Quentin Tarantino Admits It’s ‘a Pain’ to Film Sex Scenes: ‘Sex Is Not Part of My Vision of Cinema’

Samantha Bergeson
Updated ·2 min read
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Quentin Tarantino is just fine with violence and drugs, but when it comes to sex onscreen, the auteur draws a line.

The “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” filmmaker revealed that he has avoided love scenes due to how “problematic” they can be, while also finding sex to not be “essential” to most plots.

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“It’s true, sex is not part of my vision of cinema,” Tarantino told Spanish magazine Diari ARA, as translated via Variety. “And the truth is that, in real life, it’s a pain to shoot sex scenes. Everyone is very tense. And if it was already a bit problematic to do it before, now it is even more so.”

Tarantino added, “If there had ever been a sex scene that was essential to the story, I would have, but so far it hasn’t been necessary.”

The “Kill Bill” director’s final film, “The Movie Critic,” is rumored to be set in 1970s Los Angeles with a female journalist at the center of the story. While no casting details for “The Movie Critic” have been announced as of print, Tarantino has additionally confirmed an upcoming limited series, believed to be set at a streaming platform.

Looking back on his career as a whole, Tarantino shared his dismay at 2007 film “Death Proof” starring Kurt Russell. The feature was released in the U.S. as half of the movie “Grindhouse,” along with Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror.” The “Grindhouse” double feature earned $25 million domestically, with “Death Proof” on its own grossing $30 million internationally.

Turns out, Tarantino isn’t necessarily box office bomb-proof.

“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 said. “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.”

The change in how Hollywood viewed him led Tarantino to continue to pursue original films.

“They must have thought, ‘Perhaps now he’s touched and his temper has gone down, now is the time,'” Tarantino said. “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.'”

“Inglourious Basterds” was released in 2009 and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. Supporting actor Christoph Waltz won the Oscar.

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