Director Matthew Vaughn Responds to Kick-Ass Criticism
Posted 03.22.10 by BrentJS
Before stepping into the role of director on such movies as Layer Cake and Stardust, Matthew Vaughn "made his bones" in filmmaking as the producer of director Guy Ritchie's brilliant London gangster movies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. It's no surprise then that Vaughn himself has a somewhat gangster attitude — and the language to match it — when it comes to those critical of his latest movie, Kick-Ass.
Regarding the critics that have been declaring Kick-Ass a new low-point in culture, indicative of the moral decay of Western society, Vaughn has three simple words:
F*ck them all.
At issue are the violent tactics and vulgar language of one of the movie's protagonists, the pre-teen hero Hit Girl (played by Chloe Moretz). In the movie (as in the Mark Millar comic), Hit Girl has no problem cutting down bad guys with a knife, sword. or uzi — and no problem slinging around the c-word, or as Vaughn calls it, "See you next Tuesday."
Vaughn's adherence to the spirit of the character created by Millar was a huge impediment to getting the movie made, which ultimately led to Vaughn self-financing it. In Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie from Titan Books, Millar recounts how studio executives wanted Vaughn to take everything that was great about the character out of the movie.
[Vaughn] took it to a studio he has a deal with, and they looked at it and said, "We really like it, but can you take out all the violence, all the swearing, and make it a more generic superhero movie?"
In a recent interview with the British TimesOnline, Vaughn expressed his frustration over moral watchdog groups who denounce Kick-Ass and would see it censored.
Seriously, it will ruin any creativity in this country, if we have to be answerable to them. It's a free country, and you don't have to watch it. But there are enough people who like this film to warrant it being made in the first place.
Vaughn is quick to point out that this is a fictitious tale of wannabe superheroes made to entertain, not to instruct.
It's pretty amazing that four letters can have such a powerful effect on people … and I would not condone a normal little girl killing people or swearing.
The premise of Kick-Ass revolves around the idea of regular people, with no superpowers or special abilities, putting on costumes and going out to fight crime. Vaughn said that, while he hopes people enjoy the movie, the one thing he doesn't want is for people to emulate what they see in the movie.
My worst nightmare would be if this film came out and some kid copied it. Some kid thinking that it looks like fun, putting on a costume and getting their head kicked in. That would be a disaster. Which is one of the main reasons why there's a scene where Kick-Ass gets stabbed. I'm trying to say to the kids, "Bad idea! Don't try this at home!"
Kick-Ass also stars Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage.
Next Showing: Kick-Ass opens April 16