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| Dennis Quaid with a different canine companion in A Dog's Purpose. |
Four days after a video showing one of its canine cast members apparently being forced into raging water against his will, Lasse Hallström's family film A Dog's Purpose has had its Hollywood première cancelled. Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures said they didn't want anything to overshadow the film. Animal rights protestors have been calling for a boycott despite assurances that German shepherd Hercules was unharmed.
The film, which is an adaptation of the 2010 hit novel by W Bruce Cameron, tells the story of a dog who is reincarnated in multiple bodies and learns something each time, eventually forming an unbreakable bond with one very special human. Cameron has spoken out in defence of the film, saying that he was on the set earlier that day and saw Hercules happily jumping into the pool. He acknowledged that the dog was uncomfortable but stated his belief that this was because he was being asked to perform the stunt in a new area, and not where he knew it was safe. "I also didn’t like it when Hercules’s head briefly went under water, but there was a scuba diver and a trainer in the pool to protect him," he said in a statement on Facebook.
Cameron also questioned, as others have done, why a video taken 15 months ago was not released until Wednesday this week.
The studio says that it is undertaking a full investigation into the incident. The American Humane Association is also investigating and has suspended the person who was representing it on set that day until the process is concluded.
"I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished," said Hallström.
