Quentin Tarantino nixes film "The Hateful Eight" after script leak

Quentin Tarantino says he’s decided to shelve his upcoming Western "The Hateful Eight" after learning that the film's screenplay had leaked.

"I'm very, very depressed," the director told Deadline. "I finished a script, a first draft, and I didn’t mean to shoot it until next winter, a year from now. I gave it to six people, and apparently it’s gotten out today."

Tarantino added that he learned of the leak when his longtime agent started getting calls from other agents looking to pitch their clients for roles in the film.

As for how the script got out, he's got a few ideas. The Oscar-winning writer/director said he gave it to three actors -- Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern, all of whom he's worked with before.

"The one I know didn’t do this is Tim Roth," he said. "One of the others let their agent read it, and that agent has now passed it on to everyone in Hollywood."

"I don't know how these [expletive] agents work, but I’m not making this next. I'm going to publish it, and that’s it for now," Tarantino added. "I give it out to six people, and if I can’t trust them to that degree, then I have no desire to make it. I'll publish it. I’m done. I'll move on to the next thing. I’ve got 10 more where that came from."

Tarantino’s last film, "Django Unchained," earned him an Oscar for best original screenplay.