The internet is buzzing with reports of possible animal abuse taking place on the set of the upcoming film A Dog’s Purpose. A video of the filming of the movie has surfaced showing someone trying to put German shepherd Hercules into some turbulent water, and the poor dog is obviously terrified. Film crews stand there watching, as the dog makes a desperate bid to stay dry.
“Well, the water is warm at least,” you can hear someone say.
The shoot was taking place outside of Winnipeg, Canada in November of 2015. In the video, you can see a trainer try and try again to put the dog into what’s described as a pool able to simulate a very turbulent river. The dog clearly wants no part of the rushing water, and given the look of it, it’s not hard to see why.
Eventually, someone gets the dog to go into the water, and he’s pretty much swept right under. It’s not clear if that was scripted or not, but someone screams cut, and people rush to Hercules, presumably to help get the dog out and to safety.
“There were several days of rehearsal of the water scenes to ensure Hercules was comfortable with all of his stunts,” said a joint statement from Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures. “On the day of this shoot, Hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape, so the Amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot.”
The red carpet premiere and press junket for Saturday in Los Angeles has been canceled due to widespread cries to protest.
Director Lasse Hallstrom said on Twitter that he had not witnessed the events in the infamous footage, and that he was “very disturbed” by it.
“We were all committed to providing a loving, respectful and safe environment for all the animals in the film,” he continued. “I have been a lifelong animal lover and A Dog’s Purpose is my third film about dogs. The animals’ safety was of the utmost priority.
“I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.”
What do you think? Cut and dry abuse case or major overreaction?
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