TMZ obtained and released the footage, which appears to show German Shepherd Hercules being pushed into the torrent for a shot. In another segment, a crew member appears to scramble for the dog after its head dips under the water’s surface.
Lasse Hallström, the film’s director, has released a strong statement on the footage. In the statement, obtained by Variety, he says “I am very disturbed by the video released today from the set of my film” and “I did not witness these actions, which are unacceptable and would never happen with my knowledge.”
“We were all committed to providing a loving, respectful and safe environment for all the animals in the film.I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.”
Josh Gad, who voices the dog in the film, issued his own statement on Twitter saying “I am shaken and sad to see any animal put in a situation agains its will.”
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) January 19, 2017
Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures, the companies behind the film, claim “Hercules is happy and healthy,” and that he was “comfortable and capable of performing in the scene beforehand.
“There were several days of rehearsal of the water scenes to ensure Hercules was comfortable with all of the stunts.“On the day of the shoot, Hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape so the Amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot.”
