Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, which famously dealt with a script leak, is now dealing with a leaked copy of the finished film online. The leak was traced to a DVD screener sent to Andrew Kosove, the co-CEO of Alcon Entertainment.
As previously reported, TorrentFreak confirmed that there is a high-quality version of Tarantino's new Western epic circulating the web. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the FBI, with the cooperation of The Weinstein Company, traced the DVD to Kosove using the watermark on the copy.
Kosove told Deadline that he isn’t sure how the copy leaked and is cooperating with the FBI.
“I have never seen this DVD,” Kosove, whose latest movie, Point Blank, opens this weekend, said. “I was not even aware that it had come into the office. I have zero idea what happened. But we are proactively cooperating with the FBI to find out what happened.”
It is likely that an Alcon employee stole the copy and posted it online. If that’s the case, Kosove said that “appropriate measures” will be taken. The person would be fired and could face criminal charges.
The film has already been downloaded at least 200,000 times, according to reports.
The Hateful Eight was almost never made because of last year’s script leak, but Tarantino ultimately decided to make the film anyway. It hits 100 theaters on Christmas Day in 70mm, and goes wide on Dec. 31.