Quentin Tarantino Suing Gawker Over ‘Hateful Eight’ Leak

Quentin Tarantino is furious that the script for “The Hateful Eight” was leaked and is out for revenge.  The script was leaked after he lent copies of his then-upcoming Western project to a handful of close friends and their agents.  It seems Gawker Media acquired a copy of script and has been urging readers to download the entire 146 page script.

That will not stand with Tarantino.  The Oscar-winning director filed a lawsuit today with the U.S. District Court.

The lawsuit reads, “Gawker Media has made a business of predatory journalism, violating people’s rights to make a buck. This time they went too far.  Rather than merely publishing a news story reporting that Plaintiff’s screenplay may have been circulating in Hollywood without his permission, Gawker Media crossed the journalistic line by promoting itself to the public as the first source to read the entire Screenplay illegally. Their headline boasts ‘Here Is the Leaked Quentin Tarantino Hateful Eight Script’ – ‘Here,’ not someplace else, but ‘Here’ on the Gawker website.”

“There was nothing newsworthy or journalistic about Gawker Media facilitating and encouraging the public’s violation of Plaintiff’s copyright in the Screenplay, and it’s conduct will not shield Gawker Media from liability for their unlawful activity,” the lawsuit stated.  “After learning of the leak, Plaintiff decided to postpone working on the movie, and stated publicly — in an interview that was widely reported in the media — that he intended to publish it.”

The lawsuit claims Gawker, “actively solicited its readers to provide it with an unauthorized infringing copy of the Screenplay, stating “if anyone would like to … leak the script to us, please do so at [redacted email address].”

Tarantino is seeking an injunction to keep the websites from publishing the screenplay and is asking the court for $1 million in unspecified damages.