‘The Hateful Eight,’ which is set several years after the Civil War, begins as a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, who include bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive, Daisy Domergue (Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, who’s known as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers, the first being Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and the second being Chris Mannix (Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass.<\/p>\n
When the four arrive at the haberdashery, they’re surprised that they’re greeted by four unfamiliar faces, instead of the proprietor. The group includes Bob (Bichir), who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother; Oswaldo Mobray (Roth), the hangman of Red Rock; cow-puncher Joe Gage (Madsen); and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, the eight travelers soon realize that they may not all make it to Red Rock after all.<\/p>\n
Tarantino began the press conference by discussing his unique release strategy for \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 which initially opened on 100 theaters in 44 domestic markets on 70mm. The film will maintain its 70mm projection for two weeks, as it also expands wide into nationwide theaters. The filmmaker also noted his appreciation that The Weinstein Company decided to showcase the movie in \u201csome of the biggest, funnest movie palaces, like The Music Box (Theatre) in Chicago, The Hollywood theater in Portland, the Fox Theatre in Detroit and the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. We\u2019re utilizing all the places that have 70mm capabilities. For all the other places (that don\u2019t have the 70mm capabilities), we just moved the screens in.\u201d The director added that the process has \u201cbeen a Herculean effort,\u201d but he\u2019s proud that he and the distributor were able to make the unique release happen.<\/p>\n
With \u2018Django Unchained\u2019 also incorporating Western influences into its story, Tarantino admitted that he is currently enthralled with the genre. \u201cI think part of the idea was the fact that normally, I do a movie in a genre that I know what I want to do, but I don\u2019t know how to do it…but then I learn how to do on the job,\u201d the writer-director revealed. \u201cI learned how to do a Western (while making ‘Django Unchained’), and realized I wasn\u2019t done with the genre, and what I felt I had to say. I think what I had to say (dealt) with race in America, which a lot of westerns had avoided for such a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarantino added that with \u2018Django Unchained,\u2019 he dealt with such an important issue as slavery in America in a responsible way. \u2018The Hateful Eight\u2019 also explored the subject in some respects, but since the story takes place after the Civil War ended, he was able to \u201cdo my western without having this history with a capital H hanging over the whole piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russell and Leigh, who were two of the distinct lead characters of the ensemble cast in \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 then delved into the process of working with each other to help bring Tarantino\u2019s vision of Ruth and Domergue to the screen. The Golden Globe-nominated actor first started discussing the process of working with his co-star, particularly since they spent most of their time on screen chained together. \u201cWhen Jennifer and I started to rehearse, we didn’t really think there would be much of a problem with the chain. We also didn’t think it would represent anything. Nothing could have turned out to be further from the truth. Everything that we did was formed by how that chain was dealt with,\u201d Russell revealed. He added that they being chained together all day during their five-month shoot helped them to get to know each other extremely well.<\/p>\n
Leigh admitted that the character Tarantino formed in the script allowed her to make Domergue so unique and distinct once they began filming. \u201cWith Daisy, there is a lot that is mercurial, and we wanted to find it together. So much of Daisy is informed by John Ruth, because she is always reacting to what he\u2019s done.” The Golden Globe-nominated actress added that her character \u201cthinks she\u2019s a lot smarter than John Ruth. She feels like she\u2019s playing him in a lot of the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
