Latest on fallout over disturbing scene in ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ movie

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Scared dog forced into churning water
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On Wednesday, TMZ released disturbing behind-the-scenes video taken during filming of the movie, “A Dog’s Purpose,” which appears to show a frightened German shepherd being forced into churning water. The final scene of the video shows a dog’s head disappearing beneath the turbulent water and people screaming “cut it” just before the video ends.

There was an American Humane Association representative present during the filming of the movie and that person has since been suspended and an independent third-party has been brought in to review the circumstances surrounding the incident.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have released a statement advising that they have viewed the footage and they are “confident” that great care was taken for the dog, whose name is “Hercules.” In the statement, the agencies report that, “There were several days of rehearsal of the water scenes to ensure Hercules was comfortable with all of the stunts.”

However, the Huffington Post is reporting that the film’s director,  Lasse Hallström, is disturbed by the behind-the-scenes footage. Hallström indicated that he did not witness what transpired himself – he said:

“I am very disturbed by the video released today from the set of my film A dog’s purpose. I did not witness these actions, which are unacceptable and would never happen with my knowledge. We were all committed to providing a loving, respectful and safe environment for all the animals in the film. I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.”

Latest on disturbing scene in movie

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling for dog-lovers to boycott the movie and actor Josh Gad, who provides the dog’s voice in the movie, has stated that he was “shaken” and “sad,” by the footage that he saw.

(Photos screenshot via TMZ and Twitter)


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32 COMMENTS

  1. Hope all turns out ok and the dog was not tramatized, but should PETA have any part of this just asking as i read a artical earlier about PETA stealing animals and killing them

    • PETA is a generally evil organization that will occasionally pop its head up and stand up for something good; that way they can keep getting away with the atrocities they commit.

    • I dislike peta. They are an extremist group. I love animals. My career and life are animals. But peta thinks t that no animal should be a pet or raised for anything. They have a “shelter” where they mass murdered a bunch of dogs. PETA is horrible and they definitely should not be involved

      • You forgot to mention PETA’s infamous “kill van” in which hundreds of animals have been killed. PETA actually has a 97% kill rate and believes that companion animals should not exist. It would not surprise me if PETA themselves were the ones who “released” this year old doctored footage.

  2. WTH.. did they watch the same clip I did?? If so why would you even say something as foolish and just plain stuipid as this. “On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have released a statement advising that they have viewed the footage and they are “confident” that great care was taken for the dog, whose name is “Hercules.” In the statement, the agencies report that, “There were several days of rehearsal of the water scenes to ensure Hercules was comfortable with all of the stunts.”

  3. And what about the dog???? Is he ok???? One thing for sure he will never go near water again!! And PETA… PLEASE…Dog killing organization….

  4. How is the dog and where is the dog? How many rehearsal scenes was he subjected to? They, including all the spectators, should have to go through the same treatment.

  5. The director didn’t see this happening earlier? BS the director sees everything that goes on on the set. Come on! My question who does Hercules belong to? The dog needs to be taken away from that person. Whoever allowed this to happen to him is not a proper guardian for this dog. Animals are not here for our amusement or to be forced to do anything they are afraid to do so humans can make a buck.

  6. As an active member of the dog rescue community across the USA and an avid animal advocate since the end of the year 2000, you can rest assured that I will boycott this movie, because of the cruelty Hercules was subjected to, which will forever traumatize him where water is concerned, and lessen his trust in the very person/people he should have been able to depend on to protect him; and, I have encouraged all involved in the rescue communities across the US, to boycott the movie as well. So far, the responses I have received, state that everyone who has seen this footage, will be boycotting the film and encourage others to follow suit. This was a HUGE mistake on the part of the movie maker(s). HUGE. We would like a follow up with photos of Hercules today.

  7. so impossible the director didn’t see the shooting. how would you permit your crew taking a shoot with out. oh common direct stop blaming others. and yeah same question with the others. how’s the dog?

  8. You would think that with all the animal rights people and video cameras on them, they would learn damn better. People are not going to just let things like this go. You don’t abuse children or animals in ANY way. That’s crossing the line..

  9. Bs. Every film maker wants to catch that moment. Everyone that had a part of this scene should be fired. POS. If it was drama queen Beyoncé or Merle Streep, technology would have created this scene. T he dog handler should never be given a dog again

  10. its pretty ironic you make a movie about a dog dying and reincarnating.
    And now we question. Did this dog die during this scene? yes it did. and amblin entertainment is trying to deceive us with another german shepard.

  11. you set up a scene where a dog drowns. And then you allowed a terrified dog to drown to get your dramatic scene.
    Now deal with the aftermath . let this be a lesson to all you directors.Were not going to stand for this anymore

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