Quentin Tarantino isn’t a fan of how people are receiving his adaptation of the beloved Bruce Lee. When it comes to Lee, the MMA community holds him in high regard and expects excellence.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Tarantino’s award-winning movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, won multiple academy awards. The film took home Oscar awards for best production design and best supporting actor (Brad Pitt). The film’s plot sees a stunt double and an actor navigate the quickly changing scenes of Hollywood.
One scene of the film features a fight between Pitt’s character, Cliff Booth, and Bruce Lee, who Mike Moh portrays. Throughout history, Bruce Lee has become a cultural icon synonymous with martial arts, poetry, and peaceful philosophies through martial arts. However, Tarantino’s version of Lee came across the screen as cocky, brash, and aggressive.
Tarantino on Film Critics Regarding Bruce Lee
The martial arts world wasn’t a fan of the way that Lee was portrayed in the film. But according to Tarantino, if you’re not Bruce Lee’s daughter, he doesn’t care about what critics think of his adaptation of Bruce.
“Where I am coming from is I can understand his daughter having a problem with it,” Tarantino said to Joe Rogan. “It’s her f**king father. I get that. But anybody else, oh suck a dick!”
“Bruce had no respect for American stuntmen, he was always hitting them with his feet. It’s called tagging when you hit a stuntman for real. He was always tagging them with his feet and his fist and it got to the point where they would refuse to work with Bruce. Stuntmen don’t like that. That’s unprofessional.”
It seems like Quentin isn’t losing any sleep at night over the critics of the film. Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, has yet to comment on the portrayal of her father in the film. But judging by Tarantino’s quote, it wouldn’t be shocking if she speaks up within the next few days.
