Universal Just Canceled The Release Of THE HUNT

In a move that will surely do much to alleviate the problem of gun violence in America, Universal Pictures has canceled the release of Craig Zobel's The Hunt. They issued the following statement alongside the announcement:

"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. 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 this film.”

Ostensibly, this move has been made in deference to the recent mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH, but it's probably also worth pointing out that Universal's decision comes roughly 24 hours after Donald Trump took to Twitter to publicly complain about the film (which he hasn't seen), as well as the ongoing problem of Hollywood's "racism" against conservatives (who, it's worth noting, are not a race). 

Also worth noting that this announcement was made around noon on a Saturday, in the midst of another, unrelated meltdown of a news story, though it's entirely up to you decide why that might be worth noting.

So. Here we are. Another in a long line of excellent and in-no-way rash decisions being made in response to a problem that would seem to have one blindingly obvious solution. Of course, I say that as the News Editor of a movie news/pop-culture blog, and am therefore probably unqualified to offer alternate solutions to the problem. I can think of a few, but really, what the hell do I know?

Sound off in the comments below if you've got thoughts or feelings on this. We suspect you do.