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The director of 'Independence Day' says Quentin Tarantino's strict 'no phones' policy could cause more problems than it's worth

Roland Emmerich, Quentin Tarantino

"Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich told Insider he doesn't see the value in Quentin Tarantino's strict "no phones" policy that he enforces on set.

Back in June, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star Timothy Olyphant told Rich Eisen's radio show that the director operated a strict no cell phone policy on set, and that flouting the rule could get you fired by Tarantino.

"Quentin's got no cell phones allowed on set," Olyphant said.

"None. You're fired. Cell phone out? Done. No warning, nothing, you're going home," he said at the time.

In a junket in London ahead of the release of his new World War II film "Midway," Emmerich told Insider that he would never enforce such a policy on one of his sets.

Director Roland Emmerich behind the scenes on the set of MIDWAY

"I don't care [if an actor uses their phone on set]," he said.

"Sometimes, to have some phones on set is good for the actor because they can kind of relax for a moment, read the news, see their emails and stuff."

Emmerich posited that it could even be detrimental to the process if an actor isn't allowed to have their phone on set because it means they will go back to their trailer to use it: "Then you have a problem," he said.

"I would never do something like that."

Tarantino's dislike for modern technology is well-known in the industry

once upon a time in hollywood

It's not just cell phones that Tarantino prefers to avoid.

In an August interview with BBC Radio, Brad Pitt — who also starred in Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" — revealed that the director doesn't like to communicate digitally at all.

"He doesn't email," Pitt told Radio 1's Film Critic Ali Plumb.

Pitt said if you want to contact Tarantino, you have to call him on his home phone and leave a message on his old-school answering machine.

He's also famously bemoaned the rise of Netflix, and called digital projection over traditional 35mm film "the death of cinema."

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