For Quentin Tarantino, bigger is better — at least when it comes to the big screen vs. the small screen.
The Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood director appeared on Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he said that “everyone talks about how great television is now,” admitting that “it’s pretty good,” per IndieWire.
“But it’s still television to me,” he clarified. “What’s the difference between television and a good movie? Because a lot of the TV now has the patina of a movie. They’re using cinematic language to get you caught up in it. Obviously I’m talking about good shows… shows that you’re compelled to watch.”
Citing the example of Yellowstone, Tarantino shared that he “didn’t get around to watching” the Taylor Sheridan-created series “for the first three years.”
“Then I watch the first season and I’m like, ‘Wow, this is fucking great!’” he exclaimed, explaining that he’s “always been a big Kevin Costner fan” and that “he’s fucking wonderful in this.”
He continued, “And I got really caught up in the show and everything and all of a sudden I’m having a good time. You know, I’ve got a couple of seasons I haven’t seen, so I’m watching it. And in the first season, I’m kind of talking, ‘Oh, this is like a big movie.’”
Praising the series creator as “a good writer” with “good, punchy monologues,” he said that he continued watching “three seasons” of Yellowstone and its spinoff 1883 and that he’s “compelled” while watching.
“I’m caught up in it,” he continued, but noted, “But at the end of the day, it’s all just a soap opera. They’ve introduced you to a bunch of characters, you actually kind of know all their backstories, you know everybody’s connection with everybody else, and then everything is just the compellingness of the soap opera.”
According to Tarantino, despite this phenomenon of being “caught up” in such shows, “you [won’t] remember it five years from now.”
“You’re caught up into the minutiae of it at the moment,” he added.
He argued that is not the case for a “good Western movie,” insisting that he will “remember it for the rest of [his] life.” Meanwhile, he claimed that a TV series does not have the same “payoff.”
“There’s just more interconnectional drama. And while I’m watching it, that’s good enough,” he elaborated, admitting that he remembered Danny Huston‘s villainous Dan Jenkins in the show’s first season, but could not remember the details and the villains in Seasons 2 and 3.
Reports about a new Yellowstone spinoff series starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser arrived this week, just ahead of the flagship series’ Season 5 finale, which airs on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 8/7c on Paramount Network.