Tarantino's dad slams filmmaker, says cops not 'murderers'
In the Zone: Tony Tarantino says son Quentin should apologize for comments, but says he’ll still see 'The Hateful Eight'
Quentin Tarantino's dad says his son was "dead wrong" when he criticized police officers at a New York City rally last Saturday.
“I love my son and have great respect for him as an artist but he is dead wrong in calling police officers, particularly in New York City where I grew up, murderers,” Tony Tarantino said in a statement released on Friday by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association Of the City of New York. “He is a passionate man and that comes out in his art but sometimes he lets his passion blind him to the facts and to reality. I believe that is what happened when he joined in those anti-cop protests."
In a Skype interview with FOX411, Tony Tarantino said his son "gets extremely emotional and involved through his passion on what he thinks is right, and in my opinion he went off totally without putting a lot of thought and consideration into what he was doing or say.”
Quentin Tarantino was speaking at a rally protesting police brutality when he said: "This is not being dealt with in any way at all. That's why we are out here. If it was being dealt with, then these murdering cops would be in jail or at least be facing charges."
"When I see murders, I do not stand by," Tarantino added. "I have to call a murder a murder, and I have to call the murderers the murderers."
Tarantino made his comments just days after a New York City police officer was killed in the line if duty.
PBA president Patrick J. Lynch said he appreciated Tony Tarantino's comments.
“We are very grateful to Tony Tarantino for having the courage to speak out and support the police. It is not easy criticizing someone you care about. But his son, Quentin Tarantino, has insulted the very people who protect his freedom of speech and who facilitate the making of his films," Lynch said. "He owes an apology to law enforcement officers across country and we will continue to encourage the boycotting of his films until he makes such an apology.”
So far unions representing police in Los Angeles and Philadelphia have joined the PBA in urging a boycott of Quentin Tarantino's films. But his father won't be joining them. “I’ll be the first in theater when ‘The Hateful 8’ opens," he said.
"The Hateful 8" premiers in December. Repeated requests for comment from Quentin Tarantino, and the Weinstein Co., which is producing the movie, have not been returned.
“I wish he would take a hard, dispassionate look at the facts before jumping to conclusions and making these kinds of hurtful mistakes that dishonor an honorable profession," Tony Tarantino said. "We have many friends and relatives who have served honorably in the NYPD and the LAPD and clearly, they risk their lives to keep the rest of us safe. Cops are not murderers, they are heroes.”
Tony Tarantino said local police officers and his involvement in the Police Athletic League helped him in his childhood.
In a 2010 interview, Quentin Tarantino said he and his father do not share any sort of relationship, and that he had never even met him.
"I have tried for years to create a personal relationship with him other than professional but you know due to circumstances that isn’t happening," Tony Tarantino said. "Unfortunately, that happens in too many families today. We just happen to be one of them."
- FOX411's Diana Falzone contributed to this report.
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.