After the script for his The Hateful Eight leaked earlier this year, a “very, very depressed†Quentin Tarantino said he would not be moving forward with the project. He may have changed his mind: On Saturday night, Tarantino presented a three and a half–hour staged reading of the film at L.A.’s Ace Hotel. “We’ve been rehearsing this for the last three days and we’re not bad,†he told the crowd, which included Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Tarantino project alums Samuel L Jackson, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, James Parks, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Madsen, Denis Ménochet, James Remar, Walton Goggins, and Bruce Dern were on hand to read the roles of the post–Civil War western, which is broken up into five chapters.
Variety reports that the standing-room–only audience enjoyed a “violent, bloody tale, laced with profanity and even vomit.†Though chapter five (titled “Black Night, White Hellâ€) drew the most laughs, Tarantino told the crowd it would be removed or rewritten altogether. He added, “I am working right now on a second draft. This is the first draft.†Attendees had to give up their cell phones at the door, so there doesn’t seem to be any footage of the event. (That, or people know better than to provoke another breakdown by posting it online.) But, if Tarantino keeps his word, it seems Saturday’s crowd won’t be the last to see The Hateful Eight.