Credit: Natural Born Killers
The saga of Natural Born Killers continues. Lately, Quentin Tarantino has been on a criticizing spree, with superhero films notably his target for why the modern generation of films in Hollywood is evil. However, someone is now firing back at Quentin Tarantino, though the circumstances are different. In 1994, a little movie called Natural Born Killers came out, and it wasn’t exactly a critical darling. Originally titled Mickey and Mallory, Tarantino wrote the original script until he sold the rights for $10,000 because he could not make it himself. However, like every feature, the script was rewritten by Richard Rutowski, Oliver Stone, and David Veloz.
Tarantino has made it known that he wasn’t happy with his script being rewritten. The Oscar-nominated director had such a disdain for the film that he published a paperback book of the original script, which didn’t mainly make the film producers happy. However, Tarantino felt relieved that the public had seen his original intentions for the film and actively disowned the Oliver Stone movie until now. Stone has spoken about the situation in the past; however, recently on Moviemaker; Stone put the fault on Tarantino for the film’s critical failure, “All over the world – everywhere we went – the critics hurt us with him, saying we had rewritten the script. He hadn’t even seen the movie, but he was commenting on me, saying stuff about my films. It was just outrageous.”
Credit: Natural Born Killers
Tarantino has no issues speaking his mind whether he’s asked to do so or not. Tarantino wasn’t a fan of the changes made in another feature he wrote, True Romance, though he doesn’t disdain that film like Natural Born Killers because it was more in tune with his original script. It’s not known whether Tarantino’s words had an impact on the critical reception. However, it shouldn’t have because Natural Born Killers should’ve only been judged based on the film that was made, not the movie that Tarantino created. The war of words between Stone and Tarantino has been public when it comes to the 1994 film, but as time passed by, Stone has learned to ignore the comments as he doesn’t feel its necessary to trash other filmmakers:
“I don’t think it’s right in our filmmaking culture for filmmakers to trash other filmmakers. I think it’s wrong. We take so much s**t from the press, so much, especially if you’re established, that it’s, it’s mean-spirited…I never went out with a hatchet for the director because I understand the nature of the medium, which is that it is the director’s call. So, you know, these things come full circle.”
Credit: Natural Born Killers
Based on Tarantino’s recent interview, he doesn’t share the same sentiment, but it doesn’t seem personal from the Oscar winner’s perspective regarding Stone. Despite his absolute disdain for it, Tarantino has stated that he doesn’t blame Stone or the writers for changing the script. Stone is right about how other filmmakers shouldn’t trash each other’s films; If a high-caliber name like Tarantino or Stone destroys a film, it’s possible that fans would listen to these respected directors and not give the said movie a chance. Plus, filmmakers, in general, should have respect for one another. The film industry is not an accessible business, so the last thing any filmmaker needs is shots fired by one of their fellow directors. Going back to Natural Born Killers, Tarantino’s feelings regarding the film will likely never let up, but hopefully, he will finally move past this situation since it’s nearly 30 years.
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