The greatest director of action films returns after 20 years of absence – Actus Ciné
From Die Hard to Predator via Last Action Hero, John McTiernan dynamited the action film in the 1980s and 1990s. 20 years after his last film at the cinema, will the filmmaker finally return behind the camera?
John McTiernan, acclaimed director of Crystal Trap, Predator, A Day in Hell or Last Action Hero, will he finally shoot a new film?
Basic, his last feature film, was released in May 2003. The director then became persona non grata in Hollywood after being sentenced to one year in prison in 2012.
The one we nicknamed McT had illegally wiretapped the producer of Rollerball, Charles Roven, with whom he had many disputes on the set of this film.
THE RETURN OF MC T?
Invited to give a masterclass during the 2022 edition of the BIFFF (The Fantastic Film Festival of Brussels), the 71-year-old director revealed that he had two projects on fire.
The first is called Tau Ceti Foxtrot, a kind of “For a Fistful of Dollars on Another Planet”according to McTiernan. The story follows a group of relentless rebels. The latter set out to eliminate the oligarchs and armed groups who terrorize a war-torn planet in the distant Tau Ceti solar system.
According to journalist Sandra Benedetti, “the script has been finished for a while and the design is sublime”she said on Twitter, posting a pretty enticing visual. If all goes as planned, the filmmaker wants to start filming this fall in France.
“The script is at several levels of reading, clever, mysterious, feverish, tumultuous and it blows you dry. The end is staggering. McTiernan all spit. And that’s all I’m allowed to say and show about it. McT wants to keep the mystery of his film, as long as it is not shooting”confides the journalist.
TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE !
The director of Die Hard is not going to stop there! He has a second project in the works: Ghost In The Machine. “John McTiernan is in Paris to refine the script of Ghost In The Machine, with his French co-screenwriter. It’s finished, it’s really polishing goldsmith they are doing”reveals Sandra Benedetti on her Twitter account.
The latter also posted a drawing of McT himself, giving a first glimpse of his vision for this film, reminiscent of the atmosphere of Mad Max Fury Road.
King of action films during the 1980s and 1990s, will John McTiernan finally sign his big comeback after 20 long years of scarcity? Anyway, the latter does not have his tongue in his pocket when it comes to tackling the industry.
At the question “Do you think action cinema is dead?”the filmmaker, who gave a masterclass at the BIFFF, replied:
“There are too many useless people making the same movie over and over again. I couldn’t do that. Now the studios aren’t looking for directors anymore, they just want to make money. They don’t care what movie ‘they are doing’he hammered.
“Studios don’t care if their movies are about extinct creatures, superheroes, wizards or juggernauts, what’s clear is that they don’t make movies for people”he concluded, in a bitter tone.
Obviously, the director will have to do without the big studios to finance his two future projects. A good thing ? We’ll let you debate it!
