Throwing in the Towel?

Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Steven Soderbergh have all have made successful films, two of them have won Oscars for their efforts and almost all of us have paid money for their art. Yet these pioneers have each stated, in no uncertain terms that they plan on retiring from the medium once they’ve reached a personal milestone.

For Tarantino, his will be his 60th birthday. With his legacy laid out for generations to analyse, he plans on hanging up the blood-soaked towel to concentrate on writing novels and film literature. Going so far as to stress that should the continuing digitisation of the industry exceed the point where, “you can’t show 35mm films in theatres anymore and everything is digital projection; I won’t even make it to 60!”

Although Tarantino has 12 years to go till the big 6-0; recently at the Australian International Movie Convention, John Fithian (head of the US’s National Association of Theatre Owners) proclaimed that 35mm film will, “cease being released from the studios by 2013.”

Kevin Smith is more philosophical stating his twenty-year stint in the business as having created side opportunities that were once just a pipe dream for a film student from New Jersey. Having tasted success and failures in all its shapes and forms, Smith is happy to concentrate on his growing empire of television projects and Internet radio-casts. “I love film. It changes my life on a regular basis, whether it’s through the movies I make or the movies I watch. But I’ve done it for 20 years. It’s like that moment in Forrest Gump, when he’s done running,” he said.

Soderbergh is just happy to get out of the way for the next generation. “When you reach the point where you’re saying, ‘If I have to get into a van to do another scout, I’m just going to shoot myself,’ it’s time to let somebody who’s still excited about getting in the van, get in the van.” With upcoming thrillers Contagion (straight to #1 at the US box office) and Haywire on their way out this year, his Liberace biopic with Michael Douglas (as the flamboyant piano man himself), The Man from U.N.C.L.E and a male stripper flick with Channing Tatum will be his final offerings before embarking on a painting career!? He’s since proclaimed at the Venice film festival that it’s not a retirement, rather a ‘sabbatical’.
“Call it whatever you want – hiatus, sabbatical. I’m just gonna disappear for a while,” he said.
Let’s see what he says next year.

What is the catalyst for such a growing trend? Have the ’90s enfant terrible learned lessons from the New Hollywood, or is it just a stunt? The heroes of these directors such as Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen are all still active in the industry. Yet the films that made their names and cemented reputations are a world away from the films that ignite their current creative spark. Perhaps it’s the natural progression of these artists to grow and adapt. Having told stories on celluloid their entire lives, they wouldn’t know any other way. A film fanatic such as Tarantino would be especially protective of his legacy in relation to cinematic history for which he is a lifetime devotee. His films are ranked among the greats so an early retirement to preserve their integrity does make sense, as odd as it is to hear.

The good news: up-and-comers a decade from now will have less competition from the heavy-heavyweights when it’s their turn to unleash creative vision. With a batch of fresh faces joining the already established Aronofsky, Nolan and Boyle – new names and new legacies in cinema (Nicolas Winding Refn, anyone?) will no doubt keep us engaged and excited.