die hard 4 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The first eight minutes of Live Free or Die Hard are now available online, although I'm not entirely sure this is how the movie opens because it seems sort of awkward. If I had to take a guess, I'd say this is the first action sequence of the flick, since there needs to be some sort of set up where McClane (Bruce Willis) is instructed to pick up this cyber punk and drive him down to Washington D.C. (to which he replies, "Can't someone else do it, I'm having a really bad day). Regardless, if you're trying to decide whether or not to see the film, watching the first eight minutes or so should help you come to a decision. Personally, I'm not crazy about this sort of marketing tactic -- a three-minute trailer is one thing, but I'd rather wait until I'm inside a movie theater to watch a full-blown action scene in its entirety. But that's me. God knows there's tons of people out there who like watching movies on their computer screen (illegally and legally).

I only watched the first half of the clip so that I'd be able to write this post (I know, I broke my own rule), and in doing so I couldn't help but feel as if I was watching an entire film featuring the kid from those Mac commercials -- meaning I didn't see Justin Long as a new character, I saw Justin Long as the annoying, snobbish kid who thinks he's better than everyone else because his computer does fancy tricks. So that immediately took me out of the scene, which features John McClane showing up to this kid's apartment with orders to escort him to Washington D.C. But as they prepare to leave, the bad guys pop in looking to cause serious damage. That's where I shut it off, but I imagine from there the two dodge a few bullets, an assortment of fists, and get out of the joint just in the nick of time. I was a tad let down, but I'm still jazzed about seeing my favorite NYC police detective back on the big screen. Live Free or Die Hard hits theaters on June 27.

The original Die Hard, released in 1988, is one of those movies that grabs you form the first moment. When we first meet Bruce Willis as reluctant hero John McClane, we find out he's a bit skittish about flying. It turns out, as he battles a gang of ruthless euro-thieves led by Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber and proceeds to kill them all with a mixture of automatic weapons fire, explosives and his trusty Beretta pistol, flying is pretty much the only thing he's skittish about. Die Hard was a milestone in action filmmaking and marked a new definition of heroic action star after several years of larger-than-life heroes personified by the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Die Hard spawned two sequels, each, although good movies in their own right, still somewhat of a pale imitation of the original.

And now, Brice Willis is back again as McClane for a fourth go-around: Live Free or Die Hard. Over the months, as we've brought you details about the film, there's been a bunch of stuff including trailers and news about the film's dreaded PG-13 rating. Now, thanks to Rope of Silicon, we've got four new TV spots for the film to take a look at. These spots, depicting, among other things, the new bad guy in McClane's life (played by Timothy Olyphant), McClane being shot at by a fighter jet, flying through the air while shooting and crashing a police car into a low-flying helicopter, demonstrating without question that the filmmakers have upped the ante with this latest Die Hard incarnation. Yes, some of the sequences do seem a bit over-the-top but its good to see Willis at his wisecracking, butt-kicking best as McClane. The movie looks great and although I'm still somewhat unsure about Justin Long's appearance, it won't keep me out of the theater when Live Free or Die Hard lands on June 27th.

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.

A few months back Cinematical heard a few murmurs that Fox's Live Free or Die Hard might (might!) be angling for a PG-13 rating, but the Fox publicity department informed our contact that there was "no story here," which is a phrase that could be taken numerous ways. (Those crafty publicists!) Now we hear from Bruce Willis (in a Vanity Fair magazine article, as quoted by AICN) that, yep, the studio very well could (could!) be moving forward with the PG-13 plan.

Now, I'm not going to unravel and fly off on a nerdly tangent (kinda like AICN's Vern did, albeit very entertainingly), but good lord is this a bad idea! Turning a well-established "hard R" action series into something a little cuddlier for the teenage crowd -- pure silliness. The target audience for Die Hard 4 is ... me: A thirty-(koff)-year-old movie nerd who saw all three of the Die Hard flicks during their original theatrical run and is more than enthusiastically prepared to re-welcome John McClane back to the multiplexes. I'm the guy who made your series such a smash, Fox people, and if you decide to trim the flick down, edit out the intensity, soften the blows, and neuter the flick for fifteen-year-olds who'll always see ANY movie they want, regardless of MPAA rating ... I simply won't go see it. And this is coming from a guy who was excited to see Perfect freakin' Stranger because Bruce Willis was in it.

