On Monday, director John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October) was sentenced to a year in prison for his involvement in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping case. Today, he gave a highly quotable interview to The Hollywood Reporter, in which he talked about the future of the Shrapnel, the film he’s supposed to be making next (it’s on track!), his own future (appeal’s being filed!), and generally shared some wit, wisdom, and not-so wisdom. First up: the wisdom!
Asked why he hadn’t made a movie since 2003 McTiernan said, “I had worked for two years on one, and then all of this came up just as we were about to start it. That was the airplane pilot movie; I cannot recall the name.” Good Lord, we wish we had this power of forgetting.
Asked why he hadn’t made a movie since 2003 McTiernan said, “I had worked for two years on one, and then all of this came up just as we were about to start it. That was the airplane pilot movie; I cannot recall the name.” Good Lord, we wish we had this power of forgetting.
Finally, a quote that’s a little less wise, but still a good name for a self-help book: “I didn’t start this because I was afraid to go to jail. It would have been much easier to go to jail. And less expensive. And some of the minimum-security prison camps are not bad, and there are actually interesting people there. And I have managed to live my life not being too afraid of new experiences, including going off to a federal prison for four months.” Oprah, book this guy already.
And now, on to the non-wisdom!
THR: What would you tell a young McTiernan? Would you give advice?
McTiernan: I wouldn’t try. You can’t tell filmmakers anything, no matter what stage of life they are in. If you could, they wouldn’t be film directors.
Hmmm. We still think McTiernan might want to tell the young McTiernan not to, you know, get involved with a wiretapper and then lie to the FBI about it. Maybe he wouldn’t be a film director (except for the part where he would be), but he also wouldn’t be going to jail for a year.
