Naman Shrestha
Quentin Tarantino‘s 8th movie, ‘The Hateful Eight’ is a Western mystery thriller movie set a few years after the Civil War that follows the bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth who intends to reach the town of Red Rock in Wyoming with his fugitive prisoner named Daisy Domergue. On their way, they cross paths with another bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren and a man who claims to be a sheriff. With a blizzard looming large, the group of four luckily finds a stagecoach stopover situated on a mountain pass. Upon entering the cabin for shelter, they find that they are accompanied by four strangers.
Soon, all eight travelers in the cabin realize that it is unlikely that they would make it to their respective destinations, even after the weather gets clearer. The stellar onscreen performances of some of the biggest names, including Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern, enhance the overall quality of an already intriguing narrative. The stagecoach stopover is where most of the action takes place as the blizzard outside against the snow-white backdrop symbolizes the havoc and chaos that awaits the eight travelers indoors.
The Hateful Eight Filming Locations
‘The Hateful Eight’ was filmed in Colorado and California, particularly in San Miguel County and Los Angeles. As per reports, the principal photography for the Quentin Tarantino directorial commenced in December 2014 and wrapped up in April 2015. Now, without further ado, let’s find out the specific locations where the eight travelers get to know each other, shall we?
San Miguel County, Colorado
Many pivotal sequences, especially the exterior shots, were lensed in San Miguel County, specifically near its county seat of Telluride. Schmid Family Ranch at 4553 County Road 60M, which is about ten miles west of downtown Telluride, served as the primary production location for the Samuel L. Jackson starrer. The 900-acre ranch, homesteaded in 1882, was redecorated by the production team to make it stand in for Minnie’s Haberdashery in the suspense movie.
Additional exterior portions for ‘The Hateful Eight,’ including the panoramic shots of the woods, were recorded in and around the area of Wilson Mesa, which is surrounded by the San Miguel Mountains and the iconic Wilson Peak. During the production process, the temperatures reportedly dropped down to minus-10 and even minus-20 degrees, which made it quite a challenging experience for many cast members.
In a March 2016 interview with MovieWeb, Demián Bichir who portrays Bob in the film, was asked to talk about the weather conditions in Colorado during the shoot and his experience. He replied, “Yeah, we shot in the mountains of Colorado, and that was part of the challenge. Every project has its challenges. Sometimes it’s only emotional, sometimes it’s physical, sometimes it’s both. This, that was part of the challenge, the temperatures, the weather, and the altitude. It’s a very high place where we shot. That’s a really bad combination for a tropical fish such as myself.”
Bichir further added, “Having been born in Mexico City, it’s a very high city, but not as high as Telluride and not as high as the mountains of Colorado. That alone was a big challenge and the temperatures. I’ve never been in such extreme cold, but, you know, I was surprised that I was doing a lot better than I thought. After that, it was all very nice. It was a beautiful ride, because the scenery in the mountains and the white, and everything around it, was just really, really beautiful. That’s the way it is in the film when you see (cinematographer) Bob Richardson’s work, it’s like, ‘Wow. This is poetry, man.'”
Los Angeles, California
The production team of ‘The Hateful Eight’ also set up camp in Los Angeles, especially to record the interior scenes for the Western film. They utilized the facilities of Red Studios Hollywood at 846 North Cahuenga Boulevard in LA’s Hollywood neighborhood. To keep the actors’ performances frosty and their breath visible, the director and his team maintained an unusually chilly room temperature on set. The film studio consists of 76,000 square feet of stage space, well-equipped production offices, on-site truck parking, and many more amenities, making it a suitable production location for various kinds of film projects.
Read More: Is The Hateful Eight Based on a True Story?