The performer also said that she enjoyed working with Tarantino because he\u2019s always surprising his actors. \u201cThere\u2019s a moment where it all shifts, and John Ruth..is suddenly very smart and dark…she has to rejudge him, just like everyone else in the movie,\u201d Leigh revealed. She added that it was \u201cso exciting as an actress to not know that was coming..,when I felt it happen in the room, I swear my blood went cold, and it was a phenomenal experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russell chimed in on the sentiment, specifically noting there was an unspoken bond that happened between he and Leigh as they were on the set. While the actor revealed it was the first time the actress heard him verbally admit it, due to who John Ruth was, he noted that he felt everything that happened between him and Domergue while they were filming was his doing. But he added that he \u201creally appreciated what she was going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madsen also discussed the ruthless and despicable nature of the rest of the characters in \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 and how he balanced Gage\u2019s thoughts that he was equally heroic. \u201cI read a biography of James Cagney, and he said that if you play somebody who\u2019s very evil, you should probably find something good in that person somewhere. So there\u2019s always a duality in what you do.\u201d The actor added that \u201cThe best thing about making a picture for Quentin is that he lets your character have duality, if you\u2019re capable of doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roth, like Madsen, previously collaborated with Tarantino before signing onto his role in \u2018The Hateful Eight.\u2019 The Oscar-nominated actor, who first worked with the writer-director on his acclaimed 1992 writing and directorial debuts, the neo-noir crime thriller, \u2018Reservoir Dogs,\u2019 described the filmmaker as being the same when they reunited for \u2018The Hateful Eight.\u2019 \u201cI was around at the very beginning. Then, I had this huge break from working with him, but I did get to see how his world has changed,\u201d Roth noted. \u201cThe set has changed, including the music that\u2019s playing between setups…He\u2019s accrued so much knowledge of cinema and how to tell his stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarantino also chimed in on the experience of making \u2018Reservoir Dogs,\u2019 and how he\u2019s grown as a director since then. \u201cI was probably, along with the PAs (Production Assistants), the least experienced person on the set. I was just getting through the process,\u201d the filmmaker admitted.<\/p>\n
Bechir, who collaborated with Tarantino for the first time on the Western, also commented on his experience of bringing one of the writer\u2019s characters to the screen. \u201cYou always want to be able to one day say a Tarantino line in a film. So the first time we had a table reading, I was very happy and excited about it. But then, to listen to every single line in the mouths of all of this group of fantastic actors, was beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oscar-nominated actor added that he was happy to discover that the filmmaker is \u201ca warm and very generous, loving man. Then whole experience has been a confirmation of whatever I thought\u2013that the biggest artists are the nicest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goggins, who previously worked with Tarantino on \u2018Django Unchained,\u2019 echoed Bechir’s sentiment of appreciating the fact that he was given the opportunity to play a character that Tarantino had written. Goggins noted that he and his co-stars didn\u2019t improvise, or suggest alternate lines, while shooting \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 as he asked, \u201cWhy would you mess with perfection?\u201d He added that \u201cIt\u2019s every actor’s dream to get an opportunity to say a Quentin Tarantino monologue or a line of dialogue. So there is no need to change even to add a line. The way the dialogue comes out of his imagination really is perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Bechir, Dern, who has worked with several legendary filmmakers throughout his 55-year career, including Alfred Hitchcock, has also never worked with Tarantino before signing on to star in \u2018The Hateful Eight.\u2019 But the Oscar-nominated actor admitted that the two-time Academy Award-winning writer-director \u201cdoes a couple of things that the other people I\u2019ve worked with don\u2019t do. He has the greatest attention to detail I\u2019ve ever seen…he gives you an opportunity as an actor, and everyone behind the camera as well, the chance to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The performer added that he thinks the filmmaker\u2019s \u201cmaterial is so good, original and unique…The big part of it is that you\u2019re so excited that he chose you and not Ned Beatty or Jimmy Caan,\u201d Dern exclaimed, which received laughter from his fellow actors, the filmmaker and the reporters. \u201cYou\u2019re also excited to go to work every day because he just might do something that\u2019s never been done before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarantino then discussed how he has cast Jackson in most of his films, including \u2018Pulp Fiction,\u2019 \u2018Jackie Brown,\u2019 \u2018Kill Bill: Volume 2,\u2019 \u2018Inglourious Basterds,\u2019 \u2018Django Unchained\u2019 and \u2018The Hateful Eight.