Just read this article about them pulling the ads but going forward with the movie.

In the wake of a trio of deadly massacres, the studio is evaluating its strategy for the R-rated Blumhouse satire in which elites stalk "deplorables."
"Did anyone see what our ratfucker-in-chief just did?" one character asks early in the screenplay for The Hunt, a Universal Pictures thriller set to open Sept. 27. Another responds: "At least The Hunt's coming up. Nothing better than going out to the Manor and slaughtering a dozen deplorables."

In the aftermath of mass shootings within days of one another that shocked and traumatized the nation, Universal is re-evaluating its strategy for the certain-to-be-controversial satire. The violent, R-rated film from producer Jason Blum's Blumhouse follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals.

Over the Aug. 3 weekend, ESPN pulled an ad for the film that it had previously cleared, while AMC ran the spot during the season premiere of its drama The Preacher. It's unclear whether the ads were identical, but the one yanked by ESPN opened with a sound resembling an emergency broadcast signal. A rep for ESPN parent Disney declined to comment on the move, but an ESPN source says no spots for the film will appear on the network in the coming weeks.

The Hunt stars Betty Gilpin from GLOW and Hilary Swank, representing opposite sides of the political divide. It features guns blazing along with other ultra-violent killings as the elites pick off their prey. The script from Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter revolves around third-rail political themes. (Original title: Red State Vs. Blue State.)

A studio source says that even before the recent attacks, which left 34 dead in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California, some reshoots were done based on a recent rough cut. Universal and Blumhouse declined to comment.

While one high-level Universal source says the studio has pulled some ads that are beginning to air and appear online "for content and placement," others say the matter is still under discussion internally. A major ad blitz on television and the web had been planned for the beginning of September, says one insider. A trailer is already online.

Given the fraught political climate — particularly in the wake of the attack in El Paso, which was motivated by anti-immigrant bigotry — studio sources say Universal is evaluating its plans in what one called "a fluid situation." A high-level insider says top executives want to stand by Blum, one of the studio's most prolific and successful producers, as well as filmmaker Craig Zobel, and see the project as a satire addressing an issue of great social importance. But this person says plans could change "if people think we're being exploitative rather than opinionated."

From a business perspective, The Hunt presents a gamble for Universal in these divided times. The satire Assassination Nation, which also pitted the woke versus the unwoke in uber-violent fashion, represented the top sale at Sundance 2018 at $10 million. But the film fizzled upon its release later that year, earning just $2 million with no international rollout. Says one person involved with that film, "We thought people would get the joke."

The Hunt made some executives at Universal skittish back in May 2018, when film chief Donna Langley acquired the script and fast-tracked it at a modest $18 million budget. It is unclear whether there were any other bidders on the property, the sale of which was brokered by CAA, but insiders at several studios told THR at the time that they did not pursue it because of the explosive premise. One executive says he didn't even read the script, noting, "The idea seemed crazy."

This is not the first time a studio has been faced with real-life events that rendered a film release more complicated. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, for example, Warner Bros. moved back the Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer Collateral Damage and abandoned a trailer that featured a bomb attack in the U.S. The 2017 Death Wish remake was delayed several months in response to a mass shooting in Las Vegas. And Oliver Stone's 1994 satire Natural Born Killers was criticized for inspiring copycat killings.

Certainly, satire can be a dicey genre for studios to pull off. Just ask Sony, which became the target of a 2014 hack blamed on the North Koreans over the Seth Rogen comedy The Interview.

The script for The Hunt features the red-state characters wearing trucker hats and cowboy shirts, with one bragging about owning seven guns because it's his constitutional right. The blue-state characters — some equally adept with firearms — explain that they picked their targets because they expressed anti-choice positions or used the N-word on Twitter. "War is war," says one character after shoving a stiletto heel through the eye of a denim-clad hillbilly.

"Employees in different departments were questioning the wisdom of making such a movie in these times," says one filmmaker with ties to Universal. "In light of the horrific [recent shootings], is this not the most craven, irresponsible, dangerous exploitation?"

