John McTiernan is a deity in some circles. The action auteur gave us the original “Predator,” “Die Hard,” “The Hunt for Red October” and to lesser acclaim, but still beloved by some action-heads, “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” and “Last Action Hero.”
The years have not been kind to the director though, other than the respectable, “The Thomas Crown Affair” remake, the filmmaker delivered forgettable works like “Rollerball,” “Basic” and the 1999 picture, “The 13th Warrior,” from which McTiernan was fired and writer Michael Crichton later replaced (he had a film called “Run” with Thomas Jane announced in 2007, but it never got off the ground).
McTiernan hasn’t made a picture since 2003 and that’s partly because the director was involved and criminally convicted in the infamous Anthony Pellicano/Hollywood wiretapping scandal of 2006. The director was initially sentenced to four months in jail and given a $115,000 fine for lying to investigators probing the case, but in 2009, the courts vacated his sentence arguing he could withdraw his guilty plea. That stroke of luck didn’t last long as McTiernan eventually plead guilty again in July of this year, oof.
Well, he’s finally back. According to ScreenDaily, the filmmaker has signed on to the project, “Shrapnel,” an action-thriller of Evan Daugherty’s 2008 Blacklist script about two war veterans who hunt each other in a lethal game of cat and mouse. No stars and no other details are available, but let’s face it, that logline sounds rote. Frankly, we think McTiernan is way past his prime and while he did deliver three bona fide action classics (and “The Hunt For Red October” is far more nuanced then the other two, delving into more refined action-drama territory) his best days seem behind him. But hell, can’t hate on a the dude for surviving, even if he did hire a P.I. to wiretap his wife. Variety has more details on his ongoing case which could prove further legal tangles in the future that could impact the project.
He faces sentencing on Oct. 4 after pleading guilty again in July to making false statements to law enforcement officials way back in 2006. He faces up to a year in prison. Brilliant action director? Arguably, yes. In need of better legal advice? Absolutely.
