In The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino tells the story of bounty hunters in post-Civil War Wyoming with a script the director said he was proud of just after his Golden Globe nomination.
The three-hour Western brings together past Tarantino collaborators including Samuel L Jackson, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell and Michael Madsen as well as Jennifer Jason Leigh, who makes her debut with the director.
Tarantino’s eighth film begins with bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive Daisy (Leigh) in a stagecoach traveling across a snowy landscape towards the town of Red Rock before meeting two strangers, whom they take on board.
As a blizzard builds, they take refuge in a haberdashery, where they meet other travellers. As they get to know each other, all is not quite as it seems and plenty of violence ensues. “I learned very early with Quentin on Reservoir Dogs … if you’ve got a writer like that you never say no,” Roth said at the film’s London premiere on Thursday night. “You just hope you’re going to get invited.”
Earlier on Thursday, The Hateful Eight received three Golden Globe nominations with an acting nod for Leigh, best screenplay for Tarantino and best original score for composer Ennio Morricone. “I am real proud of the script so I am glad it got nominated,” said Tarantino, who has won two Academy Awards for the Django Unchained and Pulp Fictionscreenplays.
Asked if an Oscar for best director was next, Tarantino, who was nominated for the award for Pulp Fiction, said, “I don’t know about that. Normally, when it comes to people who win best director, it’s usually a sweep. They win best picture, they win best director, they win four or five other things,” he said. “I don’t know, I’ve never done a movie that’s had a sweep so we’ll if see if that ever happens.” The Hateful Eight, which will have a limited US run as of December 25, hits cinemas in early January.
