It didn't take long for producer Jason Blum to walk back his controversial comments about female directors: The horror hitmaker has issued an apology for his "dumb" remarks, and is pledging to make changes to Blumhouse.

Blum caused an uproar on social media on Wednesday after saying in an interview that his company had never released a woman-directed movie, because "there are not a lot of female directors period, and even less who are inclined to do horror." Many film fans and critics begged to differ, flooding Twitter with suggestions -- and also admonishing Blum for being willfully ignorant about the wealth of female talent in Hollywood.

In a statement on Twitter, Blum admitted he was wrong.

"Thank you everyone for calling me out on my dumb comments in that interview," the producer tweeted, going on to say that he was indeed passionate about hiring women, citing Blumhouse's large number of female executives.

But Blum admitted that the company has "not done a good enough job working with female directors and it is not because they don't exist."

The producer ended his statement by pledging to "do better," and it seems that he is intent on keeping that promise. Blum spoke with Variety at the "Halloween" premiere on Wednesday night, and said that some good had already come from the controversy.

"Today was a great day for me because I learned a lot," the producer told the trade, "and because there are a lot of women out there that I’m going to meet as a result of today, so I’m grateful for it."

Women in Hollywood are more than ready for the opportunity afforded by helming a Blumhouse feature. Here's hoping Blum stays true to his word and actually makes it happen.

[via: Jason Blum/Twitter, Variety]