Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’ – What We Know About The Gun-Slinging Western So Far

On Christmas Day 2015, Quentin Tarantino’s latest flick hits screens worldwide. The Hateful Eight sees Tarantino follow up 2012’s Django Unchained with another gun-slinging Western, this time set in post-Civil War, Colorado. The script was leaked in January 2014 and Tarantino considered shelving the project and publishing the story as a novel. Thankfully, nearly two years later, The Hateful Eight is speeding towards awards season with guns a-blazing and a finger on the trigger, ready to scoop up a bag full of swag (awards, most likely). But what do we actually know about the film? Let’s run through some of the key facts we’ve gathered to date.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRbXn4-Yis

He’s Turned To His Usual Collaborators Again

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Tarantino hasn’t flicked too far back in his phone book for The Hateful Eight cast. Regulars from his previous films including Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth will all feature in prominent roles. In addition, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Channing Tatum will also star.

It Was Filmed In The Snowy Mountains of Colorado

Although The Hateful Eight is a “Straight up Western” according to Russell, you wont be seeing many dusty desert plains in this one. The entire film was shot in the snow-blanketed Colorado Mountains, chosen over potential locations in Utah and Wyoming. It’s said that the film was offered a $5 million rebate for production costs by the state of Colorado, to persuade Tarantino to film the picture in their state.

It’s Costing A Hell Of A Lot Of Money To Screen

The extravagant director has called upon an old-school method to present his latest masterpiece, shooting the entire picture on 70mm film. But it’s not been cheap. The film’s distributor, The Weinstein Company, have allegedly paid over $6 million in refurbishing costs for 100 cinemas in the US so they’re able to show the film in its intended 70mm glory. That works out as an eye-watering $60,000-$80,000 per screen.

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Get Comfy, Because It’s Long One

Tarantino’s films have never been short; in fact they rarely clock in at less than two hours. 2012’s Django Unchained ran for two and a half hours and 1995’s Pulp Fiction nestled in two minutes shy of three hours, but The Hateful Eight is even longer. The rumoured running time is in excess of three hours, and even includes a 12-minute intermission in the middle. Numb bum, much?

There’ll Be Controversy, For Sure

In the report compiled by Showbiz 411, they allege that the amount of times the ‘N’ word is used in the film easily surpasses any of his other films. Tarantino has stirred up serious controversy about his usage of the racial slur in the past (it was used over 100 times in Django Unchained), which prompted criticism from director Spike Lee amongst others.

Spaghetti Western Legend Ennio Morricone Is Back To Do The Soundtrack

The Italian composer found his fame by providing the score for the original deluge of Spaghetti Westerns in the 60s, (A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) but age has not stopped Morricone. After providing the fantastic score for Django Unchained, the 87-year-old has teamed up with Tarantino once again for The Hateful Eight score. Expect haunting whistles, jangling guitars and harmonica solos throughout.

Expect Violence

Tarantino has previously been quoted as saying, “Violence is one of the most fun things to watch”, and this sentiment certainly carries over into his films. Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds were packed with gore and according to The Hollywood Reporter we’re likely to see more of the same in this upcoming flick. We’re told that in one scene a bullet blasts a human head to pieces in graphic detail and the character played by Jennifer Jason Leigh is severely beaten throughout large portions of the film. We wouldn’t expect anything less.

The 70mm version of The Hateful Eight will be released on Christmas Day in the US, and worldwide on January 8.

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