Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino recently shared his favorite 20 movies of the 21st century thus far. He discussed this list on his recent appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. The full list includes some pretty tight titles, starting with Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down at number one. Finally, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story rounds it out in twentieth place. Tarantino even selected Toy Story 3 as his #2 favorite film of the year. Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris was the tenth, taking the last slot on his list.
This was Tarantino at his most passionate, recalling the flicks that truly inspired him. He fearlessly shared his scathing critique of Paul Dano’s performance in the Oscar-winning feature film, There Will Be Blood.… I would say the biggest failure of that film is Dano’s character … it totally overshadowed what I thought was the point of the film.
Tarantino remarked, “There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being No 1 or 2 if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is [Paul Dano].” He elaborated on his criticism by saying, “I’m not saying [Dano]’s giving a terrible performance. I’m saying he’s giving a non-entity performance.” This sentiment reflects Tarantino’s belief that Dano’s portrayal lacks the substance necessary to match the strength of Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance as oilman Daniel Plainview.
As the filmmaker explored and drew out critiques of Ellis, he expressed his opinions on other actors in the theater. He expressed indifference toward Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Lillard, stating, “I don’t care for him. I don’t care for him, I don’t care for Owen Wilson, and I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
Tarantino went on to insult Dano’s performance by unfavorably comparing it to what he considered a more strong performance. He said, “Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, but it’s drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander. [Dano] is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister.”
Amidst these assessments, Tarantino shared his ideal casting choice for a potential role: Austin Butler. Funnily enough, Butler was just 16 years old when There Will Be Blood came out.
Ellis jokingly referred to Tarantino as “probably the weakest male actor in the Screen Actors Guild,” prompting a light-hearted exchange between the two about their respective views on acting and performance.