I'm guessing someone at Fox will come to their senses sooner or later. I mean really: Not every damn summer flick has to be tailor-made for the teenagers. I love the kids and all, but isn't 89% of the Hollywood fare made for them in the first place? (97% in the summer.) Can't us semi-grown-up action freaks have at least one movie this summer? Then again, Return of the King was also PG-13, and I don't hear anyone whining about how weak those action scenes were ... No! No, I must stop trying to see the other side of the argument! No PG-13 Die Hard movies! That wretched PG-13 monster already ruined my beloved horror genre! It can't get John McClane too!

Live Free or Die Hard, coming to a multiplex near you on June 29th, is being released overseas as Die Hard 4.0. It seems the people at 20th Century Fox don't think countries other than America will be able to grasp the concept of "freedom." Truth be told, neither title fills me with excitement. Live Free or Die Hard sounds like a Toby Keith song, and the 4.0 seems better suited for a direct-to-DVD sequel to a movie that sucked to begin with. I'm too blinded by love, were Die Hard 2: Die Harder and Die Hard: With A Vengeance dumb titles, too? They both seemed pretty awesome then, and still work for me now.

I dig the first three Die Hard movies with a fiery passion, but each piece of news that comes out about this new one, from title to choice of director to pairing John McClane with a sure-to-be-wisecracking Justin Long, makes me very uneasy. The casting of Long also has me horrified -- the thought that they're going to release this as a PG-13. If I have to hear "Yippee-ki-yay, Mr. Jerkface!" I'm going to go insane. The only move that seems smart so far is the casting of Timothy Olyphant as the villain. He was wonderfully slimy in Go and The Girl Next Door, and I'm eager to see him get his Gruber on. (Read Ryan's interview with Olyphant here.) What do you guys prefer? Live Free or 4.0? Or do you have some suggestions of your own? Personally, I think they should scrap them both and go with my title: Die? Hardly!

Just like me, you and just about every 30-something guy in the universe, Kevin Smith is a huge Bruce Willis fan. Loves the guy. And why not? They're both from the same Jersey locale, they both work hard at maintaining an "everyman" image and they're both cool, funny guys.

So get this: Smith just informed us that, yep, he snagged himself a role in this summer's Live Free or Die Hard, which (of course) is the fourth cinematic exploit of the oft-beleaguered cop known as John McClane. No word yet on who Mr. Smith will be playing (or even how large his role is), but he informs us through his MySpace blog that he recently did five days work on the Len Wiseman-directed action flick.

Smith is no stranger to dipping his toe into the various geek pools: He popped up in both Daredevil and Veronica Mars (not to mention the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie), and even took his fandom for Degrassi Junior High to the airwaves. So ... anyone want to take a guess on what sort of character Mr. Smith will be playing? I'll go with an obvious one: He'll be playing a wise-ass computer tech a la Simon Pegg in Mission: Impossible 3 or Seth Green in Enemy of the State.

Opening on June 29, Live Free or Die Hard comes from the director of both Underworld flicks and the writer of Bad Boys, Money Train and (conveniently enough) Die Hard 2. Joining the perpetually cool Bruce Willis will be Justin Long, Jeffrey Wright, Maggie Q, Timothy Olyphant ... and Kevin Smith!

No word yet on the participation of Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson or William Atherton.

Well, it's been a long time since Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now he's back with Live Free or Die Hard -- the fourth (and final?) installment in the Die Hard franchise. The first official trailer for the film is set to play in theaters this weekend, but apparently Yahoo! accidentally leaked it online a day early. However, it was quickly pulled and only a handful of people got the chance to see it.

