Gerard Butler: 'Olympus Has Fallen' is really a tale of 'redemption' (LA TIMES)

By Steven Zeitchik
March 22, 2013, 6:01 p.m.

If you head out to see the Gerard Butler action movie “Olympus Has Fallen” this weekend, you’re probably going for the pyrotechnics: The White House is blown to smithereens, the Washington Monument dramatically implodes, many bad guys die violently.

But Butler, who stars as the fallen Secret Service agent and one-man wrecking crew Mike Banning in the D.C.-under-fire-from-North-Korean-terrorists tale, sees in it something a little more … nuanced.

“This movie is a hero's journey about a guy who faces his demons and finds his redemption,” Butler told The Times when asked what he thought the movie was really about. Butler's character is wracked by guilt over a mistake that led to the death of the first lady.

READ MORE: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-gerard-butler-olympus-has-fallen-movie-reviews-theaters-20130322,0,2187797.story

'Olympus Has Fallen' Screening: Gerard Butler, Angela Bassett Get Handsy on the Red Carpet (PHOTOS) Posted: 03/13/2013 1:12 pm EDT

Angela Bassett and Gerard Butler attend a screening of FilmDistrict's "Olympus Has Fallen" hosted by the Cinema Society with Roger Dubuis and Grey Goose on Monday, March 11, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/A

Gerard Butler and Angela Bassett looked very happy at the New York City screening of their new movie "Olympus Has Fallen" on Monday.

The co-stars hugged and laughed on the red carpet, and posed with the film's director, Antoine Fuqua, at the event, held at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

In "Olympus," the President of the Unites States (Aaron Eckhart) is kidnapped, and the White House is overrun by terrorists. The president's and the nation's safety lies in the hands of a disgraced presidential guard (Butler).

READ MORE: http://news.moviefone.com/2013/03/13/olympus-has-fallen-screening_n_2867447.html?just_reloaded=1