Is ‘The Hunt’ really plagiarised? Here’s what we know as Apple TV pulls the plug on Mélanie Laurent thriller
In what comes as a dampener, Apple TV has pulled 'The Hunt', the streamer's upcoming French thriller slated to release this December. Per reports, creator and director Cédric Anger has been accused of taking the storyline from Douglas Fairbairn's 1973 novel, 'Shoot'.
Per a report from Apple Insider, the allegations came to light through Clement Garin, a French media expert. French producer Gaumont confirmed the news on Tuesday that 'The Hunt' is off the slate as it looks into the allegations. The streamer has also removed all materials on the show from its site.
"The broadcast of our series ‘The Hunt’ has been temporarily postponed," Gaumont said in a statement, according to Variety. "We are currently conducting a thorough review to address any questions related to our production. We take intellectual property matters very seriously." The series was scheduled to release on December 3 with a two-episode drop, followed by a weekly episodic release through December 31.
The official logline reads, "Franck (Magimel) and his longtime friends enjoy spending their weekends hunting together, but one Sunday, they come across another group of hunters who start targeting them without explanation. When one of their party is shot, Franck’s friends strike back, sending an attacker to the ground. Barely managing to escape, the four friends keep the event a secret. Franck tries to go back to his life as usual alongside his wife, Krystel (Laurent), but in the next few days, he starts to feel like he and his friends are being watched, or worse, tracked by hunters who are now hell-bent on revenge."
According to Goodreads, 'Shoot', the novel follows Rex, a “uber-macho hunter” named Rex, who, together with four equally testosterone-addled buddies, embarks on a hunting trip in the Canadian wilderness. "But their weekend is cut short by a rival band of hunters… one of whom inexplicably takes a potshot at Rex’s party," it says. “Another of Rex’s friends returns fire, killing the shooter." The group returns home, but Rex becomes convinced the “dead man’s companions are going to come after him and his friends."
Starring Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent in lead roles, 'The Hunt' stars Damien Bonnard, Manuel Guillot, Cédric Appietto, Angelyna Danabe Mignot, Paul Beaurepaire, Yann Goven, Sarah Pachoud, and Patrick de Vallette. Isabelle Degeorges, Clémentine Vaudaux, Alexis Barqueiro, and Sidonie Dumas for Gaumont serve as the executive producers.
