By now, we’ve all seen the extremely controversial video from the set of “A Dog’s Purpose,” the purportedly heartwarming family film about man’s best friend. It shows a terrified German Shepherd being forced into rushing water for a rescue scene, despite his flailing struggle to get free. His head immediately went under, and only then was “cut” called.
And now, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have canceled the film’s premiere, which had been scheduled for Friday night. Many animal lovers, myself included, are glad to hear this news. If the filmmakers couldn’t be bothered to ensure the humane treatment of the dogs involved with the production, then they deserve to lose money on it.
Universal and Amblin said the following:
“Because Amblin’s review into the edited video released yesterday is still ongoing, distributor Universal Pictures has decided it is in the best interest of A Dog’s Purpose to cancel this weekend’s premiere and press junket. Amblin and Universal do not want anything to overshadow this film that celebrates the relationship between humans and animals. Since the emergence of the footage, Amblin has engaged with many associated with the production of the film, including safety personnel, trainers and stunt coordinators as part of their in-depth review. While we are all disheartened by the appearance of an animal in distress, everyone has assured us that Hercules the German Shepherd was not harmed throughout the filmmaking.”
Of course, I’m sure that many nice people, who were kind to the dogs, worked on the film’s set, and I feel genuinely bad for them that their careers may be marred by this controversy. However, those responsible deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and hopefully be barred from ever working with animals again.
What do you think of this development? Tell is in the comments below.