Director of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs says he hopes when he retires he will be considered ‘one of the greatest film-makers that ever lived’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Quentin Tarantino has confirmed in the strongest terms yet that he is planning to give up directing after two more films.

“Drop the mic. Boom. Tell everybody, ‘Match that shit,’” Tarantino told the Adobe Max conference in San Diego on Thursday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The film-maker has been hinting since 2012 that he plans to end his career as a director at 10 films before moving into writing novels and making theatre.

At the conference, Tarantino was asked how he personally defined success.

“Hopefully, the way I define success when I finish my career is that I’m considered one of the greatest film-makers that ever lived,” he replied. “And going further, a great artist, not just film-maker.”

The Hateful Eight, which was released in January, marks his eighth in the director’s chair. Tarantino considers Kill Bill to be one film, although it was split into two parts for cinematic release. He has also hinted in the past that a third instalment may be on the cards.

Tarantino is also not counting his first project, an amateur film called My Best Friend’s Birthday which was never released and half of which has since been lost, towards the total.

Tarantino burst into the public consciousness in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs, a heist movie that shocked audiences and critics with its graphic violence.

His first of his two Oscars – both for screenwriting – came two years later with Pulp Fiction, for which he assembled a cast of established Hollywood stars. The film is now regarded as one of the most influential movies of the era, although many were still shocked at the level of violence.

His next films, Jackie Brown and Kill Bill, helped cement Tarantino’s reputation for violence and a love of homage, and were followed by Death Proof (part of an exploitation horror double feature called Grindhouse with Robert Rodriguez) and genre-bending war film Inglourious Basterds.

His seventh feature film – 2012’s Django Unchained – proved to be his biggest box office hit, taking $425m worldwide and bringing him his second Oscar.

Tarantino originally made his name as as a successful scriptwriter, with credits on films such as True Romance, Natural Born Killers and From Dusk Till Dawn.

Tarantino has offered a few clues about the form his ninth and penultimate film could take.

“I do have an idea for an Australian film that would take place in the 30s,” he told the film site So, Is It Any Good? in January. “It would be a Bonnie and Clyde-ish sort of story set with a couple of outlaws in Australia. We’ll see whatever happens.”