In an absolutely non-stunning turn of events, German Playboy is now claiming that it maybe, possibly, sorta-kinda misquoted composer Ennio Morricone in a recently published interview. Just one day after insisting that the interview—in which Morricone allegedly referred to Quentin Tarantino as a “cretin,” among other things—was legit, the publication’s editor-in-chief has issued an apology. Regarding the freelancer in question, Florian Boitin says in a statement issued to Variety:
In the past, we have had no reason to doubt his journalistic integrity and skills. Based on the information now at our disposal, we must unfortunately assume that the words spoken in the interview have, in part, been reproduced incorrectly.
Boitin avoids giving any specific examples of the quotes that were “reproduced incorrectly,” so it’s unclear if he’s referring to the part where Morricone is said to have called the Hateful Eight filmmaker a “sub-par director,” or maybe the bit where Morricone allegedly said that Tarantino’s movies are “trash.”
On Sunday, Morricone threatened legal action and denied ever having spoken to German Playboy, which quoted the 90-year-old composer as saying that Tarantino “is not a director” and just “recycles old stuff.” It’s easy (and fun) to imagine a scenario in which journalist Marcel Anders was hoodwinked by three film students stacked on top of each other in a trench coat, Vincent Adultman-style. But he also conducted a radio interview with Morricone—during which time he definitely spoke with the iconic composer, based on the audio that aired Saturday.
Although he barely mentions Tarantino in that interview, Morricone spoke fondly of the filmmaker when he put Playboy on blast over the weekend. In that statement, Morricone called Tarantino a “great director” and said he’s “very fond” of their work together on The Hateful Eight: “I credit Tarantino for being one of the people responsible for getting me an Oscar, which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgments of my career,” he said.