Filmmaker Jason Blum says that he still hopes The Hunt will be released one day, in spite of its recent cancellation. The founder of Blumhouse Productions has been pushing the envelope when it comes to horror movies in recent years, and this human hunting story was just a tad too much for parent company Universal. However, Blum has not given up yet.
Universal announced that The Hunt was going on the shelf indefinitely this month. The movie stars Hilary Swank as a rich 1-percenter feigning kindness and charity while hunting less wealthy humans for sport. It sought to comment on the wealth gap and the confused political climate, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, it seemed ill-timed to executives at Universal.
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“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,” read a company statement.
In spite of this blow, Blum is still hopeful. In an interview with Vulture this week, he said that he truly believes in The Hunt, and he has his eye out for opportunities to release it one way or another.
“If I was offered the choice to make the movie again, I would say yes,” he said. “We definitely made marketing mistakes, and we made plenty of mistakes along the way. So I’ve learned a lot. It might change how I would position movies and how I would consult on the marketing of the movies. But actually the making of the movies?”
Asked outright if there was a real chance The Hunt could be released one day, Blum said: “Definitely a chance. I hope so.”
There were plenty of strange obstacles between The Hunt and the theaters. The first trailer and the early marketing push for the movie heavily emphasized the political aspect of the premise — Swank is coded as a die-hard liberal while her victims seem to be conservative.
This caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who went after The Hunt on Twitter. This brought the already grumbling reaction to full-on outcry.
“The movie coming out is made in order… to inflame and cause chaos,” he wrote. “They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for 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
In addition, the movie was supposed to be released just a few weeks after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio among others.
The Hunt was written by Damon Lindelof and Nic Cuse, and directed by Craig Zobel. So far, there is no plan to release the film.
