Quentin Tarantino says he won't be intimidated by police boycotts of his film

Quentin Tarantino says he won't be intimidated by police groups calling for a boycott of his upcoming film after he spoke against police brutality.

In his first comments about the controversy, Tarantino told The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that the law enforcement groups that have criticized him are trying to intimidate and discredit him.

"Instead of dealing with the problem of police brutality in this country, better they single me out," Tarantino told the Times.

• Quentin Tarantino, condemned by police, gets support from protesters
• Tarantino joins police brutality protest in New York

Tarantino signalled that he isn't backing down from comments he made last month at a Brooklyn rally against police brutality where he said he was "on the side of the murdered."

"I'm not being intimidated," he told the L.A. Times. "Frankly, it feels lousy to have a bunch of police mouthpieces call me a cop hater. I'm not a cop hater. That is a misrepresentation. That is slanderous. That is not how I feel."

The director added Tuesday that "all cops are not murderers."

"I never said that. I never even implied that," he told the Times.

Several police unions from around the U.S., including the Los Angeles Police Protection League and New York City's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, have called for a boycott of Tarantino's new film, The Hateful Eight.

In a statement, the Weinstein Co. said Tarantino "should be allowed to speak for himself."