The Oscar-winning superproducer Harvey Weinstein has vowed to turn away from making films that unnecessarily glorify gun violence in light of the ongoing US debate on the issue.
Weinstein said he agreed with certain rightwing critics, who have accused him of attacking the pro-gun lobby while advocating movies which encourage the use of firearms. Speaking on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight show over the weekend, he promised to change his position on the matter.
"Well, I think they have a point. You have to look in the mirror, too," said Weinstein. "I have to just choose movies that aren't violent or as violent as they used to be. And I know for me, personally, I can't continue to do that. The change starts here. It has already."
The producer said he would continue to work on certain types of films which feature violence, citing US navy seal drama Lone Survivor as the type of movie he would work on "in a second". But he said he was ruling out the "crazy action movie just to blow up people and exploit people".
Weinstein announced a high-profile anti-gun lobby drama titled The Senator's Wife last week, prompting accusations of hypocrisy in some quarters. He hopes the proposed film, which will star Meryl Streep, can be a Mr Smith Goes to Washington for the gun violence issue.
Frank Capra's Oscar-winning politically themed 1939 classic was a controversial film at the time for its thinly veiled diatribes against government corruption. The Senator's Wife will specifically take on the high-powered US National Rifle Association, with Weinstein calling the gun rights group "a disaster area".
Weinstein's vow to abandon over-the-top violence could signal the end of one of the longest-running and most critically successful partnerships in 21st-century Hollywood. It would presumably preclude him from working with Quentin Tarantino, whose films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained were all brought to the big screen by Weinstein-owned companies.
