When Hollywood gives us an animal film, it’s not enough to have an endearing dog or tiger. More often than not, it also requires a villain.
In “The Muppets,” it’s the Texas tycoon who wants to drill for oil under Kermit and Miss Piggy’s old theater. In “Dolphin Tale,” it’s the wealthy developer who buys a financially ailing marine hospital. In “We Bought a Zoo,” it’s the animal-control officer who slaps Matt Damon’s character with $100,000 in repairs he must make to avoid being shut down.
Today these storylines have all come together in Central Park, in an epic fight over horse-drawn carriages. Though the horses have been ferrying people through the park since 1858, the City Council is now working on a bill to shut them down. With them would go the livelihoods of roughly 300 drivers.
In this drama Liam Neeson has emerged as the leading man. But it’s not for any on-screen heroics. To the contrary, it’s for the lonely, real-life fight he’s waging on behalf of working men and women whose only crime, the actor says, is that they are “not Hollywood hip.”
“I’m not someone who’s political,” says Neeson. “I just noticed all these celebrities on the other side — and no one speaking up for the boys.”
“The boys,” as he puts it, are the drivers, many of them transplanted Irishmen like himself, some of whom even grew up on farms and are stunned by the accusation they would treat their horses cruelly. These include Colm McKeever, a native of County Meath and a friend of more than two decades’ standing. The men met through their wives, back when McKeever’s wife, Fiona, served as midwife in the birth of the actor’s first son.
The two are up against a villain list right out of central casting — people banking on money, celebrity and political clout to get their way, fueled by an animal-rights movement which argues, somewhat disingenuously, the horses are inhumanely treated.
Today these forces also include two of the most powerful leaders in city politics. One is Bill de Blasio, who has vowed that banning the horses and their carriages would be among his first acts as mayor. Another is the new City Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, who sponsored the original anti-carriage council measure back in 2010.
The politicians are in turn backed by real-estate interests that have played a leading part in the campaign against the horse and carriages. The drivers believe, not without reason, that some of these people have their eye on the primo West Side site where the stables now sit. “They must just be just salivating over it,” says Neeson.
Finally there’s the celebrity division, ranging from Alec Baldwin to Lea Michele. For a taste, here’s how New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets advertised a gala on behalf of the anti-horse carriage initiative:
“Award-winning actresses Kathy Najimy and Kristen Johnston will be honored for their efforts in the fight against animal cruelty. Actress Pamela Anderson will be the Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening and notable attendees include Liv Tyler, Russell Simmons, Patti Smyth, John McEnroe, Ron Delsener, John Slattery, Talia Balsam, Kaki West, Dina Manzo, Chuck & Ellen Scarborough and Miss USA, Olivia Culpo. In addition, there will be live performances headlined by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.”
Ask yourself this: How would you feel if your livelihood were threatened by such a constellation of forces? Realtors who covet your property. Well-financed activists whose definition of cruelty is a horse doing what it was bred for. Actresses who turn up at galas devoted to putting you out of business. And a mayor who promises them all he intends to act “aggressively” against you.
The ironies here are legion, and Neeson alluded to one of them in a letter to the mayor he made public back in January, “I find it troubling, Mr. de Blasio, that your campaign promise was to fight for the common man and, yet, with the first stroke of your pen, you are willing to put 300 families on the breadline.”
Nor is Neeson buying the argument about cruelty. Central Park’s horses, he says, are among the most regulated animals in America, with regular vet checkups and five weeks annual vacation (“How many people get that much time off?” he asks). And he notes the mayor has declined an invitation to visit the stables.
“Maybe I should give Disney a call and ask for a script,” Neeson laughs. “We’ve got good guys, bad guys, and horses. What we need is the happy ending.”