David Lettermansays he once fielded a phone call from an infuriatedQuentin Tarantino.
“I’m pretending that I’m stunned that this glorious movie star is dating this little ‘squirrelly guy,'” said Letterman, poking fun at Tarantino’s persona.
“Two days later, my assistant gets a call,” he continued. “She says to him, ‘Oh yes, Mr. Tarantino,’ and as all assistant do, they say, ‘May I ask what this is in regard to?’ And he said, ‘Oh, nothing, just to say hello.'”
According to Letterman, when he took the call, however, it wasn’t a casual check-in from the Oscar winner.
“He starts screaming at me: ‘I’m gonna beat you to death, I’m gonna kill you, I’m coming to New York, I’m gonna beat the crap out of you — how can you say that about me?'” said Letterman.
Tony Barson/FilmMagic; Mike Coppola/Getty
Letterman said he then put Tarantino on hold so that he could add his producer to the line to bear witness to the wild exchange.
As the writer/director, now 56 — whose latest movieOnce Upon a Time…in Hollywoodis up for 10nominationsat the2020 Academy Awardson Sunday — continued to allegedly rant, Letterman recalled him as being “full-blown, clinically goofy.”
“There’s no cooling off — it just keeps blowing up and blowing up,” Letterman remembered.
The comedian said he joked with the disgruntled director, saying that his team would fly him out ASAP to host the showdown, opting for a baseball bat rather than a fistfight.
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Quentin Tarantino.Anthony Harvey/BAFTA/Shutterstock
Years later, Tarantino was a guest on Letterman’s talk show, promoting his 2009 filmInglourious Basterds. In his dressing room minutes before the show, Letterman claims Tarantino apologized — though the host said he wasn’t sure if he provoked it himself.
“I got a lot of those calls in those days,” he said.
Representatives for Tarantino did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Desus & Mero, with hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, airs Mondays and Thursdays at 11 p.m. ET on Showtime.
source: people.com
