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He may have added a knock-out list of blockbuster hits to his CV during his time in the spotlight, but apparently, director Taika Waititi is ready to call it quits when it comes to his Hollywood career.
His latest project, sports-comedy Next Goal Wins is set to be released next month, and though one might expect the Oscar-winning star to be excited for the movie to hit the silver-screen, the 48-year-old director sounds rather indifferent.
In fact, Waititi has outright claimed that he 'hates working' and 'wants to retire' altogether.
Speaking to AP, the genius behind 2019 Academy Award winner Jojo Rabbit was asked how he found it filming his new movie in Hawaii.
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"To be able to swim while you’re shooting and go to the beach before work and after work when the sun is going down and you’re losing light, go home, play with the kids, have dinner," the New Zealand filmmaker admitted.
"I understand now why Adam Sandler did all those films in Hawaii."
He continued: "A lot of people like to torture themselves in filmmaking. They want to go and live in the snow and eat carcasses and live the experience. I don’t.
"I grew up super poor and I don’t want to do that again. I basically hate working and want to retire, but if I have to work, I’ll make it as pleasant as I can."
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Despite having the reputation of being quite the comedian in Hollywood circles, Waititi appeared to sound deadly serious in his shocking admission.
The director - who also has film credits in superhero hits Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder - has spent the last few months forbidden from discussing his movies, having taken part in the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
And though one might expect the movie guru to be enthralled by the prospect of teasing fans with his upcoming work, he insisted that the recent strike has been the 'best thing for me'.
"I can’t wait for the strike to be over but, selfishly, this has probably been the best thing for me, in terms of me getting to take a break," he told the publication. "I needed to be forced to stop working for a bit."
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Speaking about how he has spent the duration of the strike - which started in May and concluded in September - he spoke adoringly about a recent trip to Europe.
"Now and then I’ll think about ideas I might want to do. And then very quickly I get very tired just thinking about them and I fall asleep or find anything else in the world to do that’s not a job," he explained.
"This summer I was in Europe, enjoying the sun, back on beaches. It’s all I want to do for the rest of my life. Go to the beach.
"I grew up on beaches and then I worked for so long without getting a chance to go back to the beach until this film."
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Next Goal Wins - starring Michael Fassbender - tells the story of the infamously unskilled American Samoa soccer team, who are known for a brutal 2001 FIFA match they lost 31-0.
"This is probably what reminded me — just like Michael’s character learning there’s more to life than football — there’s more to life than film," Waititi explained.
"There’s more to life than being in the entertainment industry. You think it’s going to be so cool — what a great life it’s going to be in show business.
"Hollywood is just sad people eating lukewarm food out of cardboard boxes in offices with windows looking on other offices."
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Topics: Film and TV, Marvel, Taika Waititi