A couple of days ago, a copy of the new Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight was leaked online. The film, which was supposed to be released on Christmas Day, was instead made available to pirate sites and peer-to-peer file sharing. It subsequently spread around the Internet.
Thanks to the wonders of technology (screener DVDs are usually encoded with a specific serial number that can trace who it was sent to), the DVD screener was watermarked as belonging to Alcon Entertainment co-CEO and Point Break remake producer Andrew Kosove, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Kosove denies that he ever saw the screener, and made it clear in a statement that he never touched it.
“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,” Kosove said in a statement. “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 behaviour.”
Screener DVDs are often distributed to members of the media for coverage and awards consideration, and they are treated with the utmost security. Other potential Oscar contenders were leaked as well, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant.
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Kosove’s DVD copy of The Hateful Eight was sent to Alcon’s offices in Century City, Calif., and signed for by an office assistant, according to Variety.
Hive-CM8, a piracy group, is taking credit for the leak of Tarantino’s movie, and says it has even more films to release to the Internet.
“DVDScreener 1 of 40. Will do them all one after each other, started with the hottest title of this year, the rest will follow,” the group said.
The Hateful Eight will go ahead with its planned release on Christmas Day.
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