The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight
Teaser poster
Directed by	Quentin Tarantino
Produced by	Richard N. Gladstein Shannon McIntosh Stacey Sher
Written by	Quentin Tarantino
Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Kurt Russell Jennifer Jason Leigh Walton Goggins Tim Roth Demián Bichir Michael Madsen Bruce Dern Channing Tatum
Cinematography	Robert Richardson
Edited by	Fred Raskin
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$44 million[1]

The Hateful Eight, sometimes stylized as The H8ful Eight, is an upcoming American western film directed and written by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern. The film is set some years after the Civil War in Wyoming and it revolves around eight westerners who seek refuge in a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass during a blizzard.

The film's development was announced by Tarantino in November 2013. However, after the script was leaked in January 2014, Tarantino decided to cancel the movie and publish the script as a novel instead. After directing a live read of the leaked script at the United Artists Theater, in Los Angeles, Tarantino said that he had calmed down and was going to film The Hateful Eight. Filming officially began on January 23, 2015 in Telluride, Colorado. The film is set for a fall 2015 release by The Weinstein Company.

Cast

• Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren aka "The Bounty Hunter"
• Kurt Russell as John Ruth aka "The Hangman"
• Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue aka "The Prisoner"
• Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix aka "The Sheriff"
• Demián Bichir as Bob aka "The Mexican"
• Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray aka "The Little Man"
• Michael Madsen as Joe Gage aka "The Cow Puncher"
• Bruce Dern as Gen. Sanford Smithers aka "The Confederate"
• Channing Tatum
• James Parks as O.B. Jackson
• Dana Gourrier as Minnie
• Zoë Bell as Six-Horse Judy
• Gene Jones as Sweet Dave
• Keith Jefferson as Charly
• Lee Horsley as Ed
• Craig Stark
• Belinda Owino as Gemma

Production

Development and script leak

The Hateful Eight Live Reading at the Ace Hotel Los Angeles, as part of LACMA's Live Read series on April 19, 2014.

In November 2013, Tarantino said he was working on a new film and that it would be another Western. He stated that it would not be a sequel to Django Unchained.^[2] On January 12, 2014, it was revealed that the film would be titled The Hateful Eight. The production of the western would most likely have begun in the summer of 2014, but after the script for the film leaked in January 2014, Tarantino considered dropping the movie and publishing it as a novel instead.^[3][4] He claimed to have given the script to a few trusted colleagues, including Bruce Dern, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen.^[5][6]

On April 19, Tarantino directed a live reading of the leaked script at the United Artists Theater, in the Ace Hotel Los Angeles. The event was organized by the Film Independent at LACMA, as part of the Live Read series and introduced by Elvis Mitchell.^[7] Tarantino explained that they would read the first draft of the script, and he added that he was writing two new drafts with a different ending. The actors who joined Tarantino included Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Amber Tamblyn, James Parks, Walton Goggins, Zoë Bell, James Remar, Dana Gourrier and the first three actors to be given the script before the leak, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen.^[8]

Influences

“It’s less inspired by one Western movie than by Bonanza, The Virginian, The High Chaparral,” Tarantino said. “Twice per season, those shows would have an episode where a bunch of outlaws would take the lead characters hostage. They would come to the Ponderosa and hold everybody hostage, or go to Judge Garth’s place — Lee J. Cobb played him — in The Virginian and take hostages. There would be a guest star like David Carradine, Darren McGavin, Claude Akins, Robert Culp, Charles Bronson or James Coburn. I don’t like that storyline in a modern context, but I love it in a Western, where you would pass halfway through the show to find out if they were good or bad guys, and they all had a past that was revealed. “I thought, ‘What if I did a movie starring nothing but those characters? No heroes, no Michael Landons. Just a bunch of nefarious guys in a room, all telling backstories that may or may not be true. Trap those guys together in a room with a blizzard outside, give them guns, and see what happens.’ ”^[9]

Pre-production

On May 28, 2014, Tarantino said that he had calmed down and was going to start filming The Hateful Eight in November in Wyoming, with all the cast members from the script reading and with a possible 2015 release date.^[10][11] In the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International Tarantino finally confirmed the film, and stated that he was working on a third draft of the film.^[12] On July 30, 2014, a poster for the film was revealed.^[13] On August 14, Slash Film confirmed a teaser trailer with a duration of one minute and forty seconds to be released on August 22 along with the release of the film Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.^[14] In late August 2014, Jennifer Lawrence was in talks to join the film.^[15] On September 23, 2014, it was revealed that Viggo Mortensen was asking Tarantino for a role in the film.^[16] On October 9, Jennifer Jason Leigh was added to the cast to play Daisy Domergue.^[17] On November 5, it was announced that Channing Tatum was circling for a major role in the film.^[18] Later the same day, The Weinstein Company confirmed the cast in a press release, which would include Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Demián Bichir, Walton Goggins, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern. Tatum's casting was also confirmed.^[19] Later on January 23, 2015, TWC announced an ensemble cast of supporting members, including James Parks, Dana Gourrier, Zoë Bell, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Lee Horsley, Craig Stark and Belinda Owino.^[20]

Filming

The shooting was set to begin in early 2015 after being pushed back from November 2014.^[21] In early September, the filming was set to begin in January 2015.^[22] On September 26, 2014, the Denver Post reported that the state of Colorado had signed to fund the film's production with $5 million, so it was announced that the complete film would be shot in southwest Colorado.^[1] A 900-acre, high-mesa ranch had been issued to the production for the filming. There was a meeting on October 16, which the county's planning commission would plan to use a permit for the construction of a temporary set.^[1] Principal photography was reportedly began on December 8, 2014, in Colorado on the Schmid Ranch near Telluride,^[23][24][25] but later on January 23, 2015, The Weinstein Company officially announced that the filming had begun.^[26]

Cinematography

Cinematographer Robert Richardson, who also worked with Tarantino in Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, will film The Hateful Eight on 70mm film, using Ultra Panavision 70. It is expected to be the widest release in 70mm since Ron Howard's Far and Away in 1992.^[27] As it has been advertised, the film uses Panavision anamorphic lenses with an aspect ratio of 2.75:1, an ultra wide aspect ratio that was used on a few movies in the 1950s and 60s, such as Ben-Hur (1959), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

Release

Distribution

On September 3, 2014, The Weinstein Company acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film for a fall 2015 release.^[22] On February 9, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that TWC would sell the film worldwide but Tarantino was making deal and demanding to personally approve the global distributors for the film.^[28]

References

External links

• The Hateful Eight at the Internet Movie Database