Quentin Tarantino's response to Kanye West claiming 'Django Unchained' was his idea
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday night, legendary director Quentin Tarantino responded to Kanye West's recent claims that Tarantino and Jamie Foxx stole his idea for the 2012 award-winning film Django Unchained.
In an interview with Piers Morgan earlier in the week, Ye said he pitched a similar idea to the storyline of Django Unchained to Tarantino while brainstorming the music video for his 2005 song "Gold Digger" featuring Foxx. While the actual "Gold Digger" music video that was ultimately released shares no similarities to Django, the rapper still claimed the film's plot was his idea.
And on Thursday, Tarantino stated, "There's not truth to the idea that Kanye West came up with the idea of Django. And then he told it to me and I go, 'Hey, wow, that's a really great idea, let me take Kanye's idea and make Django Unchained out of it." Okay that didn't happen."
"I'd had the idea for a while before I ever met Kanye," explained Tarantino, who went on to say West had wanted to do a "giant movie version" of his album The College Dropout, and told Tarantino he wanted to get different directors to do different tracks from the album.
"He did have an idea for a video, and I do think it was for the 'Gold Digger' video, that he would be a slave," remembered Tarantino. "And the whole thing was the slave narrative, where he's the slave, and he's singing 'Gold Digger.' And it was very funny. It was a really, really funny idea." However, being a slave in the video seemed to be the only similarity.
"It was meant to be ironic. It's like a huge musical. I mean, like, no expenses spared, alright? With him in this, like, slave rag outfit doing everything. Then that was also part of the pushback on it. But, I wish he had done it. It sounded really cool. Anyway, that's what he's referring to," concluded Tarantino.
Video Transcript
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QUENTIN TARANTINO: There's not truth to the idea that Kanye West came up with the idea of "Django" and then he told it to me and I go, hey, wow, that's a really great idea. Let me take Kanye's idea and make "Django Unchained out of it. That didn't happen.
JIMMY KIMMEL: OK.
KYLIE MAR: Quentin Tarantino appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday night where the legendary director responded to Kanye West's claims earlier this week that Tarantino and Jamie Foxx stole his idea for the 2012 award-winning film "Django Unchained."
QUENTIN TARANTINO: I'd had the idea for "Django" for a while before I ever met Kanye. He wanted to do a giant movie version of "College Dropout," the way he did the album.
KYLIE MAR: In an interview with Piers Morgan, Ye said he pitched a similar idea to the storyline of "Django Unchained" while brainstorming the music video for his 2005 song "Gold Digger" featuring Foxx. And while the actual "Gold Digger" music video bears little to no resemblance to "Django," the rapper still claimed that the film's plot was his idea.
QUENTIN TARANTINO: He did have an idea for a video, and I do think it was for the "Gold Digger" video that he would be a slave.
KYLIE MAR: According to Tarantino, he and Foxx did not steal the idea for the film from Ye. But Tarantino does have an idea of what the rapper was maybe referring to.
QUENTIN TARANTINO: And it's like a huge musical. I mean, like no expense is spared, all right, with him in this like slave rag outfit, all right, doing everything. And then that was also probably part of the pushback on it. And I wish he had done it. It sounded really cool. Anyway, that's what he's referring to.
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