Quentin Tarantino Drops ‘The Hateful Eight’ Film After Script Leak
Quentin Tarantino felt betrayed the leak of the script for his next film, “The Hateful Eight.” The multi-award-winning Hollywood filmmaker has dropped the film project, demanding the names of those who betrayed him.
The “Reservoir Dogs” director gave a copy of his next ensemble Western project to six people, including actors Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Tim Roth, but someone from that small circle gave it to another person, possibly their agent, and the script leaked further from there.
And with people having already read the story, Tarantino decided to shelve the film project and do a book version of it instead.
“I’m very, very depressed,” Tarantino told Deadline.com. “I finished a script, a first draft, and I didn’t mean to shoot it until next winter, a year from now. I gave it to six people, and apparently it’s gotten out today.”
He learnt of the alleged betrayal when his agent began receiving phone calls from other agents hoping to pitch their clients for roles in the film.
Tarantino said that he has suspects in mind, but just isn’t sure who yet.
“I have it to three actors: Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth. The one I know didn’t do this is Tim Roth. One of the others let their agent read it, and that agent has now passed it on to everyone in Hollywood,” he continued.
He also gave it to Reggie Hudlin, one of the producers of his other film, “Django Unchained,” and Hudlin let an agent read it in his house. Although he also saw it as a betrayal, the damage wasn’t “crippling” because the agent didn’t take a copy of the script.
“I gave it to three motherf***** actors. We met in a place, and I put it in their hands. Reggie Hudlin’s agent never had a copy. It’s got to be either the agents of Dern or Madsen. Please name names.”
The film project scrapped, Tarantino is now looking to publish his script.
“I could totally change my mind; I own the f***** thing. But I can tell you, it’s not going to be the next thing I do. It’s my baby, and if the muse calls me later to do it, we’ll do it. I was thinking about the idea of maybe publishing it before I made it, but now that deal happens for sure, and I’m not doing it next.”
Tarantino’s last film, “Django Unchained,” earned him an Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for Original Screenplay.