Author: Richard Newby

Yesterday, the entertainment world was rocked by Liam Neeson’s statement that he will likely be retiring from action movies in two years at the age of 64. Neeson’s action movies of have become a box office staple during the dead winter months, as well as an adequately distracting bridge between summer movie season and Oscar-bait season. Word is that studio heads are already in a panic as Liam Neeson action movies account for 15% of the annual global box office. Of course Ed Harris will have the villain roles under lock for the next 30 years, but there’s a hero-sized void that’s going to need to be filled. The power vacuum we’re going to see as a result of Neeson’s absence will be unprecedented. No doubt, names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and JCVD will make power plays to reclaim their old positions. A number of wrestlers will throw themselves in the ring but they’ll likely just be casualties in the end, their bodies used as mortar in the service of a new empire. Toss in a recent upstart like The Gunman‘s Sean Penn and a loose cannon like Nic Cage and Hollywood’s going to have a blood bath on their hands. You can forget about youngins like Kellan Lutz or Liam Hemsworth. Action is an old man’s game and if we’re going to have any semblance...