A Dogs Purpose premiere cancelled amidst controversy. Amid the controversy surrounding a troubling video which revealed a stressed German Shepherd was forced to perform in artificial rapids on the set of the upcoming A Dogs Purpose, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have canceled the movies premiere, which was to have taken place in Los Angeles this weekend. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called for a boycott of the film and is pushing for further action, calling on the director of the Amblin production, Lasse Hallstrom, and producer Gavin Polone to pledge never to use animals in films again and to rescue the dogs from Birds Animals Unlimited, the training and handling facility said to be the provider of the canines. The Hollywood Reporter wrote about alleged federal Animal Welfare Act violations at the companys Acton, Calif., headquarters on July 1. In cancelling the premiere, Universal and Amblin on Thursday issued a statement saying, Because Amblins review into the edited video released yesterday is still ongoing, distributor Universal Pictures has decided it is in the best interest of A Dogs Purpose to cancel this weekends premiere and press junket. Amblin and Universal do not want anything to overshadow this film that celebrates the relationship between humans and animals. Since the emergence of the footage, Amblin has engaged with many associated with the production of the film, including safety personnel, trainers and stunt coordinators as part of their in depth review. While we are all disheartened by the appearance of an animal in distress, everyone has assured us that Hercules the German Shepherd was not harmed throughout the filmmaking. A Dogs Purpose is scheduled for wide release on Jan. Hallstrom did not return a request for comment about PETAs most recent demand. Lady And The Tramp II: Scamp`S Adventure Streaming. Polone, however, was forceful in a conversation with THR for which he regularly writes opinion columns about industry issues. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society SSCS is a nonprofit, marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United. PETA has called for a boycott of the film after a video surfaced of a German shepherd forced to perform in artificial rapids. The Tomatometer rating based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics is a trusted measurement of movie and TV. One of the dogs in the upcoming film A Dogs Purpose desperately resisted shooting a risky scene, but chilling footage shows filmmakers apparently. A prominent Hollywood vegan and animal rights activist, he contends PETA wants to fire up its base and its not productive. Its also kind of crazy Im the person they should be strong arming This is a movie about promoting the idea of animals as sentient and deserving of empathy and rights. Polone went on to note that hed worked with PETA in the past, but disagreed with its contention that no animals should be used in production. The organization has argued that CGI should solely be employed, but others in the industry insist that such technology would be cost prohibitive. Its nave and untenable and will never happen we all know that, the producer says. Whats needed is a replacement for the to her supervisors but the AHA gave the movie an acceptable rating anyway, says Lange. We dont know if that is true, but were asking. When contacted by THR, the AHA declined to address PETAs request. In 2. 01. 3, THR exposed a history of complicity, internal cover ups and failed investigative work at the monitoring group.