JOHN TRAVOLTA - TRAVOLTA TAKES KIDS TO SEE HIS NEW R-RATED FILM

JOHN TRAVOLTA was so proud of his violent new movie THE PUNISHER, he took his son's teenage pals to see a rough cut - even though it's an R-rated film.

Travolta admits it was his son JET's comic book fanatic pals that first encouraged him to play the villainous HOWARD SAINT - and he thanked them for urging him to take the part by giving them an early look at the film.

He says, "I took all Jet's friends to see it and they loved it. His friends are 14 and 13 and they are the ones that introduced me to The Punisher, so I wanted to get their opinion.

"They were floored by it, they just loved it."

Travolta had no problem showing an R-rated film to a bunch of teenagers because he insists mind-altering drugs lead them to act violently - not movies.

He adds, "Unless someone is on drugs, people really do have the ability to differentiate between fantasy and reality. The average untainted mind, which hasn't been poisoned by toxins or some sort of toxic substance is able to differentiate."