A DOG'S PURPOSE | 01.27.17 | Universal | final gross ● 64.51M

[MikeQ]

I say this without judgement for now, as I don't know what the norms and standards are around the ethical treatment of animals on movie sets (and perhaps I am too "soft" when it comes to this kind of stuff), but watching that video, even though it's not much, made me feel queasy and very uncomfortable. The way the dog is continually restrained by the trainer/handler, and then forced into the water (and pulled back up), just feels wrong. But I'm willing to admit that I'm very gentle with animals, and could never imagine myself ever trying to force a dog do something like that. It just seems to me that the only ethical way to do a scene like that would be to have a dog that wants to do it, that chooses to jump in on command, and that doesn't have to be handled in the way the person in the video is handling this dog, even if this was a one time thing and the dog had completed the task before. Or alternatively, to do this scene using CGI.

 

But again, perhaps there are different norms around this in the industry and this is generally considered acceptable handling of a dog on set? I would sincerely like to know more about this. I guess my comment for now is that I think the video understandably makes many people feel uneasy and troubled about the dog's treatment, and I'm not sure that any added context would help much. But this could be my ignorance.

 

I've been seeing the story plastered all over my Facebook newsfeed by friends, some of whom are commenting that they will no longer see the movie, and a petition floating around to boycott the film. Definitely not a good sign for it's box office prospects.

 

Peace,

Mike

[Arlborn]

The studio responded horribly to all of this, this movie is fucked.

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

Why assume TMZ had to have had the video for months? Sure it happened a while ago, but on a movie set, not some sidewalk where the paps hang out. Maybe the on-set person who had access to the footage figured he/she would do the most damage to the film (and make the most money selling it) by waiting until 1-2 weeks before the movie was released. And not to endorse this line of thinking, but, if someone had leaked this footage a day or week after it happened, just maybe the PR debacle leads the studio to cut their losses and shut down production prematurely, for good. All those crew members out of work, well ahead of schedule and maybe nothing lined up to replace that income...or, just go to work and bide your time and end up with an even bigger payday...

Edited January 20, 2017 by BoxOfficeChica

[SteveJaros]

Wife is a big dog lover and was really looking forward to seeing it, and I was going along for the ride.

 

But not now,  she's pissed and they lost two attendees. 

[RyneOh1040]

YIKES.

 

Just cancelled the premiere this weekend because of the video.

 

What a PR nightmare.  Legit believe everyone involved will pretend this film didn't happen.

[filmlover]

1 minute ago, RyneOh1040 said:

YIKES.

 

Just cancelled the premiere this weekend because of the video.

 

What a PR nightmare.  Legit believe everyone involved will pretend this film didn't happen.

Oof. Anyone who believes there's no such thing as bad publicity should look to this movie going forward.

[That One Girl]

I love how everyone ignores that one TMZ article that pretty much confirms the dog was 100% fine.

[franfar]

10 hours ago, DAJK said:

French teacher brought this up at the beginning of class, trying to start a class discussion. It's crazy how divided everyone is, almost exactly half the class is against the movie, the other half says the video was exaggerated and it's better to wait until the whole story is known.

 

Then name calling started, people started getting mad at each other, and they just abandoned trying to speak in French. 

 

9 hours ago, Poseidon said:

People are so fast with their judgement nowadays. 

They like to be scandalized, wearing a $2 Shirt, made by 6 year old Kids in Bangladesh. With Force!

Check the facts, wait for facts.

But don't trust a manipulatively cut tape at first sight.


If anything, discuss using animals for movies generally.
Or maybe ask the horse next time, you want to ride it.

It won't answer, and we won't care. 

 

1 minute ago, That One Guy said:

I love how everyone ignores that one TMZ article that pretty much confirms the dog was 100% fine.

 

Just more evidence of how polarized we are as a society, and how we put emotions ahead of facts. I'm guilty of it too, but I at least try to correct myself if I notice it.

 

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, jandrew said:

 

And people continue to say this...again have you studied or worked in public relations? "Ignoring it" is one of the worst things you could do and will not make the problem go away. You can ignore your crazy ex-girlfriend stalker. She's still gonna stalk you and probably tie you up until you actually take action and get that restraining order.

 

Everything the studio needs to do a lot of yall have already outlined:

 

1. Josh Gad needs to be made aware the video was possibly manipulated. You need to get his ass to post a retraction saying he jumped to conclusions, he's sorry, and that he doesn't know the entire story and will wait until everything to come out to make his judgement.

