Tarantino and Eastwood met again and again in various capacities over the years. As quoted by Slashfilm, Tarantino once praised the Western star during a screening of A Fistful of Dollars in Cannes as one of the “hottest bum of his time“, to which Eastwood replied:
I know that he is a big admirer of these films [von Sergio Leone] is. You can see it in his works. But that was very nice of him.
Apparently the acquaintance of the two Hollywood legends was not limited to stage speeches and film festivals. In 2014, Eastwood revealed that he and Tarantino had considered collaborating several times over the years. But in the end it was never quite the right template. Slashfilm quotes:
Sure, if the right material comes along, [drehe ich mit ihm]. I like him very much. I’ve spoken to him off and on over the years, met him here and there, but the opportunity just didn’t arise. He never had the right material for me and I never had the right material for him. There will probably no longer be a Tarantino film with Clint Eastwood
How exactly that “real materialHowever, he doesn’t explain what it would have looked like. Eastwood might have had it under different circumstances even in Tarantino’s Western Django Unchained or Hateful Eight can see.
Anyone who continues to dream of a collaboration between the two should familiarize themselves with the sober reality of Eastwood’s age. The director and actor is now 94 years old and makes a film with Juror #2 that many fans believe will be his last. And even if it were a dream: Eastwood no longer needs a Tarantino film.