Weinstein Co. to distribute Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Hateful Eight’

The Weinstein Co. is bringing Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” to the big screen -- the very big screen.

The company announced Wednesday that it will handle worldwide distribution for the writer-director’s post-Civil War western, which will be shot on 65-millimeter film and is intended to have the widest 70-millimeter release in more than 20 years. “The Hateful Eight” will also screen in 35-millimeter and DCP formats after an exclusive 70-millimeter release.

Principal photography is set to start in January, with a domestic release slated for fall 2015.

“The Hateful Eight” tells the story of a mistrustful group of motley characters who are stranded by a blizzard in a saloon in the middle of nowhere. Their ranks include Major Marquis Warren, “The Bounty Hunter”; Oswaldo Mobray, “The Little Man”: John Ruth, “The Hangman”; and Daisy Dermargue, “The Prisoner.”

No cast members have been announced, although in April, Tarantino directed a live reading of an early draft of the script in Los Angeles with an all-star cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Amber Tamblyn and Bruce Dern. It wouldn’t be a shock to see at least some of those famous faces return for the real thing.

Like many of its characters, “The Hateful Eight” has something of a checkered past. The project first came to public attention in January, when Tarantino complained to Deadline Hollywood that the script had leaked online and that, as a result, he was shelving the movie indefinitely.

A week later, he sued Gawker Media for disseminating copies of the script via its Defamer blog, precipitating a legal battle that ended with Tarantino withdrawing the suit. Along the way, however, the filmmaker frequently dropped hints that he couldn’t quit “The Hateful Eight” (the staged reading being one example), and he confirmed in July that he would go through with the project after all.

Weinstein Co. Co-Chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who have collaborated with Tarantino since his “Reservoir Dogs” days, said in a statement that they “are incredibly excited to begin production on ‘The Hateful Eight,’ as we know this picture will be as innovative, brash and of course fun as all Quentin projects prior. There is, quite simply, no other filmmaker like him.”

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