Universal Pictures said Tuesday that it will release the social satire "The Hunt," a film it canceled in the wake of criticism about its premise of "elites" hunting people for sport in red states.
A trailer announcing the film's March 13 release date presents the "elites" hunting regular people as a conspiracy theory. Star Hilary Swank says at one point that "it wasn't real" amid images of shootings, explosions and other violence.
The trailer includes the line, "The most talked about movie of the year is one nobody's seen yet."
In August, Universal Pictures canceled a September release for "The Hunt" after criticism, including from President Donald Trump. The president, without mentioning the film by name, said it was intended "to inflame and cause chaos."
The cancellation came after the studio had already paused the ad campaign for the R-rated film in the wake of mass shootings in Texas, Ohio and California.
The film features 12 strangers who awake in a clearing who don't yet know they've been chosen for The Hunt, but one of them manages to turn the table on the pursuers, a synopsis released Tuesday stated.
"The Hunt," produced by Jason Blum's Blumhouse, stars Oscar winner Swank and Betty Gilpin, and is directed by Craig Zobel. It was written by Damon Lindelof and his "Watchmen" collaborator Nick Cuse.
News of the film's release was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More