Oh, but we don't give up that easily. C'mon. Once you leak something, there's no going back, folks. Thus, Coming Soon was quick enough to grab the trailer and host it on their site -- go check it out right now (you need to scroll down and click on teaser). I must say, the film looks pretty good -- it appears as if they took every action-packed scene in all three previous Die Hard films, added a slew of special effects and mashed them together in a blender. Once again, McClane is fighting helicopters, driving backwards in his car, blowing up buildings and partnering with a sidekick who doesn't understand why the dude is so calm, yet so insane at the same time. I dig it. Vintage McClane in the modern-day world. But do the absurd amount of special effects take away from that old school Die Hard feeling? You be the judge; definitely let us know what you think. Live Free or Die Hard is set to be released on June 29.

UPDATE: Here's the YouTube link.

Holy crap, I can't wait to share with you the brand spanking new trailer for Die Hard 4 (aka Live Free or Die Hard) but, unfortunately, you'll have to wait until this weekend. Hopefully. Argh, don't you hate those misleading titles -- now you've been sucked into the post, and therefore must continue reading. Must. Continue. Reading. I do, however, have some info regarding where you will find the new trailer, as JoBlo tells us it will run before select prints of Blood Diamond -- just one more reason to shell out the dollar for Leonardo DiCaprio, eh?

And when we say "select prints," we mean 35MM prints -- Pathfinder will be playing before digital prints. So, if you're heading to the theater just to see the Die Hard 4 trailer (they're still filming, so I wouldn't expect much more than one or two shots mixed with scenes from the previous installments), you best do some research beforehand. Otherwise, you can hang around Cinematical this weekend, as I'm sure it will pop up online soon. Live Free or Die Hard opens in theaters this June 29.

In other trailer news (because I feel bad about misleading you with that title), a brand new trailer for Zack Snyder's 300 will be arriving online this Friday, courtesy of Warner Bros. The same trailer will be playing before Apocalypto when it hits theaters this weekend. For those who haven't yet had the chance to check out 300's current trailer, you simply must take a look -- it's that awesome. This puppy arrives in our laps on March 9.

UPDATE: The new trailer is now online -- check it out!

I'm not exactly sure how they secured this information, but JewReview is reporting that Jeffrey Wright has landed the role of main bad guy in Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4). Wow, though I didn't see that one coming, it definitely makes sense as production will take place in Washington D.C. and, not only is that Wright's hometown, but he also plays a good seedy D.C. dude.

If this rumor is true, Wright will be playing the head of some sort of (corrupt?) agency hell-bent on shutting down the United States by way of internet-based terrorism. Fox chairman Tom Rothman recently teased that an announcement regarding who would be playing the villain was just around the corner and, while news probably leaked a bit earlier than they would've liked, it's all good as far as I see it. What do you think?

[via Coming Soon]

In a recent interview with IESB, Fox chairman Tom Rothman had a few things to say about some very big upcoming films. I'm talking Eragon, Wolverine, Magneto, Fantastic Four 2 and the main focus of this week's Poll, Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4). Last week, Justin Long was officially announced as John McClane's (Bruce Willis) newest sidekick in the fourth installment -- a computer hacker brought on to assist McClane in tracking down and defeating a group of cyber terrorists.

However, while production has already begun (check out these brand new set pics), we still don't know who will play the main villain. In my opinion, the Die Hard films are defined by their baddie, with Alan Rickman by far my personal favorite thus far (Jeremy Irons was okay in Vengeance -- a little bland for my taste, but still pretty decent). In the interview, Rothman admits casting for the franchise's next bad guy is just about done, with an announcement expected within a week or two. He notes the actor in question is American and says, "... it's a very cool piece of casting. Very cool and contemporary." Great, now I'm just dying to know who it is. Cool? Contemporary? American? You think it's a woman? An alien? Freddy Prinze Jr.?

So, I ask you: If you had final say, who would square off against John McClane? And, based on the info Rothman gives us, who do you think they're targeting?