In the Tarantino film “The Hateful 8,” there is a scene where a guitar is destroyed. It was a valuable loan from the museum worth $40,000.
For the filming of The Hateful 8 (2015), the Martin Museum provided a real Martin guitar from the 1870s worth about $40,000.
The plan was for Jennifer Jason Leigh to perform her song with the real guitar. Afterwards, the musical instrument was supposed to be replaced with one of the six copies that actor Kurt Russell would then smash against the pillar.
The problem: Kurt Russell knew nothing of the plan. So he grabbed the real guitar immediately after the song and destroyed it before anyone could intervene.
However, since the actress was aware of the value of the prop, we see in the scene her genuine shock reaction to what transpired.
You can watch the scene from The Hateful 8 here:
According to sound mixer Mark Ulano, Tarantino stood grinning during the incident because he was so pleased with the actress’s reaction: “Tarantino was sitting in a corner of the room, with a funny smile on his face, because he had gained something from the performance” (Source: reverb.com)
As Jennifer Jason Leigh mentioned in an interview, it seems that Tarantino also did not know at the moment that Russell had just destroyed the original, as otherwise he would have interrupted the scene immediately.
In hindsight, the actor was reportedly hit hard knowing that he had just destroyed an irreplaceable artifact: “Kurt felt terrible, he had no idea. When he found out, he literally had tears in his eyes,” the actress said (Source: billboard.com)
More about star director Quentin Tarantino can be found here with our colleagues at Moviepilot: Now in theaters: An endlessly entertaining thriller for Tarantino fans, which becomes more disturbing with every second
How did the museum react? Dick Boak, the museum director, spoke out and expressed disappointment that they had failed to inform the actor and, as a result, destroyed an “irreplaceable, invaluable artifact” (Source: reverb.com).
Additionally, they did not know in advance that the screenplay called for the destruction of the musical instrument. The museum director also stated that they had attempted to restore the guitar, but the instrument was completely destroyed – there was nothing more that could be done.
As a consequence of the incident, the museum is stating: “As a result of the incident, the company will no longer lend guitars to films under any circumstances.”
5 action movies rated 18 for hardened film fans
