Saturday's premiere for 'A Dog's Purpose' canceled

Universal/EPK.TV

If you haven't heard, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the new movie, "A Dog's Purpose." It started with a video that revealed a stressed German Shepherd forced to perform in artificial rapids. TMZ was the first to share the video and news about this very troubling incident on Jan. 18.

Now according to the Jan. 19 report from "The Hollywood Reporter," Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have canceled the movie's Los Angeles premiere this Saturday after issuing a statement about the incident. They also canceled the press junket.

Since the video, PETA has called for a boycott of the movie. They are also asking the director, Lasse Hallstrom and the producer, Gavin Polone to pledge to never use animals in films again and to rescue the dogs from Birds & Animals Unlimited.

Along with PETA, there are others who are starting boycotts. There are several petitions on Change.Org, with one calling for the movie to banned in all theaters and another calling it to be banned in Australia. 

The release of "A Dog's Purpose" is scheduled for Jan. 27. It stars Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, Josh Gad, and Peggy Lipton. "A Dog's Purpose" is based on the book by W. Bruce Cameron.