Things We Saw Today: Jason Blum Says He “Learned a Lot” From The Hunt Being Cancelled

Jason Blum, head of Blumhouse, has finally spoken about the cancellation of upcoming Universal and Blumhouse film The Hunt. “If I was offered the choice to make the movie again, I would say yes. We definitely made marketing mistakes, and we made plenty of mistakes along the way. So I’ve learned a lot,” he told Vulture. “It might change how I would position movies and how I would consult on the marketing of the movies. But actually the making of the movies? No.”

He also hopes the film is released someday, which might happen way down the line. At this point, it could be that Universal ultimately decides to release The Hunt on digital, bypassing a potential minefield of marketing and more mass backlash from conservatives who think the film is about them. The film, quite frankly, is probably not worth all the mess surrounding it, and quickly dropping the film on Netflix after a few months means that it can be out there to speak for itself rather than being defined by the right who think the film encourages liberals to hunt down “deplorables.”

It seems though that Blum has learned something from this experience, which will be interesting to see going forward when Blumhouse is marketing the fifth film in The Purge franchise, in which a populist government with the support of the NRA are seen as the unquestioned villains and the film explicitly, if sometimes poorly, tackles race and class. With it coming out in an election year, it is bound to draw controversy. Hopefully, this one won’t get cancelled.

(via Vulture, image: Universal)

• Greta Gerwig talks casting Little Women, Meryl Streep, and Laura Dern. (via IndieWire)
• Internet boyfriend Michael Sheen will star in upcoming cheating drama Quiz from AMC and ITV. (via Variety)
• Quentin Tarantino almost wrote the Princess Mononoke English dub which… no. (via Comic Book Resources)
• Sir Ian McKellen leads Perth’s first ever Pride parade! (via Twitter)

Something to brighten your day: Sir Ian McKellen leads Perth’s first ever Pride parade. And there was a proposal! 🌈 pic.twitter.com/7yFiz1Y82p

— The Nine (@BBCScotNine) August 15, 2019

• Dame Magazine presents an excerpt from Sady Doyle’s book Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers. (via Dame Magazine)
•  Kypton has been cancelled by SyFy. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Happy Friday to all! What did you see this week?