Movie Mayhem - A Cathartic Or Spur to Real-Life Violence?

`Movies get more expensive in competition with TV. You have to propose ideas to the audience that are kind of different and spectacular. You can only make a movie like ``Total Recall'' if you know for sure you have a star. you have a jgood chance to win with a jgood star like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think the audience is coming to see Arnold and the action. Everyone knew it would be an R-rated film. I don't think we should be to idealistic about that.' Paul Verhoeven, Director of `Total Recall'.

`Movies are a powerful media, and as artists we necessarily have the responsibility to make this world a better place to live. And promoting violence, I think, can be very bad. However, I don't believe that moviegoers, after seeing a violent movie, go home and start doing violent things. I think there are a lot of other problems in this society, and if we start blaming movies for these problems I think it's just a very easy way to get out of the situation....The kind of violence I have in ``Die Hard 2'' comes from the story, and it's not violence for the sake of violence. My feeling is that, if there are violent events in a movie, I want to portray them realistically.' Renny Harlin, Director of `Die Hard 2'.