Watch Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson Shoot the Bull for 40 Minutes

Along with Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson probably rank as the most popularly beloved American filmmakers currently working. They’re among a small faction of directors with enough public clout that their name alone can sell a film to audiences beyond cinephiles. Hugo was a delightful tale about plucky children and the wonder of silent cinema, but America pricked up its ears and took notice because it was also une film de Scorsese. When Quentin Tarantino prepares to unveil a new feature, as he did quite recently with his take-no-prisoners oater The Hateful Eight, it’s more than just a theatrical release, it’s an event. (And in this case, literally, with Tarantino commandeering America’s cineplexes for his quixotic 70mm Roadshow project.)

Interviews where celebrities grill other celebrities are usually pretty fun, the awkwardness of a formal sit-down replaced by a casual shoot-the-bull vibe. There are a few snatches of that inviting looseness in a new forty-minute clip of PTA and QT discussing The Hateful Eight, 70mm exhibition, and the current state of film that The Weinstein Company posted to YouTube on Christmas Eve. Moderated by Deadline’s awards columnist Pete Hammond, the winding conversation provides a unique insight into the minds of two unparalleled film obsessives.

As many of the commenters on YouTube have already noted with varying levels of coherence, Tarantino takes up more than his fair share of air in the room with his ceaseless gum-flapping. (Though the best comment comes from user Mariachi94: “Sweatpants? Really PTA? Couldn't put a pair of jeans on?”) But then again, the video is here to promote Tarantino's movie and was thrown together by his studio backers, so perhaps that’s understandable. But then, why bring PTA onboard at all? He can’t possibly be hard up for publicity on Junun, his recent short-form documentary that’s currently available to view nowhere after having left the arthouse streaming service Mubi. Eh, everyone needs hobbies. And as hobbies go, chatting politely with Quentin Tarantino’s a pretty cool one.