Milla Jovovich on Violence on Film: Parents Need to Be Responsible

Milla Jovovich has long stopped being just another pretty face, becoming the reigning queen of action / zombie movies with the release of the first “Resident Evil” film, as MTV once said of her. With all that, she would probably not let her daughter Ever see her work anytime soon, being of the opinion that parents must be more responsible in this regard, she tells Parade magazine.

Speaking with the magazine on everything from life as a mommy to the 2-year-old to her acting career and how she doesn’t have much to object if she doesn’t get a part because she’s more focused on her family these days, Jovovich also touches on the much-debated topic of violence on film. It’s wrong to blame the industry for what is wrong with our children today, the actress says, because the parents too must take part of the responsibility by setting limits and standards for their offspring.

“You’ve got to know your kids like the back of your hand and make sure they’re honest with you and not scared to tell you things. […] I think parents need to take a lot more responsibility than they do about whether it’s OK for their children to go to Resident Evil or any other movie with violence […] or whatever. It’s really easy to blame Hollywood for violence having an effect on kids, but movies would have no power if parents would just set their own standards. And it’s the same with video games.” Jovovich explains.

On this consideration, she plans to do her best to make sure that, when her daughter, Ever, leaves for school, their relationship is as such that she won’t be afraid to come and talk everything with her mom. Also on the topic of violent films, the actress says she’s happy she got to play Alice in “Resident Evil” – because otherwise her brother would have killed her, among other things, like the fact that it shot her straight on the A-list.

“Me and my brother Marco would play Resident Evil together and I said to him, ‘This is the perfect vehicle for me.’ I mean, Alice wears a tube top and a mini-skirt and she’s killing zombies. So when I first auditioned, I said to Paul [director Paul W. S. Anderson, her husband ] ‘If I don't get this part my brother is going to kill me because he sees a huge boost in his popularity at school if I play her’.” Milla says for the mag.