Universal Cancels The Hunt Following Mass Shootings, Trump Tweets

Universal Pictures has decided to cancel the upcoming
Sept. 27 release of the satirical and bloody thriller The Hunt following the recent massacres in El Paso, TX, and Dayton,
OH, and a Twitter
rant by President Donald Trump that is presumed to have targeted the movie.

“While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing
campaign for The Hunt, after
thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release
the film,” the studio said in a statement.

“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 the film,” the statement added.

That should make both Trump and Fox News talking heads
happy, as the network had aggressively
criticized the film’s upcoming release and demanded that Universal pull it.

According to a trailer for the film,
the story focuses on a group of wealthy “elites” who kidnap people called
“deplorables” and hunt them down for sport, as Splinter’s Samantha Grasso
reported yesterday. The macabre game apparently is interrupted when one of the
victims begins fighting back.

Following all of the criticism on Fox News, Trump raged on
Twitter about “Liberal Hollywood,” which he accused of being “Racist at the
highest level.” To paraphrase, Trump essentially argued, “You’re not the elite. I’m the elite.”

I’m not really sure what racism has to do with any of this,
other than the fact that Trump can’t stand being called out for what he is, and
he always projects his insecurities
and misdeeds.

Those tweets came just after the president claimed that he
had spoken
with representatives of the NRA in the wake of back-to-back white domestic
terrorist attacks last weekend that killed
at least 31 people and injured dozens
of others. Trump said he had spoken with NRA members “so that their very
strong views can be fully represented and respected.”

Earlier this week, Trump visited Dayton and El Paso, where
he met with victims and their families, as well as law enforcement officials
and medical staff. In Dayton, he called the visit “warm
and wonderful” before attacking local Democratic politicians by name.

In El Paso, Trump and Melania posed
for a photo op with an orphaned baby whose parents were killed in the
attack. The 2-month-old had been released from the hospital and then brought
back just for the photo op. In the outrageously inappropriate photo, Trump wears
a broad grin and flashes an idiotic thumbs-up.