Executives at Playboy Germany magazine are standing by a story in which composer Ennio Morricone was quoted as criticising Quentin Tarantino.
The legendary Italian composer, who won the Oscar for Best Original Music Score for his work on the American filmmaker's 2015 movie The Hateful Eight, was quoted in the December issue of the magazine as labelling his colleague a "cretin" and "absolutely chaotic".
On Sunday (11Nov18), Morricone issued a statement in which he denied ever making disparaging comments about Tarantino or giving an interview with the publication, however, on Monday, bosses from Hubert Burda Media, the publishing group that owns Playboy in Germany, rejected his allegations.
"We are surprised that composer Ennio Morricone denies giving an interview to German Playboy," a representative said. "In fact, the conversation took place on June 30, 2018, at his estate in Rome. The interview, about the concert organiser 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."
It was not shared whether or not an audio recording of the alleged interview exists.
In the original article, it was reported that Morricone spoke about how Tarantino once asked him to complete a score in just a few days and that he believed the Pulp Fiction helmer lacked originality when compared to the "Hollywood greats, such as John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder".
The 90-year-old, who has also had his music included in Tarantino's flicks Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, has refuted the remarks and alleged that the interview was fabricated.
"I have never expressed any negative statements about the Academy, Quentin, or his films - and certainly do not consider his films garbage," he said in a statement. "I consider Tarantino a great director. I am very fond of my collaboration with him and the relationship we have developed during the time we have spent together."
Morricone added that he has given his lawyer in Italy a mandate to "take civil and penal action".
