What Do You Mean, You're Retiring?

It's inevitable that our favorite directors get older, and many of them lose the verve and the creativity that they had in their younger years. However, I think there's this enduring romantic ideal of the auteur who refuses to quit. Think of John Huston directing "The Dead" from his oxygen tent, or Akira Kurosawa gradually losing his sight during the epic production of "Ran." Maybe that's why it's such a shock to hear about major directors like Quentin Tarantino announcing their intent to retire when their careers are still going strong and they're far from old and gray. Tarantino wants to stop after his tenth film. Steven Soderbergh suggested that he was going to bow out after his upcoming Liberace biopic, but later amended his comments to clarify he just wanted to take a break. Kevin Smith has more or less quit directing movies already, turning his attention to television projects and podcasts.

Directors quitting the movies is not unheard of, for a variety of reasons, though most don't go out when they're still on top. John Hughes famously left Hollywood to raise a family in relative obscurity, after his career waned in the 90s. George Lucas has expressed interest in returning to experimental films, now that he's sold Lucasfilm. Quentin Tarantino is fairly unique in predicting that his work would irrevocably decline after he makes his tenth feature. In a Larry King interview, Kevin Smith maintained that he always thought of directing like any other career, and "You do anything for almost twenty years [and then] it's time to move on to something else." Others have left over the years to write, to produce, and even to act. Some jump tracks and work in the theater or in television. Some will return to directing films after a break, but others never do. And then you have directors like Studio Ghibli's beloved Hayao Miyazaki who keep saying they'll quit, but never quite make it out the door for good.

Tarantino's comments in particular strike a nerve, because there are plenty of older directors who flourish in their later years. Woody Allen's hits don't land as often anymore, at the age of 76, but "Midnight in Paris" was worth waiting for. Martin Scorsese, at 70, continues to surprise with diverse offerings like "Hugo" and "Shutter Island." And the day that Steven Spielberg, now 65, stops making movies is a day I will mourn for the rest of my moviegoing life. Quentin Tarantino is currently 49, and if he keeps making movies at the same rate he has been so far, that would mean he'd retire some time in his late fifties. It's a frustrating prospect because directors of Tarantino's caliber and appeal are rare. There are not many guys with the artistic freedom to produce a controversial script like "Django Unchained" and get it made on the merits of their name alone. In a move landscape awash with franchises and brand names, the prospect of losing a voice like Tarantino's is a grim one.

There is something to be said for leaving them wanting more, and avoiding the downward spiral that has claimed some of Hollywood's greatest talents. While I don't agree with Tarantino that getting older necessarily means losing your edge, it happens enough that I understand the concern. Also, Tarantino is best known for violent, visceral films that push the envelope, with the exception of "Jackie Brown" perhaps, and those are the kinds of films it's harder for an older director to make an impact with. If he made domestic dramas like Ozu or historical epics like Spielberg, maybe he would think differently. Then again, many of Tarantino's professed idols, including Jean-Luc Godard and Roger Corman, are still going strong.

In a way, Kevin Smith's retirement bothers me more, because I'm not sure he ever hit his peak. It's an unpopular opinion, but I really enjoyed Kevin Smith's "Red State" and thought it had a great visual sense and showed a lot of potential that I hadn't seen from Smith before. His Askewniverse series was pretty much played out, and the raunchy comedies that followed were unsuccessful, but "Red State" suggested he could go off in another direction if he wanted. As much as I enjoy the "Fatman on Batman" podcast, I would much rather see him behind the camera again. Like Quentin Tarantino, he has a unique take on the world that I'm going to miss.

Oh well. If Smith and Tarantino are done with the movies, ultimately that’s their decision, and I can only hope that their creativity resurfaces in other forms in the years to come. And I’d hate to think of them continuing to soldier on if their hearts weren’t really in it anymore, and the kind of movies that would result from that. Both have already been tremendously successful and can leave Hollywood with few regrets.

But if they ever change their minds, in Hollywood it’s never too late for a comeback.
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