There is a very good chance that we will never get to see Quentin Tarantino's vision for his script The Hateful Eight play out on the big screen, but in just a few weeks one audience will exclusively be able to see the story performed in a theater. The Los Angeles-based organization Film Independent is putting together a world-premiere reading of Tarantino's scrapped western screenplay that promises to be a "special, once-in-a-lifetime event."
The event, which is obviously being supported by the Pulp Fiction director, will be held on Thursday April 24th at 8:00pm PT at LACMA's Bing Theater, and the event will be neither streamed nor recorded. In a statement, Film Independent President Josh Welsh said,
"Quentin Tarantino is a key figure in the independent creative community. 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. Film Independent supports diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision with events like the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, our Filmmaker Labs, as well as our year-round film programing curated by Elvis Mitchell. We offer unique cinematic experiences to the people of Los Angeles, and this event is going to deliver just that."
Weirdly enough, the press release for the event actually features an official logline describing the script's plot:
The Hateful Eight follows the steadily ratcheting tension that develops after a blizzard diverts a stagecoach from its route, and traps a pitiless and mistrustful group which includes a competing pair of bounty hunters, a renegade Confederate soldier, and a female prisoner in a saloon in the middle of nowhere.
Sadly, any and all other details about the event seem to be unknown at this time - including exactly who will be participating in the on-stage performance. Hopefully that news will find its way online as we get closer to the event. For now, you can get information about buying tickets HERE.
This is an interesting event not just because it's a chance to listen to a master filmmaker's scrapped screenplay, but also because it's playing out during a big legal battle between Tarantino and the website Gawker. The director is in the process of suing the site, claiming that they were responsible for the Hateful Eight script leak online. Gawker has thrown up many defenses, including the fact that their holding company is in the Cayman Islands and outside of US court jurisdiction. Still, shots are continually being fired, and having a staged reading of the script is a bold move for Tarantino's camp.
Stay tuned for more updates about this event, and watch the trailer below to remind yourself just how awesome a Tarantino western can be:
