Dustin Hoffman Blasts PETA, TMZ for Causing 'Luck' to Run Out

Pity the poor TMZ stalker-azzi who tries to get footage of screen legend Dustin Hoffman.

The Rain Man star is out promoting his directorial debut, Quartet, but he’s also letting off steam regarding the forces that led to the abrupt cancellation of his HBO drama Luck. The network cancelled the horse racing series abruptly after the death of three horses used in the program.

FOX411: So what happened?

Hoffman: If you Google Paulick Report, it’s a site for horse racing, and in that report is the real reason why the show was cancelled. It was a collaboration between PETA and TMZ. It’s interesting, sites like TMZ, they’re mistaken for news. We did “All The President’s Men” and you had to have two sources and they don’t need any sources, they’re gossip, but the general public believes what they say.

It still deeply wounds me, not for myself, not for the show, but the pain they caused 400 crew people to have and I don’t think they lost a moment’s sleep. It’s completely distorted. Anyone who raises horses know they break their legs. The accusations they made were distorted. Every time we’d race the horses we’d rest them. They’d race 20 seconds, then we’d rest them for an hour. I think they (PETA) were looking to get contributions. Somebody ought to do a movie about them.