john mcclane Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Earlier this month, we reported that Bruce Willis is expecting Fox to do another Die Hard movie after Live Free and Die Hard. At the time, the actor mentioned he'd only be interested in part five if he's joined again by Live Free co-stars Maggie Q and Justin Long, as well as director Len Wiseman. In a new story from MTV, though, Willis hints about the idea of making a Die Hard prequel. Could that be the direction for Die Hard 5? I doubt it, considering, as Willis admits, he could only return as a young John McClane if there were some serious special effects makeup utilized. Personally, I don't think a prequel would make sense; the whole idea of the first Die Hard is that McClane is a normal guy who has never been in this kind of situation before. The only other thing that Willis had to say regarding another film is that he prefers that it be shot in the U.S., because Die Hard is an American film.

Unlike his character in Live Free or Die Hard, who is portrayed as an analog man in a digital world, Willis is pretty hip to computers. The interview from which MTV's story is pulled was conducted through a virtual press conference on the online world of Second Life. Willis appeared to fans as an avatar and even confessed to being an internet junkie, getting all his news and doing most of his communication via the web (we already knew he liked to comment on movie sites.) He also applauded Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays his daughter, for studying the previous Die Hard films in order to make her character completely recognizable as the spawn of McClane and his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia, who only appeared in the first two movies.) Live Free or Die Hard hits theaters next Wednesday, after which we'll find out if Fox thinks another outing, prequel or not, is worth it.

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.

We all know by now that movie news comes from just about anywhere. Take, for example, this latest bit of info regarding the upcoming Die Hard 4.0. Not long ago, we brought you the scoop on a script review of the film provided to us by those clever little spies over on AICN. Well, now it seems a pivotal part of the script has been changed and, personally, I think it's for the better. (Warning: Possible SPOILERS ahead).

Turns out some dude was flying from Los Angeles to Baltimore over the Fourth of July weekend. While hanging out in first class, the spy realized sitting in front of him was none other than Len Wiseman, director of Die Hard 4.0. Alongside Wiseman was Patrick Tatoupolous and possibly a line producer. During the flight, the spy was able to catch a brief glimpse of some sketch art which featured an overturned truck. Sweet! John McClane fights trucks!

Oh, but then the big news came. When the spy built up enough courage to ask about John McClane's son being in the film, whoever it was sitting next to him said that character was no longer in the script. Instead, McClane's son has been replaced by a computer hacker who is released from jail in order to help our hero fight the bad guys. To me, this is a much better move than forcing the audience to believe McClane's son just happens to be some big computer hacker. Now, things become interesting as, for the first time, McClane will be partnering up with someone a lot smarter than he is, when it comes down to the situation at hand. Plus, his sidekick will be younger and a criminal. Yup, I'm excited.

Hot on the heels of the Die Hard 4.0 (What is with these idiotic, vaguely software-looking numbers in movie titles? Who thinks that's a good idea?) script review that Erik told us about yesterday comes a bit of muttering about the movie's cast. A tipster to entertainment site Cinescape who claims to be auditioning for a part in the movie says he's been told by his agent that one Scott Speedman has been cast as the movie's main evil web nerd villain. You know, the guy who played really sweet, semi-pathetic Ben on Felicity? And the sort of pathetic vampire/werewolf thing in Underworld? That Scott Speedman.

As commenters at Cinescape point out, the guy hasn't exactly proved that he's got the magnetism and charisma necessary to be an effective villain, particularly when he's going to be compared to the gleefully evil geniuses who came before him in the series. I have to admit that I like watching Speedman but, friends, extreme prettiness does not a convincing villain make. ...

[via JoBlo]