Harvey Weinstein is taking a risk releasing Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” in the extinct, widescreen 70mm format.
While the industry has gone digital, the Weinstein Co. bought more than 100 antique 70mm projectors and restored them so it can show a special “roadshow version” of the film, with an overture and intermission, clocking in at over 3 hours.
But at one of the first screenings Thursday night at Village East Cinema, the projector broke.
Erik Lomis, president of distribution for Weinstein, told me the projector wasn’t one of the 100 he had restored. “It was the theater owner’s and a gear was stripped and then replaced in one hour.”
Producers Shannon McIntosh and Stacey Sher quickly threw together a Q&A with actors Kurt Russell and Walton Goggins to keep the audience occupied during repairs.
One audience member told me of the film, “It’s great. So I’m glad I stuck around.”