Quentin Tarantino Calls ‘Death Proof’ Bombing a ‘Shock to My Confidence,’ Says His Films Lack Sex Because It ‘Hasn’t Been Necessary’

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Quentin Tarantino has been making the international press rounds in support of his “Cinema Speculation” book tour, recently speaking to Spain’s Diari ARA about how one of his only box office bombs shook his confidence as a film director.

That bomb would be “Death Proof,” Tarantino’s 2017 stuntman action-thriller starring Kurt Russell that was released domestically as one half of the movie “Grindhouse.” The other half was Eli Roth’s “Planet Terror.” The “Grindhouse” release earned $25 million, while “Death Proof” picked up only $30 million overseas in its standalone release. “I have been lucky enough to write stories that have connected with many people, and this has allowed me to practice my art without the restrictions that most filmmakers have,” Tarantino told the publication. “Now, a funny thing happened: for a while I was getting a lot of project proposals, until the studios ended up assuming that I do my stories and it wasn’t worth the effort.

But after ‘Death Proof,’ which didn’t do well at the box office and was a bit of a shock to my confidence, I started getting proposals again.” “They must have thought, ‘Perhaps now he’s touched and his temper has gone down, now is the time,'” Tarantino added. “And there’s nothing wrong with making commissioned movies for Hollywood.

They always offered me interesting projects. But I preferred to reinvest in myself and made ‘Inglourious Basterds.'” The filmmaker admitted in a 2021 interview with Empire magazine that he over-estimated audience’s excitement for a double feature release like “Grindhouse.” “With ‘Grindhouse,’ I think me and Robert just felt that people had a little more of a concept of the history of double features and