Director Norman Jewison has expressed bitter criticism of Universal Pictures for the way his 1999 film, The Hurricane, was handled.

In an interview appearing in today's (Thursday) Toronto Globe & Mail, the Canadian director faulted Universal for waiting until Dec. 29 to release the movie, claiming it was delayed so that it would not compete with another Universal film, The Bone Collector, that also starred Denzel Washington. "So it was a money decision, an economic decision. ... They kept telling me it was so good that it didn't matter we were coming out behind everybody else."

Jewison also charged that the studio failed to give the film adequate promotion prior to the Academy Awards and also failed to respond effectively to criticism of its factualness. "We were held to a higher standard than any film has ever been held," he told the newspaper.

Source: Studio Briefing