Quentin Tarantino has found a new way to say he is not impressed with modern Hollywood.
The Pulp Fiction and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood filmmaker wrote in Sight and Sound that the post-pandemic movie landscape has become so disappointing that he now finds himself picking apart most new films almost immediately. The Guardian reported that Tarantino called the industry a “flavourless sausage factory” and said the current idea of what counts as a movie now inspires “contempt” in him more than generosity.
The sharpest line was also the simplest: “These days I’d rather read a book.”
Quentin Tarantino slams Hollywood as a “flavorless sausage factory” where miscast actors and “audience pandering” are ruining new movies.
“Flaws, implausibilities, audience pandering, miscast performers or just plain stupid s*it usually torpedoes every new movie coming out of… pic.twitter.com/fDOkAOxtcb
— Variety (@Variety) June 3, 2026
Tarantino Said New Movies Keep Losing Him
Tarantino’s criticism was not aimed at one studio, franchise, or single release.
He wrote that since the pandemic, it has become almost impossible for a new movie to come out without him picking it apart. The problems he listed included implausible choices, audience pandering, miscast performers, and ideas he dismissed as “plain stupid.”
He also compared the current stretch of movies to the 1980s, a decade he has criticized before. This time, he said the movies of the past six years make the 1980s look much better by comparison.
The comment is classic Tarantino in tone: blunt, sweeping, and designed to start an argument. It also lands at a time when Hollywood is already dealing with franchise dependence, streaming-first releases, shorter theatrical windows, and the question of what kind of movie still feels worth leaving the house for.
He Did Name a Few Movies He Liked
Tarantino did not write off every recent film.
The Guardian reported that he singled out Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga chapters as recent movies he liked. He also spent much of his piece praising The Rip, Joe Carnahan’s Netflix crime thriller starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Tarantino described The Rip as a suspenseful cop thriller that held his attention for its full runtime. He praised Carnahan’s direction, the cast, the cinematography, and the screenplay by Carnahan and Michael McGrale.
That praise keeps the rant from being only a blanket rejection. Tarantino is saying the exceptions still exist. He just thinks they have become rare.
His Favorite Recent Example Is a Netflix Crime Movie
The Rip praise also makes the argument less predictable.
Tarantino has often spoken like a filmmaker who cares deeply about theatrical moviegoing, old genres, film history, and the ritual of watching movies as movies. Yet one of the new films he is holding up as a rare success is a Netflix crime thriller.
That makes his complaint less about format alone and more about construction. His issue is with stories that do not hold together, casting that does not convince him, and movies that feel shaped by pandering instead of strong choices.
It also gives Netflix a strange place inside the argument. Tarantino may be tired of the Hollywood “sausage factory,” but the movie that cut through for him came from a streamer.
Tarantino Is Between Film Chapters Himself
Tarantino’s own career is in an unusual pause.
His most recent feature was Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood in 2019. He later published a novel adaptation of the film in 2021.
The Guardian reported that a follow-up connected to that world is now in production with David Fincher directing. Entertainment Weekly reported that The Adventures of Cliff Booth is set for a theatrical release on Nov. 25 before moving to Netflix on Dec. 23.
Tarantino also scrapped plans for The Movie Critic, which had been expected to be his 10th and possibly final film.
His Next Major Project Is Not a Movie
For now, Tarantino’s next major stage is not a film set.
He is working on The Popinjay Cavalier, a swashbuckling play expected to open in London’s West End in 2027.
That makes the timing of his Hollywood criticism sharper. Tarantino is not promoting a new feature or trying to sell his own return to theaters. He is looking at the current movie landscape, naming only a few recent exceptions, moving into theater, and saying the art form that once mattered to him above all others now often leaves him reaching for a book.