The Hunt, a movie about elites hunting “deplorables” from red states, has been canceled by Universal Pictures after recent backlash. The movie that was social commentary as a horror-thriller was scrapped in response to the recent shootings that have caused aching around the country.
In the past few weeks, there have been multiple mass shootings in American including Gilroy, California; El Paso, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio. There was outrage and condemnation by many of The Hunt trailer because it is a violent movie that shows Americans killing other Americans for sport.
After taking heat, Universal Pictures decided against releasing The Hunt in the current tumultuous climate. Universal Pictures issued a statement on the movie’s cancellation.
While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.
The movie featured Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, and Betty Gilpin. The film was written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof and directed by Craig Zobel. The canceled Blumhouse movie was to be produced by Jason Blum, the producer of other social commentary disguised as horror movies Get Out and The Purge franchise.
“No one’s seen the film,” Swank said of The Hunt. “You can’t really have a conversation about it without understanding what it’s about,” she said.
While not naming the movie specifically, President Donald Trump appeared to attack the movie on Twitter in the following tweets.
reportedly took aim at The Hunt on Friday over Twitter with the following tweets:
“Hollywood, I don’t call them the elites. I think the elites are the people they go after in many cases. But Hollywood is really terrible,” the POTUS said.
“What they’re doing, with the kind of movie they’re putting out, it’s actually very dangerous for our country. What Hollywood is doing is a tremendous disservice to our country.”
….to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2019
The movie shows wealthy liberal “elites” (which appear to be the bad guys) traveling to a five-star resort where they hunt “MAGA types (which appear to be the good guys) for sport.
“Nothing better than going out to the Manor and slaughtering a dozen deplorables,” one character says in the movie. “Deplorables” is the derogatory term that Hillary Clinton classified Trump supporters during the 2016 presidential election.
The movie, which was originally supposed to be named Red State vs. Blue State, was scheduled to hit theaters on September 27. There are no official plans for the future of The Hunt, but it could eventually air on Comcast’s upcoming streaming service down the road or in theaters at a later date.
[FoxNews]