McTiernan: Post Rollerball

[MacGuffin]

McTiernan Falls Victim
Die Hard director helming 10th Victim remake.

According to ScreenDaily, filmmaker John McTiernan (Die Hard) is attached to direct The 10th Victim for Morgan Creek Productions and Universal. The project is a remake of the 1960s sci-fi thriller by Elio Petri. McTiernan is revising the original script by David Klass (Walking Tall).

The long-in-development project, last set-up at Myriad Pictures, "is the story of a futuristic TV show in which men and women hunt each other down and kill each other for cash prizes and entertainment. Two star contestants are assigned to compete with each other and fall in love." ScreenDaily adds that the remake "will be set 20 years in the future."

Brendan Fraser and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos had been rumored to star but it's not certain if that's still the case.

[Just Withnail]

and DIE HARD is also a really great guilty pleasure film

Watching Die Hard is nothing to feel guilty about.

"is the story of a futuristic TV show in which men and women hunt each other down and kill each other for cash prizes and entertainment. Two star contestants are assigned to compete with each other and fall in love."

God that sounds awful. Anyone seen the original?

[ono]

No, I haven't, but wasn't there another movie just like this?  Perhaps also a remake?  Series 7: The Contender, I think it was called.

[Pubrick]

Series 7: The Contender, I think it was called.

yes, that was it. exactly the same story. they'll prolly use "love will tear us apart" in this one too.

[MacGuffin]

wasn't there another movie just like this?  Perhaps also a remake?  Series 7: The Contender, I think it was called.

Or "The Running Man."

[cron]

wasn't there another movie just like this?  Perhaps also a remake?  Series 7: The Contender, I think it was called.

Or "The Running Man."

Yeah, I was thinking of that

[Just Withnail]

So...Most redundant movie ever, huh.

[Ghostboy]

Not too dissimilar from his classic remake of Rollerball, either.

[Gold Trumpet]

and DIE HARD is also a really great guilty pleasure film

Watching Die Hard is nothing to feel guilty about.

Absolutely. Die Hard is a grand film for its genre. The art of the film isn't in human understanding, but if you weigh the film in terms of genre, it seems to have everything you want in an action film and its very smart with how it shows everything. A great experience.

[Just Withnail]

and DIE HARD is also a really great guilty pleasure film

Watching Die Hard is nothing to feel guilty about.

Absolutely. Die Hard is a grand film for its genre. The art of the film isn't in human understanding, but if you weigh the film in terms of genre, it seems to have everything you want in an action film and its very smart with how it shows everything. A great experience.

Right on cue  

[MacGuffin]

Film Director Accused of Lying to FBI

"Die Hard" director John McTiernan was charged Monday with making a false statement to the FBI about his knowledge of wiretapping by an indicted Hollywood private detective, authorities said.

McTiernan is accused of lying to federal investigators last month when he told them he had no knowledge of the wiretapping and had never discussed it with the private eye, according to a charging document provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Investigators contend McTiernan, 55, hired Anthony Pellicano to tap phone calls involving a man identified in the documents as Charles Roven, a Hollywood producer who worked with him on "Rollerball."

McTiernan, who also directed "The Thomas Crown Affair" "The Hunt for Red October" and "Last Action Hero," could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted. A message left with his attorney, John Carlton, was not immediately returned.

Pellicano, who has worked for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, has been charged in a wiretapping scandal that has rattled entertainment and legal circles.

Prosecutors allege he wiretapped Hollywood stars he was hired to investigate, including Sylvester Stallone and others, and used the information for threats, blackmail and in some cases to help clients gain advantages in legal disputes. Pellicano has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

McTiernan is the 14th person charged in the ongoing case. Four others have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy.

[polkablues]

It's nice to see that making Rollerball ruined his life almost as much as watching it ruined mine.

[MacGuffin]

McTiernan places bet on 'Stakes'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

John McTiernan is set to direct the Las Vegas action thriller "High Stakes" for Persistent Pictures and Velvet Octopus.

Penned by Ronnie Christensen, the story revolves around two friends who find themselves in over their heads when they realize they are the living collateral of a high-stakes bet.

Matt Rhodes is producing the project, which is scheduled to begin shooting in the fall in Shreveport, La., and Las Vegas.

ICM's international and independent film division packaged the project and will handle North American rights.

"Stakes" marks the second collaboration between Christensen and Persistent Pictures. The first is Sony's upcoming thriller "Passengers," starring Patrick Wilson and Anne Hathaway.

McTiernan, whose credits include "Die Hard," "Die Hard: With a Vengeance" and "The Thomas Crown Affair," most recently directed the John Travolta-Samuel L. Jackson starrer "Basic."

[matt35mm]

'Die Hard' Director Sentenced to Prison
by RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, For The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge sentenced Hollywood director John McTiernan to four months in prison Monday after refusing to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of lying to the FBI about his association with disgraced private eye Anthony Pellicano.

Judge Dale S. Fischer gave the director of such films as "Predator," "Die Hard," "The Hunt for Red October" and "The Thomas Crown Affair" until Jan. 15 to turn himself in to authorities. McTiernan's lawyer said he would appeal.

McTiernan also was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

When he entered his plea last year, McTiernan said he lied when he told an FBI agent the only time he used Pellicano's services was during his divorce. In actuality, he said, he hired Pellicano to wiretap Charles Roven, a producer who had worked with him on the 2002 box-office flop "Rollerball."

Pellicano, who served 2 1/2 years in federal prison for possessing illegal weapons, has pleaded not guilty to charges in a 111-count indictment accusing him of bugging phones and bribing police to get information on celebrities and others.

McTiernan was originally scheduled to be sentenced two weeks ago but that hearing was delayed after his lawyer asked that he be allowed to withdraw the plea and fight the charge. Attorney Milton Grimes said at the time that McTiernan hadn't had adequate legal representation when he entered the plea upon a previous lawyer's advice.

On Monday, the defense argued that when McTiernan spoke to the FBI agent he was tired from having returned from a long trip to Asia, was taking antibiotics for a sinus infection and had gone off his anti-depression medication.

The judge was not persuaded.

"I find these arguments completely lacking in credibility," she said.

The 56-year-old McTiernan did not speak.

Grimes said outside court he was disappointed in Fischer's ruling and would appeal.

He disagreed with Fischer's observation that McTiernan "lived a privileged life and simply wants to continue that."

"He's probably one of the most down-to-earth people I've met in Hollywood in my 30 years working here," Grimes said of McTiernan.

Authorities say Pellicano, who is scheduled to go on trial next year, is the ringleader of a scheme that was used to get dirt on clients in legal disputes.

Prosecutors claim Pellicano bribed law enforcement and phone company employees to gather information and that he illegally wiretapped Sylvester Stallone and other Hollywood notables. They say he also had police officers run the names of more than 60 people, including comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, through government databases.

Pellicano, who is jailed without bail pending trial, has said he is innocent. He speculated during a jailhouse interview with The Associated Press last year that he might be the target of overzealous prosecutors.

Before he was imprisoned on the weapons charges, Pellicano's celebrity clients had at one time or another included such names as Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Stallone, as well as high-profile Hollywood lawyers and agents.

[Heinsbergen]

i bet he could make a nice movie out of that story. of course after coming out of jail.