{"id":329897,"date":"2025-12-04T11:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/329897\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T11:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:47:10","slug":"the-batman-writer-defends-paul-dano-after-quentin-tarantino-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/329897\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Batman’ Writer Defends Paul Dano After Quentin Tarantino Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tQuentin Tarantino<\/a>\u2018s drive-by attack on Paul Dano<\/a> has sparked a spirited defense of the There Will Be Blood actor. <\/p>\n

\n\tTarantino appeared on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast earlier this week<\/a> and selected his top 20 movies of the 21st century. Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s There Will Be Blood was in the ranking, but Tarantino had one major issue with the movie: Dano.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be a two-hander, but it\u2019s also drastically obvious that it\u2019s not a two-hander. [Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister,\u201d he said of the Dano\u2019s performance alongside Daniel Day-Lewis. The Pulp Fiction director added that Dano was the \u201cweakest f***ing actor in SAG.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe unprovoked attack went viral on social media, with many of Dano\u2019s fans taking his side in the ring. This included Mattson Tomlin, who has co-written The Batman<\/a>: Part II with Matt Reeves.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI am really pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano this week. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he\u2019s an astonishing director who exudes control and tremendous empathy,\u201d Tomlin wrote on X\/Twitter.<\/p>\n

I am really pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano this week. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he’s an astonishing director who exudes control and tremendous empathy. Check out WILDLIFE if you haven’t seen it: https:\/\/t.co\/WDb34MwjcE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 mattson tomlin (@mattsontomlin) December 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tDano, of course, is no stranger to The Batman universe, having starred as The Riddler in Reeves\u2019 2022 movie. The DC Studios feature ended with Edward Nashton imprisoned, leaving the door open for his return, though nothing has been confirmed. Deadline reported on Wednesday<\/a> that Scarlett Johansson is circling a role opposite Robert Pattinson in the sequel.<\/p>\n

\n\tDillon Freasier, who played the child version of H.W. Plainview in There Will Be Blood, was also among Dano\u2019s defenders. He told TMZ: \u201cThe film is perfect. It\u2019s a work of art. And it\u2019s that way because everyone was perfectly cast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe website reported that Freasier laughed off Tarantino\u2019s suggestion that Austin Butler would have been a better actor for Dano\u2019s role, even though he would only have been 16 when the film was released in 2007. <\/p>\n

\n\tSimu Liu, star of Barbie and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, wrote on X\/Twitter: \u201cidk man i think Paul Dano is an incredible actor.\u201d<\/p>\n

idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor<\/p>\n

\u2014 Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) December 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tJamie Graham, film journalist for The Sunday Times and former editor-at-large for Total Film, summed up the views of many when he tweeted<\/a>: \u201cAlternative take [to Tarantino]: Paul Dano is f***ing brilliant in the film, and being weak and weaselly is the whole point.\u201d<\/p>\n