Gerard Butler and Director Antoine Fuqua Talk OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, How the Project Came Together, the Rating, and More

Opening next weekend is director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  If you’ve been waiting for Butler to return to action, you’re going to be very happy watching Olympus Has Fallen.  Not only is the film a hard R for graphic violence, it features Butler kicking ass in some great action set pieces.  Watch some clips here.

During the recent New York City press junket for the film, I got to speak with Butler and Fuqua.  We talked about how the project came together, how I think Butler needs to kick more ass on movie screens, the violence in the film, was it ever going to be PG-13, did they have to pull back on any of the scenes, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Gerard Butler and Antoine Fuqua

• T-shirt talk and I mention that Butler needs to kick more ass on screen
• How did they come together to make Olympus Has Fallen
• How this is a hard R bloody movie.  Did they have to pull back on any of the violence and was their ever going to be a PG-13 version of the film