Quentin Tarantino Unphased By Boycott Plans

The Pulp Fiction director came under fire from a number of police unions and cop organisations for appearing to call officers "murderers" during an anti-police brutality rally in New York City.

The backlash has gained momentum, with more groups joining the boycott, and a further protest is planned at the premiere of his upcoming Western.

However, Tarantino is not convinced criticism from organisation leaders, such as Patrick Lynch of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA), will stop his fans from seeing the film.

"They're calling for a boycott, and maybe that boycott will happen, but maybe it won't because I actually have a whole lot of police officers who are big fans of my work," he explains during an appearance on MSNBC show All In on Wednesday (04Nov15).

"They're not going to take Patrick Lynch's word on what I said, they're going to read what I said, they'll watch this show, they'll hear what I have to say and I think they'll make up their own mind, and we'll see what happens."

Tarantino spoke to the Los Angeles Times this week (beg02Nov15) to defend his comments at the rally, insisting he did not brand all cops murderers, and has now reiterated his remarks.

"I was under the impression I was an American, and that I had First Amendment rights, and there was no problem with me going to an anti-police brutality protest and speaking my mind," he adds. "Just because I was at an anti-police brutality protest doesn't mean I'm anti-police... That's not what I said... They (police) are slandering me, I am not a cop hater.

"There were 300 people at that march. They are not dealing with the issues we were talking about, which you think they'd want to deal with... no, they want to demonise me, they want to slander me, imply I said things I didn't say... and the reason is because they want me to shut up and make sure no prominent citizens stand up for (the victims') side."

He also cited examples of cop killings, such as the cases of Walter Scott and Sam DuBose, and said, "In those cases in particular that we're talking about, I actually do believe that they were murdered... And they were deemed murder, and the only reason they were deemed murder is because the instances were caught on video, however if they not been caught on video they would not."

Tarantino also insisted the producers behind The Hateful Eight "stand behind" him and have not forced him to apologise in the run-up to the film's U.S. release on Christmas Day (25Dec15).