Posted on 03/04/2006 11:46:25 AM PST by La Enchiladita
He hates government, loves cops, but he's no Republican...
NEW YORK -- Bruce Willis is supposed to be giving a press conference on behalf of his new movie this morning.
And yes, he does have a lot to say about the upcoming 16 Blocks, in which he plays a corrupt, burned-out cop who's given the opportunity to redeem himself.
But a Willis press conference -- his preferred way of communicating with a media he often dislikes -- also tends to be a performance. And it's entertainment quotient rises when it becomes a series of rants.
So he's in prime form today as he launches into a tirade against Entertainment Weekly magazine; explains why he hates being labelled a Republican; and, in typical Bruce Willis fashion, both defends and denounces violence and suggests policemen should be paid lots more money. ....
Beneath the brashness there's a committed actor who also thinks long and hard about the society of which he's a part. Willis is also smart enough to know that 16 Blocks offers him his best role in years.
"I'm from Jersey and I have a strong affinity towards working-class people," he declares. That's why he likes cops. "I believe with any job that requires you possibly to get shot at or get shot dead, you should be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"These guys don't get paid anything. Yet they go out there and do it and there's not a lot of them out there and they're the last line between us and the wolves and the chaos that's out in the world.
"All these guys -- cops, EMT workers, men and women, emergency room doctors and nurses, people that every night have to see horrific things -- there should be thousands of films done about these guys. And they should get paid more money. A lot more money."
Moments later, he's off on a tangent when a reporter suggests that Willis is one of the few Hollywood actors who is "proud" to be a Republican.
"Let me stop you right there!" Willis interrupts.
"Everybody write this down because I'm sick of answering this.
"I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government. I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop pissing on my money and your money -- the tax dollars that we give 50 or 40 per cent of every year, and I want them to be fiscally responsible, and I want those goddam lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I'll say I'm a Republican.
"But other than that, I want the government to take care of people who need help -- like the kids in foster care, the half million kids in orphanages right now.... I want them to take care of the elderly and give them free medicine, give them whatever they need. There's tons, billions and billions of dollars, that are just being wasted. Okay? I hate government. I'm apolitical. Write that down."
... Almost immediately, Willis gets asked a political question anyway: is it ever legitimate to use violence in order to do the right thing?
"Occasionally -- when push comes to shove," replies Willis, who adds that he's not a violent man and doesn't advocate violence. But the United States and other countries in the free world "should do whatever it takes to end terrorism in the world." He's not just talking about the Middle East.
"I'm also talking about going to Columbia and doing whatever it takes to end the cocaine trade. It's killing this country. It's killing all the countries that coke goes into.... It's just a plant that they grow, and these guys are growing it like it's corn or tobacco or any other thing. By the time it gets here, it becomes a billion-dollar industry.
"And I think that's a form of terrorism as well."
... He then springs to the defence of controversial writer James Frey who received a verbal flaying from a furious Oprah Winfrey on her show last month for embellishing parts of his best-selling memoir, A Million Little Pieces.
"That's a great book," Willis says defiantly. He's unhappy that Frey had been "sucker-punched on Oprah, one of the most powerful women on television, just to grind her own axe about it."
"Hey Oprah -- you had President Clinton on your show. And if [he] didn't lie about a couple of things, I'm going to set myself on fire right now."
Yippee kai-yay, mo-, um, my good man.
Thirty years ago, actually (yeah, we're getting old).
So basically nobody with the ability to actually make something happen or get close to helping us in California.
Not that either major politcal party will currently support.
Probably the most effective politician would be a conservative Democrat but the CDP has sent out death squads to extinguish them at birth.
"Ditto, except for the logical disconnect between these two statements:
I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government.
I want them to take care of the elderly and give them free medicine, give them whatever they need."
Don't forget he wants to pay cops and every other government worker hundreds of thousands a year.
The prick that writes tickets in a speed trap must have a higher value to him, than it does to me.
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany) is an American actor and musician. Born at a military base to an American father and a German Lutheran mother, he was raised in Penns Grove, New Jersey and moved to New York to become an actor. He first found fame with his starring role in the hit TV series Moonlighting (1985–89) before starring in the Die Hard films.
Read these:
I'm easily annoyed by everybody jumping on the lobbyist issue. Reform may be needed but the concept of lobbying is central to the success of our form of government. First they go after funding and then the messengers. I disagreed with McCain-Feingold and going after lobbyist is the nuclear option in that war. I am happy to discuss reform but the generalizations about getting rid of the lobbyists is just so much thoughtless garbage. I get to together with a couple hundred of fellow like minded Americans and we pay to send a representative to express our point of view.........that's a fundamental right IMHO.
Mr. Willis you are welcome in my police pizza shop any time.
My kinda guy.
You think there may be a run for office in Bruce's future?
Now there's a suggestion!
I love Bruce, don't get me wrong.
I wonder how long until this is on an episode of South Park!
Mark
Yes, maybe he could become governor of Minnesota. Ya think?
I'd love to see him move to Mass and boot Fat Teddy out. Talk about going from one extreme to the other.
Awesome thought. Too bad Bruce's website is down; we could shoot him an e-mail.
Money where his mouth (and heart) is , another Hero like Mel Gibson!
[ Read these: ] did.... Thanks..
My nephew tells me that Harry Browne was corrupt.
If that made him the "Libertarian party's best ever candidate" then that party has some work to do.
I think the Libertarians would make for a much better loyal opposition party to the Republicans than the traitorous Democrats, so I am rooting for them to overpower the Dems and throw them into the waste bin of history. But they still need to field better candidates.
I just bought Die Hard to send to a Stryker unit patrolling the Syrian border.
My favorite action film.
Yippee kaiyo!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.