JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who is known for rampantly killing off characters in his movies, decided this time to kill his script, much to the disappointment of Wyoming film officials.
He did so after a link to his latest screenplay, “The Hateful Eight,” was published on Gawker. Tarantino has sued the website and said he had canceled the film, according to case documents posted by the Holllywood Reporter.
State film officials were dismayed by the news because - as everybody learned on Gawker - “The Hateful Eight,” opens with a scene in Wyoming.
The exterior shot is titled “White winter Wyoming mountain range - snowy day.” It calls for “a breathtaking 70MM filmed (as is the whole movie) snow-covered mountain range.”
“A staggering opening vista, set to appropriately nerve-jangling music,” the script reads. A stagecoach and team of six gallops into the scene.
Tatantino filmed parts of “Django Unchained” in Jackson Hole in February 2012. Cameramen captured several scenes of the Tetons and other dramatic views.
Tarantino could have had the Tetons in mind when he wrote the new screenplay’s opening scene, said Colin Strickland of the Wyoming Film Office. “It’s a good bet he would have gone there,” he said.
“Wyoming clearly had an effect on Quentin Tarantino, Strickland said. Jackson Hole really inspired him. It’s an inspiring sort of place whether you’re a tourist or a director.”
Tarantino’s production company spent more than $500,000 in Wyoming on “Django,” which qualified it for a cash rebate of up to 15 percent of those expenses. The state’s Film Industry Financial Incentive program requires that a production spend $200,000 or more to get the rebate.
While nobody’s sure where the opening of “The Hateful Eight” might have been filmed, Wyoming had a shot and now doesn’t.
“It’s unfortunate when this kind of thing happens, especially if this kind of thing could have come here,” Strickland said.
Tarantino originally came to Jackson Hole in 2012 due to lack of snow in California. He ended up shooting several scenes on the National Elk Refuge and in Grand Teton National Park, as well as at the private Bar BC Ranch on Spring Gulch Road.
Tarantino was complimentary of his time filming in Jackson Hole, as seen in a YouTube video made by the Wyoming Film Office.
“Wyoming was a fantastic place to shoot,” he said. “It’s beautiful country. If you’re doing a western or anything that requires you to be in this beautiful yet rugged terrain, it’s a glorious place to go. It just screams ’America.’”
He also praised the valley’s beauty.
“You have the Tetons there,” he said. “It’s really gorgeous.
“We wanted to go there because we needed snow and lots of it. Funny enough Wyoming has that,” he said in the interview. “The mountains up there are magnificent. Those Tetons are just beautiful and perfect, and we shot the heck out of them.”
The star-studded “Django” is about a slave-turned-bounty-hunter (Jaime Foxx) who tries to save his wife (Kerry Washington) from an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). “The Hateful Eight” was to be another adventure western about bounty hunters.
A publicist for Tarantino did not respond to requests for comment.
Tarantino is best known for his other hit flicks including “Pulp Fiction,” ’’Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2” and “Reservoir Dogs.”
There’s little question “Hateful Eight” would have had all of the director’s usual suspense, surprise and intrigue. The stagecoach driver was scripted to pull up at a strange sight in the middle of the frozen road.
Amid the spectacle is a black man, seeking a ride. Before he can get in the ’coach, a rifle pokes through the window accompanied by an ominous cocking sound.
“It’s a bit of a bummer that he didn’t come out, and the movie didn’t go forward, but with any luck we may see some future Tarantino production anyway,” Strickland said.
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