About "Taken"
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you, I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills . Skills I have acquired over a long career. Skills that make me a nighrmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find and I will kill you!"
When Liam said these lines in the first "Taken" movie in 2008, neihter he nor director Pierre Morel or producer Luc Besson had a clue what cult status these sentence would be achieved.
Liam would have liked to have deleted this dialog completely from the movie.
In an interview Liam gave last July, he said that he wasn't a fan of the line at first and would have preferred to remove it from the script, "I was not originally a fan of my now legendary speech. I thought the saying was silly and I'm very surprised at how much this saying has developed over the years and achieved this remarkable cult status."
"These sentences are arguably one of the most quoted in recent movie history. I didn't see it that way at first. It certainly did sound scary, but I thought it was corny ... It was a cornball. I really did feel that. But it's nice to be proven wrong!" Liam went on.
"I really thought 'Well this is going to go straight-to-video. But "Twenty Fox Centuary" took it and they very cleverly did a good trailer and put it during various sporting events around the country and they made ir real success. "
In the interview, Liam talked about a letter that a teacher from Texas had written to him.
"I remember on an amazing effect that the first "Taken" movie had on American audiences. You know, a while ago I got a letter from a teacher, from Texas," Liam said. "He wrote to me that he had organized a trip abraod to Europe with his students and that about 60 of his students had already signed up. Shortly before the trip, 40 families withdrew their permission participate. The reason they gave was that they had seen the first "Taken" film and they were now afraid for their children. They fear that their children will be kidnapped in Europe and sold by child traffickers.
After a short thoughtful pause, Liam continues the story, "It's appalling that parents are depriving their children of such a great apportunity. Just because they can't distinguish reality from fiction. They've forbit the trip simply because they've seen a movie."
In his letter this teacher wrote to me that he had tried again a year later to organize a trip to Europe, and it had the same effect again. Twenty families withdrew their permits on the same grounds. Again it was 'No, we've seen that Taken movie. Who knows what can happen there?
In 2022, during a talk show, Liam recounted the moment Natasha told him about the success "Taken" had in it first weekend in American cinemas, "
"When the movie came out, my wife Natasha... God Rest Her... she always brought me a cup of tea and a bran muffin every morning, when I was at home. This was also the case on that Sunday in 2008. I hear her coming up the stairs with her tray, giggling and laugthing. Something' up. So she gives me the tea and the bran muffin and she's giggling. And I said to her 'What's wrong '? and my wife answered 'You won't believe it. But "Taken" is number ... I think it was number two. Natasha was so happy for me about this success. You know, the following week it went down to number 3, then it come up at number two again. In the fourth week it come up to number 1, then up to number 3 again. It just had this extraordinary cycle. It became a hit. Yes, and Fox also played a very important role in success of "Taken" . Their advertising compaign was really, really great. "
The presenter asks Liam, " You talked to Luc Besson. You chased him down?"
"Yeah, my wife was in Shanghai and I accompanied her. We were showing her film at the Film Festval there, and Luc was there too. I really wanted to meet him. He was a member of the jury at the time ", Liam replied.
"I had already heard of the French film producer and know that Luc was also the author of the script. He is a wonderful man and terrific producer, an innovator. So I got hold of the script for "Taken" and started reading it. When I had finished reading the script I thought by myself 'Well, it's going straight-to-video, but it's a cool story ... it's really a cool little story '
"I really thought that movie will go straight to video and no one will see it. But I get to fight a lot , which I wanted to do. We'll be shoot in Paris. My goodness, I could live and work in Paris for three month. Yes, I wanted to do this movie. So I approached Luc Besson, took him aside and said to him 'Luc, I know I'm not on your list of actors you can imagine playing the main character in your next movie. But I would be very interested in playing it '
"I thought back then to the three months in Paris and the kickboxing training that I got as a bonus. That was for me, like a kid in the candystore. This role was a dream for me and another genre that interested me."
"I said to Luc 'I use to box as a child and I did sword fights in a few movie. Luc, I'd love the chance to shove and I got the part, "
"It was a wonderful script and a great team on set. Pierre Morel, our director, directed increadibly well. And I had this fantastic trainer who trained me in kickboxing. Yes, I remember this French guy, who did these insame car chases for the movie. He was fantastic. It was terrific. When we finished filming, I thought 'It was fun and now it's over. This little European movie will end up on video and nobody will want to see it. ' And then things turned out differently and I'm proud I was wrong."
"Noboby had expected this success and certainly not that there would be two sequells after the first Taken movie. "
The line I started this blog post with is probably the most popular among his fans and probably the most quote line from his movies.
My personally favorite line from from Liam's movie, however, is a different one:
"Once more into the fray.
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this Day,
Live and die on this day. "
It's a poem from the movie "The Grey" and it's an uplifting poem for me. It tells me to fight and not give up. Even if it is sometimes difficult and it seems that abstacles are always being put in the way. Don't give up on your dreams and wishes, but keep pursuing them.
❤️🇮🇪🍀💚🤍🧡
Maidin mhaith, a stór Liam, guím lá iontach síochánta oraibh agus tá súil agam go mbeidh an bheirt againn in ann aithne a chur ar a chéile go luath agus cupán tae a bheith againn le chéile.
Tabhair aire mhaith duit féin agus fan sláintiúil. Tá sé go deas go bhfuil tú ann. Go raibh maith agat as gach rud atá déanta agat go dtí seo. Maidir liom féin freisin.
Is mór an trua go bhfuil an chuid is mó d’agallaimh faoi na scannáin “Take” ba mhaith liom labhairt leat faoi Michael Collins. Nó níos fearr ráite, ba mhaith liom an scéal a chloisteáil faoin duine uathúil seo de do chuid.
❤️🇮🇪🍀💚🤍🧡
