This weekend, soundtrack legend Ennio Morricone celebrated his 90th birthday, but the celebrations were marred by some supposed fake news involving the composer allegedly calling Quentin Tarantino a "cretin" who makes nothing but "trash" movies. The claims are so false in fact that Morricone is now threatening legal action over the supposed story.
Morricone's allegedly false quotes about Tarantino — which quickly spread throughout the internet this weekend — stemmed from a supposed interview with Playboy Germany. Despite Morricone not working with Tarantino since 2015's Oscar-winning The Hateful Eight, the Italian composer was quoted out of the blue as now calling the director a "cretin," who made nothing but "trash" films.
Despite it being Morricone's birthday weekend, he was quick to issue a complete denial over the quotes, going as far as saying he never even was actually interviewed by Playboy Germany.
In a statement released on Morricone's website Sunday (November 11), Morricone wrote, "This is totally false. I have not given an interview to Playboy Germany and even more, I have never called Tarantino a cretin and certainly do not consider his films garbage. I have given a mandate to my lawyer in Italy to take civil and penal action."
This also isn't the first time supposedly false quotes from Morricone surfaced on the internet about Tarantino. A similar incident occurred into 2013, and at that time, the composer was once again forced to issue a statement to clarify he has nothing but respect for Tarantino.
"I am very fond of my collaboration with him and the relationship we have developed during the time we have spent together," Morricone continued in his statement about this latest incident. "He is courageous and has an enormous personality. I credit our collaboration responsible for getting me an Oscar, which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgments of my career, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to compose music for his film."
You can read Morricone's statement in full here.
As of press time, Playboy Germany has not addressed the growing scandal and Morricone's threats of legal action.
UPDATE (11/12, 4:20 EST): Playboy Germany has now issued a statement defending its story, saying that the comments were made by Morricone in an interview at the end of June. As Variety reports, the publication has stated the following: "We are surprised that composer Ennio Morricone denies giving an interview to German Playboy. In fact, the conversation took place on June 30, 2018, at his estate in Rome. The interview, about the concert organizer Semmel Concerts, which was also present at the interview, had been agreed to with German Playboy. We also cannot understand that parts of the published statements were apparently not found to have been accurate."
UPDATE (11/13, 1 p.m. EST): Now Playboy Germany is now going back on its previous statement, with editor-in-chief Florian Boitin admitting the publication misquoted Morricone. The editor's statement — which calls out the writer of the piece, Marcel Anders — reads as follows: "Up to now, we have considered the freelancer who conducted the Ennio Morricone interview on our behalf to be a renowned print and radio journalist. 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. We would like to express our regret should Mr. Morricone have been portrayed in a false light. We are working to clarify this matter and are exploring legal measures."
Morricone's allegedly false quotes about Tarantino — which quickly spread throughout the internet this weekend — stemmed from a supposed interview with Playboy Germany. Despite Morricone not working with Tarantino since 2015's Oscar-winning The Hateful Eight, the Italian composer was quoted out of the blue as now calling the director a "cretin," who made nothing but "trash" films.
Despite it being Morricone's birthday weekend, he was quick to issue a complete denial over the quotes, going as far as saying he never even was actually interviewed by Playboy Germany.
In a statement released on Morricone's website Sunday (November 11), Morricone wrote, "This is totally false. I have not given an interview to Playboy Germany and even more, I have never called Tarantino a cretin and certainly do not consider his films garbage. I have given a mandate to my lawyer in Italy to take civil and penal action."
This also isn't the first time supposedly false quotes from Morricone surfaced on the internet about Tarantino. A similar incident occurred into 2013, and at that time, the composer was once again forced to issue a statement to clarify he has nothing but respect for Tarantino.
"I am very fond of my collaboration with him and the relationship we have developed during the time we have spent together," Morricone continued in his statement about this latest incident. "He is courageous and has an enormous personality. I credit our collaboration responsible for getting me an Oscar, which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgments of my career, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to compose music for his film."
You can read Morricone's statement in full here.
As of press time, Playboy Germany has not addressed the growing scandal and Morricone's threats of legal action.
UPDATE (11/12, 4:20 EST): Playboy Germany has now issued a statement defending its story, saying that the comments were made by Morricone in an interview at the end of June. As Variety reports, the publication has stated the following: "We are surprised that composer Ennio Morricone denies giving an interview to German Playboy. In fact, the conversation took place on June 30, 2018, at his estate in Rome. The interview, about the concert organizer Semmel Concerts, which was also present at the interview, had been agreed to with German Playboy. We also cannot understand that parts of the published statements were apparently not found to have been accurate."
UPDATE (11/13, 1 p.m. EST): Now Playboy Germany is now going back on its previous statement, with editor-in-chief Florian Boitin admitting the publication misquoted Morricone. The editor's statement — which calls out the writer of the piece, Marcel Anders — reads as follows: "Up to now, we have considered the freelancer who conducted the Ennio Morricone interview on our behalf to be a renowned print and radio journalist. 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. We would like to express our regret should Mr. Morricone have been portrayed in a false light. We are working to clarify this matter and are exploring legal measures."
