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Bruce Willis Confirms -- 'Die Hard 4' Is PG-13, Folks

by Patrick Walsh May 6th 2007 // 6:31PM

Filed under: Action, Fandom, Distribution, 20th Century Fox, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

The last "Edited for Television" movie I watched was Die Hard 2 on CBS when I was a kid. As Bruce blew that plane to bits with his lighter, he said -- in a horribly overdubbed voice -- "Yippee ki-yay, Mr. Falcon." Never mind that no one in the film was named Mr. Falcon! That bit of mindless watering down at least made sense -- after all they're not going to drop the 'F' bomb on primetime television. This bit of mindless watering down is a lot harder to swallow: It's official. Live Free or Die Hard will be rated 'PG-13.' Bruce Willis spoke with aintitcool last week and confirmed the rating. June's Vanity Fair interview had Willis disappointed that his film was going to be cut to avoid an 'R.' He told the magazine, "I really wanted this one to live up to the promise of the first one, which I always thought was the only really good one." (Gotta disagree with him there). "That's a studio decision that is becoming more and more common, because they're trying to reach a broader audience. It seems almost a courageous move to give a picture an 'R' rating these days." It sure does. So why not be courageous?!

Now the PR machine is in full swing and Bruce is saying that those comments were taken out of context at a time when he hadn't yet seen the film. Now, after what surely was a stern talking-to by the studio, Bruce has seen the movie and he thinks it's better than the original. He claims you would never be able to tell what the rating was if you didn't know it, and that watching it, he was on the edge of his seat "at least 6 times." He insists the action and intensity are still there. That may be, but the foulmouthed John McClane we know and grew up loving simply won't. I think this is a damn shame. Excuse me, a darn shame. I've got a lot of friends who say they won't go see a 'PG-13' Die Hard film. Scott made the same claim last week. I personally don't think I have the willpower to skip it, but the news fills me with a real dread. Oh well -- I'm sure the people at Fox know what they're doing. Releasing a 'PG-13' sequel to a movie that was a huge, beloved 'R' - rated smash could only bring in more money, right? Sure. Just look at Fox's Speed 2: Cruise Control.

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Tags: bruce willis, BruceWillis, die hard, die hard 4, DieHard, DieHard4, john mcclane, JohnMcclane, live free or die hard, LiveFreeOrDieHard, pg-13

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