In an unusual move, actor Jim Carrey is refusing to promote his role in the violent black comedy “Kick-ass 2” because of sudden moral qualms—in this case about the impact of screen violence in the real world.
“I did Kickass a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence,” Carrey wrote on Twitter, referring to a school shooting massacre in Connecticut last year. “My apologies to others involve with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.”
No word whether Carrey give back his salary in a courageous act connected to his new-found social awareness. Just kidding! That will never happen.
“I’m baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn’t in the screenplay 18 months ago,” wrote the creator of the “Kick Ass” comics—Mark Millar. “Yes, the body-count is very high, but a movie called ‘Kick-ass 2’ really has to do what it says on the tin.”
Publicity obligations are usually contractually required, so it’s not clear if “Kick Ass 2’s” distributor Universal Pictures will take some kind of legal action against Carrey. Certainly, producers will think twice before hiring Carrey for certain types of films in the future, given he is withholding publicity support.
There have been occasional battles when producers are unhappy with the level of promotion that talent gives films. And talent sometimes generates bad publicity in their private lives that rub off on their films, but that’s accidental.
It’ll also be interesting to see if Carrey’s 11th hour renunciation has an adverse impact on the film’s box office….it may well help by conveying the notion the movie is so violent one of its actors couldn’t stomach the carnage. There was mayhem in the original, but not graphic and the first “Kick-ass” was laced with black comedy flavor.
The R-rated “Kick-ass 2” is scheduled for premiere Aug. 16.
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