The creator of Kick-Ass believes Jim Carrey has done the film a favor by refusing to promote it due to its depiction of violence.
Carrey, who plays Colonel Stars and Stripes in Kick-Ass 2, said he couldn’t “in all good conscience” support the level of violence in the film. He said he did the film a month before the Sandy Hook shooting, and that the tragedy caused a “change in [his] heart.”
Carrey had also written an op-ed about mass shootings for the Huffington Post, and made an anti-gun music video that debuted on Funny or Die.
Mark Millar , who created the Kick-Ass comic books and is a producer on the films, told the Daily Record , “In a weird way, Jim Carrey did us the biggest PR favor of all time. Universal (studio) estimates that it’s about $30 million worth of publicity that we got out of him pulling out.”
Millar adds, “Jim has been a massive advocate of gun control and come under flak for it from the gun lobby, who really hate him for it. It gave them real ammunition when the first poster of him in Kick-Ass 2 was of him with a pointed gun in his hand. He got all these gun guys tweeting him and it started to upset him. Eventually he felt he had to justify things.”
Millar said he Carrey’s decision not to promote the film was “a bit of a curve ball” but that it was also a “$30 million silver lining.” Millar said Carrey’s comments haven’t affected his relationship with the actor.
“Nobody has spoken with Jim since. He has just dropped off radar. I know he’s seen the film and the ultimate irony is that he is brilliant,” Millar said. “It may be his best role in a decade because he’s so charismatic. I really wanted to work with him again and I certainly wouldn’t be against it.”
Kick-Ass 2 director Jeff Wadlow also recently spoke out about Carrey’s comments on the film. He said Carrey is just as unpredictable in real life as he is in his movies. He also said he hoped the audience would see the film and judge for themselves. And, much like Millar, Wadlow said he would love to work with Carrey again, and that he was “fantastic in the movie.”
What do you think of Mark Millar’s take on the Jim Carrey controversy? Has his boycott done more good than harm to Kick-Ass 2?
