantino went even further when he declared that CGI was going to kill cinema.
It was in 2003, during one of the first screenings of ‘Kill Bill,’ that he began to form his thoughts on the matter. Tarantino sat down for a conversation with Keanu Reeves and French director Luc Besson, who had recently released ‘Dracula: A Love Tale’. Later, in an interview with Empire magazine, he shared his views on CGI.
Tarantino’s Blunt Comments on Digital Effects
Although Tarantino liked ‘The Matrix’, he did express a strong opinion on digital effects: “You know, my guys are all real. There’s no computer fucking around. I’m sick to death of all that shit. This is old school with fucking cameras. If I’d wanted all that computer game bullshit, I’d have gone home and stuck my dick in my Nintendo.”
Tarantino didn’t hold back on this issue—quite the opposite: “This CGI bullshit is the death knell of cinema. Movies are far too fucking expensive at the moment, and it’s killing the fucking art form. The way it’s going, in ten years, it will officially be killed.”
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More than two decades later, cinema is still alive and well, and good films are still being made. Technology continues to advance, and the focus has shifted from CGI to artificial intelligence and its ethical limits.
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