Roy Exum
Irish actor Liam Neeson has literally made millions of dollars shooting people in movies. His latest film, “Taken 3,” debuted last week and to kick it off, he was in Dubai with huge posters of him wielding a pistol scattered all about. During a press conference last Monday, he got off to a pleasant start when he mourned the Charlie Bebdo attacks in France.
“First off, my thoughts and prayers and my heart are with the deceased, and certainly with all of France.
I’ve got a lot of dear friends in Paris.”
But then the actor slammed the United States in a profane-laced tirade that many believe made him look like a fool. “There’s too many (expletive) guns out there,” the star of many Hollywood shoot-ups told reporters. “Especially in America. I think the population is like, 320 million? There’s over 300 million guns privately owned in America. I think it’s a (expletive) disgrace. Every week now we’re picking up a newspaper and seeing, ‘yet another few kids have been killed in schools.’”
Somebody asked if gun control was law enforcement’s responsibility and Neeson said: “Let’s not get into it. Let’s put it this way: I think a light has been shone on the justice system in America, and it’s a justifiable light.”
In his newest film he stars as a trigger-happy character named Bryan Mills but Neeson doesn’t think the action-type movies encourage people to get guns. “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,” he told reporters.
“A character like Bryan Mills going out with guns and taking revenge: it’s fantasy,” he explained. “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!’”
Well, when Neeson’s remarks reached the media in America he was promptly labeled as the world’s biggest hypocrite and has since been called out by thousands of gun owners who plan to boycott his films and vow never to watch re-runs of “Schindler’s List” on TV.
What was he thinking? That it might help at the box office? One salvo said, “You know where they have super strict gun control, Liam? IN FRANCE, you idiot!” while another stated, “I would be glad to see Neeson deported back to Ireland.”
But the best reaction came immediately from PARA-USA, the company that makes the guns Neeson likes to use in his films. “PARA USA regrets its decision to provide firearms for use in the film ‘Taken 3’. While the film itself is entertaining, comments made by its Irish-born star during press junkets reflect a cultural and factual ignorance that undermines support of the Second Amendment and American liberties,” the company posted on social media sites.
“We will no longer provide firearms for use in films starring Liam Neeson,” the statement read, “and ask that our friends and partners in Hollywood refrain from associating our brand and products with his projects. Further, we encourage our partners and friends in the firearms industry to do the same.”
That said, here are some delights that just arrived in my email …
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CRITICAL THINKING AT ITS BEST
WOMAN: Do you drink beer? MAN: Yes
WOMAN: How many beers a day? MAN: Usually about three.
WOMAN: How much do you pay per beer? MAN: $5.00 which includes a tip.
WOMAN: And how long have you been drinking? MAN: About 20 years, I suppose.
WOMAN: So a beer costs $5 and you have three beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450. In one year, it would be approximately $5,400 … correct? MAN: Correct.
WOMAN: If in one year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000, correct? MAN: Correct.
WOMAN: Do you know that if you didn't drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought a new Ferrari? MAN: Do you drink beer?
WOMAN: I’ve never touched it in my life. MAN: Where's your Ferrari?
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CHANGE THE JOHN TO JIM
1. I'm not saying let's go kill all the stupid people. I'm just saying let's remove all the warning labels and let the problem work itself out.
2. I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People move out of the way much faster now.
3. You can tell a lot about a woman's mood just by her hands. If they are holding a gun, she's probably very angry.
4. Gone are the days when girls cooked like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers.
5. You know that tingly little feeling you get when you really like someone you've just met? That's common sense leaving your body.
6. I don't like making plans for the day. Because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around in the courtroom.
7. I didn't make it to the gym today. That makes 1,500 days in a row!
8. I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
9. Dear paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers. If you find one, what's your plan?
10. Everyone has a right to be stupid. Some just abuse the privilege.