After decades of Oscar-winning, genre-bending work as a writing and directing duo, Joel and Ethan Coen may be parting ways creatively. Composer Carter Burwell, who has scored nearly every Coen brothers film, suggested during a recent interview that the latter sibling may be retiring from the director’s chair.
“Ethan just didn’t want to make movies anymore,” Burwell said on the podcast Score (via Los Angeles Magazine), in reference to Joel’s upcoming solo project The Tragedy of Macbeth—the first movie written and directed by Joel, solo. “Ethan seems to be very happy doing what he’s doing, and I’m not sure what Joel will do after [Macbeth],” Burwell continued.
The composer, who has worked on Fargo and No Country for Old Men, said that the Coens have “a ton of scripts they’ve written together that are sitting on various shelves,” adding, “I hope maybe they get back to some of those because I’ve read some and they’re great. But I don’t know. We’re all at an age where we could retire, but I don’t think that’s exactly what’s going to happen. It’s a wonderfully unpredictable business.”
Following the duo’s last joint movie, 2018’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs for Netflix, Ethan expressed a desire to step back from directing. In fall 2019, he told the Los Angeles Times that he was “giving movies a rest” in order to focus on his playwriting. The brothers even spoke about retirement back in 2016, with Joel sharing that they originally intended to “quit after 10 movies” à la Quentin Tarantino. Ethan added, “It gets too alarming thinking about that—how many you’ve done. And in ways you’re not even aware if you’re repeating yourself. You think you’re like an old musician. ‘Now he’s just on the road because he doesn’t know anything else and he’s just doing an oldies show.’”
The Coen brothers have yet to publicly address rumors of a professional split. (Vanity Fair has reached out to their reps for comment.) Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington and wife Frances McDormand, opens the New York Film Festival on September 24.
— Searching for the Truth About Anthony Bourdain and Asia Argento
— How Never Have I Ever Tore Up the “Immigrant Mom” Trope
— What Black Widow’s Final Minutes Mean for the MCU’s Future
— Can Hot People in Animal Masks Find True Love on Sexy Beasts?
— The Best Shows and Movies Coming to Netflix in August
— The Poignant Story Behind Anthony Bourdain’s Favorite Song
— How Brad and Angelina Inspired Loki’s Finale
— The Ballad of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee
— From the Archive: Richard Gully, the Man Hollywood Trusted
— Sign up for the “HWD Daily” newsletter for must-read industry and awards coverage—plus a special weekly edition of Awards Insider.