That point is countered by a Universal executive, who says the movie "is meant to show what a stupid, crazy world we live in," adding, "It might even be more powerful now."

https://www.hollywoodreporter....ss-shootings-1229829

WTF over.....I am sure if someone made a movie about hunting snowflakes or Antifa it would be ok?

Hope they play it prime time on every major network. This will only show the fence-sitters how truly deranged the left has become.


Oh, and to those that want to hunt us (you know, the country's gun owners; many with LEO/Military experience):

Bring.

It.

On.

I recall reading a short story called The Most Dangerous Game back when I was a kid.

This sounds like a "Woke" version of that.

quote:

The violent, R-rated film from producer Jason Blum's Blumhouse follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals.

I can only guess what was going through the studio execs minds when they gave a movie with this premise a green light.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:

I can only guess what was going through the studio execs minds when they gave a movie with this premise a green light.

Hatred.

Intollerance.

Pathological desire to attack anybody who *dares* to think differently than them.

They are truly suffering from mental illness, but they blame US when psychos like themselves go on murder sprees.

Torture port for "Progressives."

Reading through all that I can't figure out if releasing the movie would be a good or a bad thing in the long run (or just not matter, like everything else Hollywood does).

It is patently absurd and as satire the producers know that as well. It is a warning about where things could be headed though. I don't engage on Facebook but recent posts by liberal in-law blamed the El Paso shooting on Trump's "white supremacy" and said that 2020 is truly "good vs. evil."

Once you are a white supremacist and evil, what level of "resistance" is morally acceptable in opposition of that? Is there a limit on what you would do to "save" the nation from such evil?

Quite the straw-man the left has built to stand in for us...

This is some pretty sick, demented shit. This is seriously a full production movie? Unreal.

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
...recent posts by liberal in-law ... said that 2020 is truly "good vs. evil."

Well, she's not wrong about that...

I'm sure that some of these people are acting with full, malicious knowledge of what they are doing. But most are just being carried along on a tide of increasing hate and violence with no real idea of where this all goes. How many have seen civil war? Not in movies, or books, but on the ground with it all around? They have no idea what they are fucking with, no idea.

the should go ahead and show it - everywhere

it will give us some insight into the tactics that the libtards think will be useful when they come for us

but I say, bring it on

"but I say, bring it on"

They haven't yet faced any return violence. I forget who said this-- maybe Joe Rogan:

"I thought I wanted to be a boxer. Then I got in the ring with a guy who really wanted to be a boxer."

I see in the credits from the producer of "Get Out" and "The Purge", some toxic racial/class pot-stirring right there. Seems to be a theme.

"They're not people **dismissive laughter**"

ICE-T did it better. Sigh.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:

I can only guess what was going through the studio execs minds when they gave a movie with this premise a green light.

Hatred.

Intollerance.

Pathological desire to attack anybody who *dares* to think differently than them.

They are truly suffering from mental illness, but they blame US when psychos like themselves go on murder sprees.

Nope, it is the desire to sell lots of tickets and make lots of money.

I know it is tempting to ascribe political motives to Univeral (or whoever), but that isn't it. A studio will not fund anything it can't profit from.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
Oh, and to those that want to hunt us (you know, the country's gun owners; many with LEO/Military experience):...

Might I point out there may be a population of current/former LEO's and Military that are Leftists and Demotards just like the rest of the non-firearm dolts. So a confrontation might not be, at some level, as easy as "we" think.

I wonder when this was green lighted?

I'm leaning towards right before November 2016...

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
A studio will not fund anything it can't profit from.

^^^^ Ghostbusters is the mic drop.

Of course there is political motivations for many exec decisions made today. Just look at Gillette.

As others have said, this has been done before. "Bushwick" comes to mind. I don't think we will ever have peace again between the two parties. The divides are long and deep. Our republic is dissipating before our eyes.