On July 15, 1988, 20th Century Fox released the newest movie from Predator director John McTiernan. It was the story of a Christmas party gone wrong, and featured a script that had already been turned down by nearly every A-list action star in Hollywood. So the studio settled for TV actor and co-star of the ABC show Moonlighting, Bruce Willis. The movie was titled Die Hard and it went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year, catapulting Willis into stardom and becoming the greatest action movie ever made.
On February 13, 2013, 20th Century Fox released the newest movie from Max Payne director John Moore. It was the story of a father-son relationship gone awry and featured a script that had been shown to only one A-list action star in Hollywood: Bruce Willis. The movie was titled A Good Day to Die Hard and it has now tarnished the franchise spawned from the greatest action movie ever made.
The term ‘geek’ can be used or taken in a lot of different ways. Mostly though, it’s commonly used to describe someone with an abundance of knowledge on a particular subject, combined with a genuine love for said topic. For example, I could be easily referred to as a ‘Batman Geek’. I have a love for the mythology, I’m knowledgeable about the subject matter, and I’m passionate about what it all means to me. Perhaps that is why the abortion of a movie known as Batman and Robin is so painful for me to watch.
The Batman Mythos isn’t the only thing I geek out about however. There is another do-gooder that I find myself attached to as well – John McClane. Played by Bruce Willis and star of 4 Die Hard movies (with a cameo in Loaded Weapon 1), McClane was the ultimate ‘wrong time-wrong place’ guy. Through four movies he’s fought and defeated Hans Gruber, John Amos, Scar from the Lion King, and U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens – all the while, arguing with either his wife, his daughter, or Sam Jackson.
In addition to my love of Die Hard (and of Batman), I’ve also got what you might call an ‘uber-crush’ on one Ms. Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t? So imagine my surprise when I first heard she had been cast to play Lucy McClane in 2007’s Live Free of Die Hard. She obviously owned the role, and I loved the movie and I believe her to be the most promising female movie star to come along in quite a while. Just look at her script selection – Black Christmas, Death Proof, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Thing, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – she picks the movies I would pick if I were her. So awesome.
So anyhow, when news broke of the impending 2013 Valentine’s Day release of the franchise’s fifth movie – A Good Day to Die Hard – I was pretty bummed that it seemed she wouldn’t be involved. And then today, news broke which indicates otherwise! Booyah! According to The Film Stage, Ms. Winstead spotted on the set in Budapest:
Now the extent of her role is not yet known, so it could be anywhere from an extended cameo, to an actual role, but her mere presence makes me swoonexcitedelated confident that I won’t be disappointed on Valentine’s Day.
In addition to this, we have some other casting updates, four of them actually. Cole Hauser (Pitch Black) will appear as a supporting villain, marking his 3rd time in a Bruce Willis movie, previously appearing in Hart’s War and Tears of the Sun. In addition to Mr. Hauser, we will be seeing Megalyn Echikunwoke who has a funny connection to the film. She played ‘Nicole Palmer’ during the first season of 24, and just a few years ago FOX was kicking around the idea of crossing over the 4th Die Hard movie with a 24 film launch, pairing up the wise-cracking John McClane with the ultra serious and stoic Jack Bauer. It would’ve been epic. ALSO cast was Amaury Nolasco (Southland) who most people will likely recognize from Prison Break. If that’s not enough, we’ll throw in Russian Model Anne Vyalitsyna just for good measure.
There is also a rumor that Captain Picard will be playing the villain in this newest installment, but it’s not yet confirmed…
Combine those four with Willis, Winstead, and Jai Courtney (John McClane Jr) and you’ve got a damn solid cast. Aside from casting, there is actually some other news as well. Director John Moore, whose resume ranges from ‘disappointing and mediocre’ to ‘down right effing terrible’ has been handed the reins to one of the greatest Action franchises ever, and I’m a little worried. But he talked to Empire and said something I found interesting:
EMPIRE: …this is a Die Hard movie, pure and simple. In other words, no glib jokes then? No “How can the same shit happen to the same guy five times…” lines?
MOORE: “No, because that’s preposterous! I don’t know whether it’s post-financial crash or whatever, but I don’t think people are in the mood for that bollocks anymore. People are well savvy to the cynical reheating of any product, any franchise. Any shit won’t do. The bar’s a bit higher.”
EMPIRE: But what about the fish-out-of-water element, with McClane in Moscow?
MOORE: “There are a couple of great gags and a couple of great McClanisms. It’s not like he this idiot, bumbling around Moscow making ‘America won the Cold War’ jokes. It’s not Carry On Die Hard, I can assure you…”
EMPIRE: And what about the scale of the movie? So far, each Die Hard has been bigger than the one before…
MOORE: “The scope along goes from New York to Moscow. It’s very, very international. There’s a car chase through Moscow that’s taking us 78 days to shoot. So… yeah. That should answer your question!”
This movie could make John Moore, and I really hope it does, because that would mean it was good. If it sucks though, I’ll have to add him to a list with Paul WS Anderson (who ruined Alien vs. Predator) of Directors I won’t watch anymore.
Finally, we have some footage. And SPOILER ALERT – At some point John McClane will bleed…
And just for fun, here’s some history you might not have known. Keep in mind though, she is totally wrong in thinking that Die Hard 2 is better than Die Hard: With a Vengeance…
We learned earlier today that the 5th installment in the Die Hard franchise will heavily feature McClane’s son – John McClane Jr. So the next obvious question is: Who merits the right to carry the family name? I loved the casting of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as ‘Lucy McClane’in the 4th movie, can they as well with her brother?
So in my anticipation for this latest addition to Action Cinema’s greatest franchise ever, here are some of my humble suggestions for the casting director…
Born April 10th, 1981: 26 yrs Younger than Willis, 8 years old when the first movie was released.
Pitt, the star of HBO’s Boradwalk Empire has proven there he has the acting chops to be considered for a major film role. And while Boardwalk is a significant departure from his prior roles, many of which wouldn’t scream ‘badass’, you can’t deny the presence and believability HBO has given him in terms of being man enough to be called a McClane. Pitt is the oldest guy on my list, but if it were me, he’d be the first guy I called in for a screen test…
Born September 3rd, 1984: 29 Yrs Younger than Willis, 5 years old when the first movie was released.
Hedlund made a name for himself last year with his role in TRON: Legacy, but he had done his share of action movies before that, including Death Sentence, Troy, and Four Brothers. He’s the right age and has the necessary pedigree to handle the role. Something like this, along with the rumored 3rd TRON movie could turn him into a household name, and that prospect could be attractive to FOX. Plus he seems likable…
Born December 28th, 1987: 32 Yrs Younger than Willis, 2 years old when the first movie was released.
Dekker starred on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as the boy who would become the man who would lead the human resistance against the machines – John Conner. And while during the first season he seemed an unlikely hero, I thought he really started to come into his own as the show progressed. Since then he’s appeared in 10 projects, including the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake and has 3 more on the way. And while he will probably be the least popular suggestion of mine, I can see potential…
And finally, if he was about 5 years younger I think Logan Marshall-Green would’ve been perfect, but he’s probably just a little old…
Grizzly Bomb 