Quentin Tarantino’s unproduced Western The Hateful Eight will receive a “once in a lifetime” live staging this month.
Earlier this year, Quentin Tarantino fans were disappointed to hear that The Hateful Eight was cancelled thanks to a leaked script and betrayed trust. Tarantino is standing by the decision so far, but now there’s a way to experience his story without downloading scripts or visiting parallel universes: a live reading at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Sponsored by Film Independent, the event will be cast and directed by Tarantino himself, telling the story of a mistrustful motley crew trapped in a saloon during a blizzard.
“Quentin Tarantino is a key figure in the independent creative community,” said president of Film Independent Josh Welsh. “We are thrilled that Quentin will be holding the World Premiere Staged Reading of his script of The Hateful Eight with Film Independent at LACMA … We offer unique cinematic experiences to the people of Los Angeles, and this event is going to deliver just that.”
Just don’t expect to be able to enjoy the event if you’re not in the LA area on April 24. The Hateful Eight‘s reading is being advertised as a “once-in-a-lifetime event” that will not be repeated, recorded, or broadcast. The Film Independent website is even encouraging guests to leave their cell phones in their cars, presumably to avoid further legal action from Taraninto.
While The Hateful Eight‘s reading obviously won’t be the same as a cinematic release (or even a complete stage performance), it might generate enough interest to convince Tarantino to complete his production. Failing that, the reading could inspire him to adapt The Hateful Eight into other media, like the novel Tarantino had been considering.
And who knows, maybe this will prompt future stage performances of Tarantino’s work. Personally, I’ve always thought Reservoir Dogs would make a fantastic play.
Source: Film Independent at LACMA