\u2019 \u201cI don\u2019t know if Sam has become a better actor as time goes on, because I think he was always really great. But a stature has risen, and his persona has become bigger,\u201d the filmmaker praised of the actor. The writer further expressed his admiration or Jackson\u2019s acting ability, saying \u201cI love him, because nobody says my dialogue quite like the way Sam does…It\u2019s not standup comedy, but it has a comedic rhythm, and he nails that fairly well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The filmmaker became more somber when he then began talking about the serious subject of the boycott threats that police officers\u2019 unions have made against \u2018The Hateful Eight.\u2019 The threats were made after the scribe-helmer made statements recently about police brutality. \u201cI hope that doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d he revealed. \u201cJust because some union mouthpieces are calling for a boycott doesn\u2019t mean that the different officers on the street are going to necessarily follow suit. I have to say I believe the statements are very true. I intend to go maybe further with that as time goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents the LAPD rank and file, and the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs joined forces with the New York Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police to boycott against the director and his latest film. The officers became upset with Tarentino after he reportedly made comments about how they work at a police brutality protest in New York City on October 24. The reported remarks were made just days after a New York police officer, Randolph Holder, was killed in the line of duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cNevertheless, I think you can actually decry police brutality and still understand that there\u2019s good work that the police do. I think I\u2019ve made that pretty clear,\u201d Tarantino stated at \u2018The Hateful Eight\u2019s press conference. \u201cI do know that there\u2019s a whole lot of police out there who are real big fans of my work, and I just hope that they\u2019re not going to take (Police Benevolent Association President) Patrick Lynch\u2019s word for what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
The filmmaker added that \u201cWhat I said is what I said, and you can actually look it up and read it. I\u2019ve actually clarified my comments since then. Not walking back at all, but just a little more clarification. I still stand by what I say. I think there\u2019s a lot of good cops out there, and they should agree with what I said, if they\u2019re coming from the right place. So, I guess we\u2019ll just see.”<\/p>\n
The Oscar-winning director continued the discussion about how the government has had an influence on \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 admitting that \u201cI do think it is my most political movie to date. I don\u2019t know if that was what I was initially thinking about, but as I sat down with a bunch of pieces of paper and just started putting the pen to it, it became that.\u201d Tarantino added that he realized how much of political influence the drama had during the scene \u201cwhen Warren and Chris Maddix have their political discussion in the stagecoach. When I finished writing that, I was like, this is kind of relevant to today, and is almost a blue state, red state western kind of deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scribe-helmer added that he appreciated the scene\u2019s political motivations because \u201cone of the things about westerns is they really reflect the decade in which they were made. If you look at the westerns that were the most popular in the 1950s, they really reflected an Eisenhower Ideal and this perceived sense of American prosperity, as well as the way of thinking that we won World War II by ourselves…If you look at the westerns of the late \u201860s in through the \u201870s, they reflected that it was a very cynical and jaundiced time in America.\u201d The filmmaker added that after he finished writing the script and he started shooting the movie, the events that \u201chad been happening in the last year-and-a-half, which we have been watching on TV, just made everything seem more relevant to what we were doing, which we maybe didn\u2019t realize when we started.”<\/p>\n
Tarantino then began discussing why he chose Ennio Morricone to write the score for his latest Western. \u201cWith this movie, I had a little voice in my ear that said, This movie deserves its own score. I take nothing away from the other movies that I\u2019ve done using other scores. I think that was right for them. I just didn\u2019t hear that voice then.\u201d The filmmaker added that the Oscar-nominated composer, who previously worked with him on \u2018Kill Bill,\u2019 \u2018Death Proof,\u2019 \u2018Inglourious Basterds\u2019 and \u2018Django Unchained,\u2019 \u201cwas very interested (in working on \u2018The Hateful Eight\u2019). So, I took the first step, which was translating the script into Italian, and sent it to him. Then I went down to meet him in Rome,\u201d which is where the composer lives.<\/p>\n
