Gunfight at the Not OK Corral

It seems that Quentin Tarentino was preparing to shoot a movie Western, The Hateful Eight, next year, but he gave the screenplay to six people, and one copy of the script leaked and got online, so he's cancelled the project and write another one instead, saying, "I've got 10 more where that came from."  As this article here explains, he'll release the Western as a novel.

I have no idea what was in the screenplay, how secretive the details were, how much the movie will be negatively impacted by the screenplay being out there.  And Quentin Tarentino is entitled to his artistic concerns and preferences.  If he wants to start over again fresh with another movie, fine, it's his life and his choice.

But that doesn't mean I have to understand his actions.

First, he says the screenplay was a first draft.  So, the film ultimately would be different.  Maybe a lot different.  Not only from the subsequent drafts, but from the final cut film.

Second, how many of his previous movies have people seen over and over again -- not just on DVD, but even repeatedly in first-run theaters?  Knowing every detail of the actual movie didn't likely stop people's enjoyment.

And how many films over the past century have been based on source material, from books to plays, where the audience knew the plot and details?

Besides, how many people in the end would read that online screenplay?  A thousand?  Ten thousand?  More, less??  A successful movie will probably have 10 million people buying tickets, and more.  Yes, there will be journalists who get access to the screenplay and write about it -- but ultimately, that will not only bring attention to the film, but the whole marketing campaign would be about bringing some of those details to the public.  And in the end, those same reviewers and more would be ultimately seeing the actual movie ahead of time and writing about it.

And he's pulling the project, because the first draft got leaked online??

I don't get it.  But it's Quention Tarentino's life, his choice.

I suppose this could be a publicity stunt, though it would be an odd one, and I don't think it is.  In the end, the reality just strikes me as odder...