Liam Neeson: guns, not movies, to blame for increased levels of violence

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/15/liam-neeson-guns-movies-charlie-hebdo-levels-violence

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Liam Neeson, the star of the ultraviolent Taken movies, has spoke out in favour of US gun control and expressed his sorrow in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris.Neeson launched a tirade against the proliferation of deadly weapons in an interview with Gulf News earlier this week, while denying that Hollywood contributes to the problem.

“First off, my thoughts and prayers and my heart are with the deceased, and certainly with all of France, yesterday. I’ve got a lot of dear friends in Paris,” said the actor, who was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. “There’s too many guns out there,” he continued. “Especially in America. I think the population is like, 320 million? There’s over 300m guns. Privately owned, in America. I think it’s a disgrace. Every week now we’re picking up a newspaper and seeing, ‘Yet another few kids have been killed in schools.’”

Neeson said the gun problem was unconnected to violent action movies such as Taken 3, which recently hit cinemas worldwide, as well as its two predecessors. The actor stars as ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills in all three films.

“I grew up watching cowboy movies, loved doing that [gun gesture] with my fingers, ‘Bang, bang, you’re dead!’ I didn’t end up a killer. I think that’s something the power of cinema can be,” said Neeson.

“A character like Bryan Mills going out with guns and taking revenge: it’s fantasy. It’s in the movies, you know? I think it can give people a great release from stresses in life and all the rest of it, you know what I mean? It doesn’t mean they’re all going to go out and go, ‘Yeah, let’s get a gun!’”

The Taken films, created and co-written by French film-maker Luc Besson, have pulled in close to $700m (£460m) worldwide, with the latest instalment opening at No 1 in both the US and UK at the weekend despite scathing reviews.