Quentin Tarantino loves him some westerns. Even though there was much controversy with his last film, Django Unchained, it would be hard to ignore its style and adherence to the western motifs. Regardless of the debate of ‘He is ripping things off’ vs. ‘He is paying homage’, one thing remains clear: he is incredibly passionate about his influences.
So much so, the title of his next film feels like he wants to make a quasi-sequel-but-not-really to John Sturge’s The Magnificent Seven. Tarantino isn’t ready to retire his spurs just yet, as he returns to the Western genre with his next film entitled…
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The Hateful Eight!
Meh, I don’t know about you, but in terms of the title, I feel like he’s trying a bit too hard.
Not much has been released on the plot of the film, but judging from the title, it sounds like he wants to do his own Western adaptation of Kurosawa’s own Seven Samurai, which actually sounds pretty sweet! The story about a village hiring seven bad asses to defend them from bandits, just sounds like something that is begging for Tarantino to get his paws on. That being said, there’s just something I don’t like about the title The Hateful Eight. It comes off as him trying too hard to make it sound like he is making a Western with attitude. But hey, if the movie turns out to be awesome, I’ll eat my words.
Also, he has started casting for the film. The Hollywood Reporter stated that:
No one has been cast yet, but Tarantino has reached out to veteran casting director Victoria Thomas, who worked on Django, to work with him on casting the movie, say several insiders. A part has been written for Christoph Waltz, who starred in Tarantino’s Django and Inglourious Basterds.
So really, not much has happened in terms of casting. So you know what? Why don’t we put on our casting hats, and play the ‘Who do we want to cast in this Tarantino Western’ game. Seeing as Christoph Waltz has already secured a part, here are the Magnificent Seven I would want cast in this film!
1. Timothy Olyphant
Marshal Raylan is one bad-ass dude, and to see him deliver on some Tarantino-esque dialogue would be pretty awesome.
2. Russell Crowe
His character Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma was basically a Tarantino character. Calm and cool, good with the ladies, and a badass when he needs to be. Why hasn’t this pairing happened already?!
3. Bill Paxton
If you haven’t seen 2 Guns, it kind of felt like a fun discount Tarantino film. Also, Bill Paxton was having so much fun playing this villain, I would love to see him go all out in a wild Western!
4. Raymond Cruz
Interesting bit of trivia for ya. Breaking Bad’s Tuco Salamanca was named after Eli Wallach’s Tuco Ramirez from The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. So here, Raymond Cruz can be the wild cannon, and basically be the Hulk of the Hateful Eight. Just give him some of that Blue Sky, and he’ll be tight tight tight!
5. Jonathan Banks
Pulling more from the Breaking Bad cast, Mike Ehrmantraut was probably my favorite character. He was cold, efficient, and intimidating. When Mr. Banks went to Community, I was surprised at how funny he could actually be! So to have a badass funny old guy in a Tarantino Western will have me in the theater in a heartbeat!
6. Leonardo DiCaprio
If I had a complaint about Django Unchained, it’s that there wasn’t enough of my home boy Leo Di-Cap! (I am SO street). He tore up the screen in that film PLUS he has experience with Tarantino, and from what we’ve seen, it’s like mixing together chocolate and peanut butter!
7. Nathan Fillion
We’ve consistently seen Nathan Fillion work with Joss Whedon. He’s witty, funny, and can handle a gun pretty well (Phrasing!). It would be really interesting to see how what kind of a performance Tarantino can pull out of him. Hey, if Jonah Hill made the transition, why can’t Nathan?
So fellow OOU.netties, now it’s your turn! What are your casting choices? How do you feel about the name? Whatever your thoughts, comment below and let One of Us know!