No Go, Tarantino: Judge Dismisses Hateful Eight’ Lawsuit Against Gawker

A federal district court judge has dismissed Tarantino’s suit against Gawker Media. Following the script’s leak back in January, Tarantino sued Gawker — asserting that the online publication had “crossed the journalistic line” and violated copyright law by publishing the script without permission. Gawker maintained that linking to the script was “fair use,” as it pertained to their report on Tarantino’s reaction to the leak.

In court documents quoted by TheWrap, the judge points out that Tarantino’s suit is based on speculation and does not establish the facts. He writes, “Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to allege the identity of a single third-party infringer, the date, the time, or the details of a single instance of third-party infringement, or, more importantly, how Defendant [Gawker] allegedly caused, induced, or materially contributed to the infringement by those third parties.”

In spite of dismissing the case, the judge provided Tarantino with the opportunity to file an amendment to his suit, to be submitted by May 1. Given the fanfare surrounding Film Independent’s live reading of “Hateful Eight,” however, as well as the promise Tarantino made to the crowd about working on additional drafts of the script, it is truly a toss up as to whether or not he will file the amendment.