Tarantino has Hateful Eight script in lockdown; Channing Tatum eyes role

November 5th 2014, 6:54pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Update: It has been reported tonight that Channing Tatum is circling a major role in Quentin Tarantino’s THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Deadline reported the news adding that he would join Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and others yet to be announced. This would be an interesting choice; Tatum has proven himself to be a solid performer though and if given the go ahead I’m sure he would do a great job for QT. He's now officially attached to star in a Gambit spinoff and is gaining Oscar buzz for his recent work in Bennett Miller’s FOXCATCHER.

Original story:

I'm sure you all remember when the script for Quentin Tarantino’s THE HATEFUL EIGHT got leaked just days after it was distributed to some potential stars of the movie. QT was understandably upset and put a stop to the entire project for a while. Fast forward a few months the project is back on with calm, cool, and collected Tarantino back in the saddle. Filming is starring before the end of the year and potential investors are no doubt needed to finally bring it all together.

So for the love of privacy, security, and (more importantly) sanity, The Weinstein Company is only allowing investors to read the script in their office, under the supervision of staffers. While that sounds like high maintenance to some, after what this movie has gone through already, I welcome it. It should be noted they apparently did this with Paul Thomas Anderson's THE MASTER as well so it's nothing new.

Here is a synopsis based on the public reading of the original script:

The Hateful Eight is described as a combination between a Django Unchained-style Western and an Agatha Christie-esque whodunit. It is set in snowy Wyoming a few years after the Civil War. The title refers to a disparate group of travelers who are stranded together in a haberdashery when their stagecoach is forced to stop during a blizzard. The majority of the film takes place in that haberdashery, as the men and women engage in conversation and shootings and Jackson's character, an African-American Civil War veteran, tries to find out which one of them filed the coffee pot in the room with poison.

I can't think of a more secure way to go about this, but I also can't imagine being in a room with someone waiting for me to finish reading something. Maybe provide collateral instead? A first born would do I would think.