As the two started talking about what kind of score Morricone was thinking about creating for \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 the composer said, \u201cI have this idea for a theme…I just see it\u2019s driving forward…It\u2019s ominous-sounding, and suggests the violence that will come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarantino also praised Morricone for being able to score the drama just based on what he read in the script, without seeing a rough cut of the film. \u201cHe wrote a couple of pieces of music that he thought could be really good for the material itself, but not be scene-specific,\u201d the filmmaker revealed. The composer also wrote \u201csome other music that he thought I could use for emotions. Then, he gave it to me, and let me put it in the movie, like the way I\u2019ve always done before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also speaking of the script, Tarantino added that he wanted to pen \u201cthree different drafts of the film…It was different from what I normally do. Usually I write these big, long, unwieldy novels…The middle\u2019s always great, because by that point, you\u2019ve committed to writing so much. You know more about the characters now than you could before you started writing,\u201d the scribe explained. \u201cThen there\u2019s the end, and by that point, the characters have just taken it over, so they always dictate the ending to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarantino added that one of the reasons that he likes making genre movies is that he can explore a lot of different possibilities for the characters. \u201cBut I wanted to do this one differently. I wanted to spend more time with the material\u201d than he normally spends on the beginning, middle and end. \u201cSo I wanted to go through the process of telling the story three different times.\u201d<\/p>\n
The director also expressed his appreciation for the different stages of the production process, and which one he enjoys the most. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s always a situation where the writing process is fantastic, and I love it. It\u2019s my favorite part when I\u2019m doing it. Then just as I\u2019m getting tired of it, I\u2019m done with it. I won\u2019t really like pre-production anymore, because I want to get into filming right away. Then I start shooting and I think that\u2019s fantastic,\u201d Tarantino explained. \u201cThen just as I\u2019m getting sick of it, we start wrapping it up. Then it\u2019s the same thing with editing. That becomes my favorite process as I\u2019m doing it, and then just as I\u2019m getting sick of it, we\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Continuing to speak about the editing process, and his collaboration with \u2018The Hateful Eight\u2019s editor, Fred Raskin, Tarantino revealed what it was like to work with him. Raskin, who worked as an assistant editor on both of the \u2018Kill Bill\u2019 films, then went on to edit \u2018Django Unchained’ for Tarantino. While the filmmaker admitted he was hesitant to start working with the editor on \u2018Kill Bill: Vol. 1,\u2019 since they didn\u2019t know before they collaborated on the action film, Tarantino noted they got along well together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a joy and a dream (to work with him on \u2018The Hateful Eight\u2019),\u201d Tarantino also said as he continued praising Raskin. \u201cOne of the things that I just love about him is that he gets my material. He laughs and smiles at the same lines again and again, no matter how many times we hear it. You could work for four months with the guy, and he laughs and smiles at the same jokes every single time it plays. You can\u2019t ask for any more than that in an editor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having garnered critical acclaim and commercial success for \u2018Django Unchained,\u2019 as well as praise for \u2018The Hateful Eight,\u2019 Tarantino also noted that he\u2019s interested in making a third Western. \u201cI actually think if you were to call yourself a Western director today, you need to do at least three Westerns,\u201d the filmmaker explained.<\/p>\n
But the director\u2019s considering adapting Elmore Leonard book, \u2018Forty Lashes Less One,\u2019 for television. \u201cI\u2019ve owned the rights for a while; I get them and I lose them, and then I get them and I lose them again. But there\u2019s something about the piece that demands that I make it.\u201d Tarantino added that he\u2019s envisioning making the project a mini-series, and he would write and direct four or five hour-long episodes. \u201cThe book fits right along the lines of \u2018The Hateful Eight\u2019 and \u2018Django Unchained,\u2019 as it deals with race…It\u2019s a really good book, and I\u2019ve always wanted to tell the story, so we\u2019ll see. I\u2019m hoping I\u2019ll do that eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Hateful-Eight-Press-Conference.jpg\")
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