AFM: Tarantino Going All Indie for 'Hateful Eight'

Only independent distributors will be allowed to bid on the director's latest film, after his last two movies were released by the international arms of Sony and Universal, respectively

After sleeping with the studios with Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino is getting back to his indie roots with his upcoming film, The Hateful Eight.

The Weinstein Co., which is producing the director's upcoming Western as well as handling world sales at AFM, is only accepting offers from independent distributors for the film.

This contrasts with Django Unchained, which Columbia Pictures co-produced and Sony bowed in multiple territories, including Japan, Germany and the U.K., and Inglourious Basterds, which Universal's global arm, UIP, handled in most of Europe as well as Australia and Argentina and other territories.

Buyers told The Hollywood Reporter that Tarantino explicitly requested that only indies be allowed to bid on Hateful Eight, which stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Demian Bichir, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern. The film will begin shooting in Telluride next month.

It is unclear whether Tarantino had issues with the studios' handling of his last two films or if he simply wished to reward the indie distributors who have supported him in the past. Before Inglourious Basterds, all the director's movies were distributed almost exclusively through independent companies worldwide.

It likely helps that Hateful Eight, with a reported budget of $44 million, is substantially cheaper than either Django or Basterds, making it easier for indies to get onboard.

It certainly seems as if The Weinstein Co. will have no problem finding distribution for the movie. The company is believed to be fielding multiple offers from all major international territories and is expected to sell out the film by this weekend.

Twitter:@sroxborough