 

2. Make a press release. The released needs to be pushed to all the trades and get top billing on Facebook and Twitter, and in it, it needs to be explained that:

 

a. The video doesn't tell the whole the story and they are working to find the truth.

b. Only certified trainers are allowed to work with animals on set. (and if that trainer has a relationship with the dog, it needs to be made known).

c. Make it known that working on set with animals is tight and regulated, as Jay Hollywood said. No animals were harmed in this filming needs to be harped on.

d. Apologize. Say you're sorry for even letting it get to this point and the studio will ensure that these issues wont happen again, and if it found that animals was mistreated, disciplinary action will be taken.

 

3. They need to threaten legal action if the video was manipulated.

 

THAT is how you handle something like this. You don't ignore it, you take responsibility and accountability and let the public KNOW.

This. Not even malicious, it's how you prevent smear campaigns. Gotta defend yourself.

[franfar]

3 minutes ago, That One Guy said:

I love how everyone ignores that one TMZ article that pretty much confirms the dog was 100% fine.

People always ignore articles that go against their beliefs, or are on the wrong side of outrage culture. 

[Jandrew]

1 hour ago, Arlborn said:

The studio responded horribly to all of this, this movie is fucked.

 

edit: nevermind, got the dates wrong.

Edited January 20, 2017 by jandrew

[That One Girl]

On the bright side for Universal, Split/Fifty Shades/Get Out will probably make up for any losses this movie has.  And maybe if the film gets positive reviews...

[Jandrew]

Okay nevermind. This comes out next Friday. I thought it was tomorrow. Well then I take it back, Universal still has time, but regardless they should've pounced on this this morning.

[That One Girl]

1 minute ago, jandrew said:

Okay nevermind. This comes out next Friday. I thought it was tomorrow. Well then I take it back, Universal still has time, but regardless they should've pounced on this this morning.

 

If they wanna save their shit, they need to make sure other people get out the word too that there's more to the story, not just the studios.

 

One channel with 5M subs (Philip DeFranco) had a 6 minute news story on his YouTube channel about the whole fiasco, and a lot of it was speculating that there's more to the story than what was shown.  It has 200k views thus far, so that has to count for something.

[SteveJaros]

18 minutes ago, That One Guy said:

I love how everyone ignores that one TMZ article that pretty much confirms the dog was 100% fine.

 

Maybe because it's kind of irrelevant? I mean, what if a video was to emerge of someone beating a kid with a belt in 2015? If people see it and are disgusted with that person's behavior, should it get me them off the hook if they can say "hey! stop complaining, the kid is 100% fine today!".

 

I mean sure, that's good, better than if the kid was permanently maimed him or something, but that doesn't mean the actions weren't still brutal and worthy of condemnation. 

Edited January 20, 2017 by SteveJaros

[filmlover]

Remember a few days ago when I said @Telemachos was gonna go see this movie just to laugh out loud every time the dog dies and is reincarnated?

 

We see you, you evil ancient bastard! You orchestrated all of this!

[That One Girl]

1 minute ago, SteveJaros said:

 

Maybe because it's kind of irrelevant? I mean, what if a video was to emerge of me beating a kid with my belt in 2015? If people see it and are disgusted with my behavior, should it get me off the hook if i can say "hey! stop complaining, the kid is 100% fine today!".

 

I mean sure, that's good, better than if I had permanently maimed him or something, but that doesn't mean my actions weren't still brutal and worthy of condemnation. 

 

Did you just compare a dog having itself being dipped in the water for a bit to do a scene he was trained for to literal child abuse?  That's not even a good comparison to begin with, sorry.

[CoolioD1]

i was always boycotting this one just because of how stupid it looked. if everyone else is joining me now, for whatever reason, that's great.

[That One Girl]

And now the premiere was cancelled because of a heavily edited video.  Great fucking going TMZ.  You really handled this one well.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/variety.com/2017/film/news/a-dogs-purpose-premiere-cancelled-universal-amblin-1201964463/amp/?client=safari

[robertman2]

Part of me hopes Amblin takes a page from Hulk Hogan and sues the shit of TMZ and the guy who filmed it. That would be entertaining

[Jandrew]

9 minutes ago, That One Guy said:

 

If they wanna save their shit, they need to make sure other people get out the word too that there's more to the story, not just the studios.

 

One channel with 5M subs (Philip DeFranco) had a 6 minute news story on his YouTube channel about the whole fiasco, and a lot of it was speculating that there's more to the story than what was shown.  It has 200k views thus far, so that has to count for something.

 

Yep. True. That's why I felt it was crucial to reach out to the media today, to if not set the record straight, at least make them aware the studio will be investigating.

 

This is still trending on Facebook and the first thing you see is a giant "PETA calling for boycott." And the 2nd post is from USA Today 5 hours ago just regurgitating what's already been said since yesterday. So this still looks like a completely one-sided affair.

Edited January 20, 2017 by jandrew