Quentin Tarantino has offered a sarcastic “congratulations” to Rosanna Arquette after she made headlines for calling the filmmaker’s use of the N-word in his work “racist and creepy.”
As you may recall, Arquette, who appeared in Tarantino’s 1994 hit Pulp Fiction, acknowledged the Palme d'Or winner as “iconic” and “a great film on many levels” in a recent Sunday Times interview. However, she took issue with the filmmaker’s use of the N-word in his work, arguing “it’s not art.”
Fast forward a few days, and Tarantino, soon to stage his debut play in London, has responded. In a statement, per a report from Variety, the two-time Oscar winner suggested that Arquette had disrespected him and his work sheerly in the hopes of garnering publicity.
“I hope the publicity you’re getting from 132 different media outlets writing your name and printing your picture was worth disrespecting me and a film I remember quite clearly you were thrilled to be a part of?” Tarantino said. “Do you feel this way now? Very possibly. But after I gave you a job, and you took the money, to trash it for what I suspect is very cynical reasons, shows a decided lack of class, no less honor.”
As Tarantino sees it, artists who’ve worked together should maintain a shared spirit and collective morale, something he seems to believe has been broken by Arquette’s remarks.
“But it would appear the objective was accomplished,” Tarantino said, closing his statement with a surely sarcastic offer of “congratulations” for the Golden Globe-nominated actress.
For some time now, talk has persisted about a presumed final film from Tarantino, whose most recent title, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is getting a David Fincher-directed sequel later this year. Current plans for such a project, however, remain unclear.