Just a week before wide-release, The Hateful Eight’s unrelenting hype took a massive blow when a screener was leaked online by a dastardly pirate. Now, after a federal investigation that could probably be its own thriller (or Alias-type show), The Hollywood Reporter has made it known that the leak has been traced back to Alcon Entertainment co-CEO and producer of the Point Break remake Andrew Kosove.

Keep in mind that QT sued Gawker over the leaking of the The Hateful Eight script (a move he later regretted), and it’s been reported (once again by Variety) that The Hateful Eight was downloaded by 739,580 unique IP addresses in its first 24 hours of being illegally online. So, who knows what kind of heavy litigation will come of this leak. It’s almost as if no one can watch or experience Tarantino’s latest in the manner he wants them to.

For his part, Kosove denied even laying a finger on the screener:

“The screener copy of ‘The Hateful Eight’ that was sent to me at Alcon Entertainment never touched my hands nor was I aware that it had been delivered. In addition to cooperating with the FBI, we are going to conduct our own investigation to find out what happened. Piracy is a threat to our entire industry and as filmmakers we will not tolerate such illegal and despicable behavior.”

How this could’ve been intercepted remains to be seen. Until then, do Quentin Tarantino — a man who has served our culture some of the best entertainment of the last twenty years — a favor, and just watch the movie on the big screen. The way it was always meant to be seen.

(Via Variety)