Quentin Tarantino said Disney is going “out of their way to fuck” him, claiming that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has shoved the director’s “The Hateful Eight” out of its screening slot at Los Angeles’ famed Cinerama Dome.
According to Tarantino, his three-hour film was set to play there starting Dec. 24, but “Star Wars” will remain in the theater for an extended run through the holidays.
“It was real bad news and it fucking pissed me off,” Tarantino told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show Wednesday. “They are going out of their way to fuck me.”
Reps for Disney and ArcLight did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
According to Tarantino, Dome owners ArcLight told Disney it would honor its “Hateful Eight” exhibition contract — to which the studio allegedly responded with a threat to pull “The Force Awakens” from the theater chain entirely, unless the J.J. Abrams film stayed in place.
“It’s vindictive, it’s mean, and it’s extortion,” Tarantino said.
Stern added on air that Disney CEO “Bob Iger does listen to this show, religiously. I bet you he would fix it.”
Tarantino seemed baffled by the move, saying his film presented no threat to “Star Wars” at the box office. The director was also stung as someone who had previously lined Disney’s pockets.
“Miramax, when I worked with them, was owned by Disney. I’ve made a lot of money for the Disney corporation with ‘Kill Bill’ and with ‘Pulp Fiction.’ They don’t need to be this vindictive,” Tarantino said.
Stern then made a direct appeal to Iger to pull “Star Wars” from the Cinerama Dome and let Tarantino show his new Western, starring Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson and Channing Tatum.
“I don’t give a shit about this theater — Quentin is a weirdo,” Stern said. “They got the stupid 70 millimeter, all the shit that he cares about. You’re sitting on top of the world, you need this? Do it for me.”
Stern promised to return the favor one day, and urged Iger to be “a gracious man. I want Quentin to show this new movie, he worked his ass off.”
Listen to the audio below.