UPDATE: After originally standing by its article, Playboy has now released a statement confirming that Ennio Morricone did not criticise Quentin Tarantino, and that: “based on the information now at our disposal, we must unfortunately assume that the words spoken in the interview have, in part, been reproduced incorrectly. We would like to express our regret should Mr Morricone have been portrayed in a false light. We are working to clarify this matter and are exploring legal measures.”
Original story follows…
Last week a Playboy Germany article appeared online, which featured comments from legendary composer Ennio Morricone, where he reportedly trash-talked Quentin Tarantino, calling the filmmaker a “cretin [who] only steals from others and puts that stuff together in a new way. None of that is original. He is not a director. Meaning you can’t compare him to Hollywood greats like John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder. Those were great. Tarantino only recycles old stuff.”
In response to the interview, Morricone – who won an Oscar for composing the score to Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight – then released a statement, claiming that his comments were fabricated and that he will be taking legal action against the outlet:
“It has come to my attention that Playboy Germany has come out with an article in which I have called Tarantino a cretin and consider his films garbage. This is totally false. I have not given an interview to Playboy Germany and even more, I have never called Tarantino a cretin and certainly do not consider his films garbage. I have given a mandate to my lawyer in Italy to take civil and penal action.
“I consider Tarantino a great director. I am very fond of my collaboration with him and the relationship we have developed during the time we have spent together. He is courageous and has an enormous personality. I credit Tarantino for being one of the people responsible for getting me an Oscar, which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgements of my career, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to compose music for his film.”
Hubert Burda Media, the publishing group who owns Playboy Germany, has now issued its own statement, rejecting Morricone’s rebuttal:
“We are surprised that composer Ennio Morricone denies giving an interview to German Playboy. In fact, the conversation took place on June 30th 2018 at his estate in Rome. The interview, about the concert organizer Semmel Concerts, which was also present at the interview, had been agreed to with German Playboy. We also cannot understand that parts of the published statements were apparently not found to have been accurate.”
Originally published November 12, 2018. Updated November 13, 2018.
