HOLLYWOOD KILLING OUR MOVIE INDUSTRY; Gabriel Accuses US 'stranglehold'.(News)

Beginning of article

Byline: EAMONN O'HANLON

FIREBRAND actor Gabriel Byrne has accused Hollywood of squeezing the life out of the Irish film industry.

He claims the big American studios have such a tight grip on movie distribution that they are able to lay down the law to film makers around the world.

"In order to say you have a film industry you must have an infrastructure which supports a home-grown industry, he said.

"I just don't think that's possible with the way American films have a stranglehold on the distribution systems.

"People absorb the values and the morality of these films and they contribute in no small way to the US influence on …