Quentin Tarantino Tells Critics of Bruce Lee-Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Scene to ‘Suck a D—‘on June 30, 2021 at 5:12 pm
The director says Lee’s daughter is the only one who can complain … before clarifying how he wished he “had done more” about Harvey Weinstein.
Quentin Tarantino addressed a pair of recent controversies in an interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast this week, opening up about some of the criticism he’s received for his portrayal of Bruce Lee in “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,” as well as what he really meant when he told the press in 2017 he wished he “had done more” about Harvey Weinstein before charges of sexual abuse came to light.
Tarantino came under fire by Lee’s own family for how he came across in the Oscar-winning film. Lee’s daughter Shannon felt the film made him look like an “arrogant asshole who was full of hot air” and said the depiction was “irresponsible.” Many also felt it was unrealistic to have Brad Pitt’s character beat him in combat.
“Where I am coming from is, I can understand his daughter having a problem with it. It’s her f—ing father. I get that,” Tarantino told Rogan as they discussed the backlash. “But anybody else, oh suck a d—!”
Tarantino went on to say that “stuntmen hated Bruce on ‘Green Hornet,'” citing Matthew Polly’s biography “Bruce Lee: A Life.” He added, “Bruce had no respect for American stuntmen, he was always hitting them with his feet … he had nothing but disrespect for American stuntmen. It was probably just like, ‘Oh, they’re just not good enough. They are p——. I want to make it look real!’ But stuntmen don’t like that. That’s unprofessional.”
Tarantino also defended Cliff’s win over Lee in the movie, saying Cliff only “tricked” him in a combat style in which he excelled. “If Cliff fought Bruce Lee at a Madison Square Garden martial arts tournament, he would not stand a chance,” he also admitted.
During the interview, the director’s 2017 comments that he wished he “had done more” to stop Weinstein’s behavior during their longtime filmmaking partnership also came up.
“A lot of people read a lot of what that could possibly mean,” he told Rogan. “Actually what it means is I wish I had talked to the guy. I wish I had sat him down and had the uncomfortable conversation.”
He went on to say that Weinstein wasn’t just someone who gave him money for movies, but was “kind of like a father figure” to him. “I mean, he was kind of a f—ed up father figure, but that’s most people’s f—ing fathers,” he added.
“I didn’t know about any rapes or anything like that, but I knew he was … I chalked it up to the boss chasing the secretary around the desk. As if that’s okay, but that’s how I kind of looked at it,” he continued. “He was making unwanted advances. That’s how I looked at it. I wish I had talked to him. I wish I had sat him down and gone, ‘Harvey you can’t do this. You’re gonna f— up everything.'”
Tarantino added that everyone in Weinstein’s “orbit” knew something was going on with him — saying that even if they “didn’t know anything about rapes,” they “had heard things.”
Listen to the full interview here.
The director says Lee’s daughter is the only one who can complain … before clarifying how he wished he “had done more” about Harvey Weinstein.
Quentin Tarantino addressed a pair of recent controversies in an interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast this week, opening up about some of the criticism he’s received for his portrayal of Bruce Lee in “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,” as well as what he really meant when he told the press in 2017 he wished he “had done more” about Harvey Weinstein before charges of sexual abuse came to light.
Tarantino came under fire by Lee’s own family for how he came across in the Oscar-winning film. Lee’s daughter Shannon felt the film made him look like an “arrogant asshole who was full of hot air” and said the depiction was “irresponsible.” Many also felt it was unrealistic to have Brad Pitt’s character beat him in combat.
“Where I am coming from is, I can understand his daughter having a problem with it. It’s her f—ing father. I get that,” Tarantino told Rogan as they discussed the backlash. “But anybody else, oh suck a d—!”
Tarantino went on to say that “stuntmen hated Bruce on ‘Green Hornet,'” citing Matthew Polly’s biography “Bruce Lee: A Life.” He added, “Bruce had no respect for American stuntmen, he was always hitting them with his feet … he had nothing but disrespect for American stuntmen. It was probably just like, ‘Oh, they’re just not good enough. They are p——. I want to make it look real!’ But stuntmen don’t like that. That’s unprofessional.”
Tarantino also defended Cliff’s win over Lee in the movie, saying Cliff only “tricked” him in a combat style in which he excelled. “If Cliff fought Bruce Lee at a Madison Square Garden martial arts tournament, he would not stand a chance,” he also admitted.
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During the interview, the director’s 2017 comments that he wished he “had done more” to stop Weinstein’s behavior during their longtime filmmaking partnership also came up.
“A lot of people read a lot of what that could possibly mean,” he told Rogan. “Actually what it means is I wish I had talked to the guy. I wish I had sat him down and had the uncomfortable conversation.”
He went on to say that Weinstein wasn’t just someone who gave him money for movies, but was “kind of like a father figure” to him. “I mean, he was kind of a f—ed up father figure, but that’s most people’s f—ing fathers,” he added.
“I didn’t know about any rapes or anything like that, but I knew he was … I chalked it up to the boss chasing the secretary around the desk. As if that’s okay, but that’s how I kind of looked at it,” he continued. “He was making unwanted advances. That’s how I looked at it. I wish I had talked to him. I wish I had sat him down and gone, ‘Harvey you can’t do this. You’re gonna f— up everything.'”
Tarantino added that everyone in Weinstein’s “orbit” knew something was going on with him — saying that even if they “didn’t know anything about rapes,” they “had heard things.”
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