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John McTiernan is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter and Producer American born on 8 january 1951 at Albany (USA)

John McTiernan

John McTiernan
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Birth name John Campbell McTiernan, Jr.
Nationality USA
Birth 8 january 1951 (73 years) at Albany (USA)

John Campbell McTiernan, Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American film director and producer, best known for his action films and most identifiable with the three films he directed back-to-back: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October, along with later movies such as Last Action Hero, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and The Thomas Crown Affair.

Biography

Jeunesse
John Campbell McTiernan, Jr. nait à Albany dans l'État de New York. Il fréquente la Juilliard School puis décroche un MFA au AFI Conservatory.


Débuts et cinéaste à succès
Il écrit et réalise son premier long-métrage, le film fantastique à petit-budget Nomads, en 1986, dont il signe également le scénario. Mais ce film n'est pas un succès.

Arnold Schwarzenegger le choisit cependant pour mettre en scène son prochain projet, le film d'action fantastique Predator. Le film est un gros succès commercial et lance le cinéaste à Hollywood. Le studio 20th Century Fox lui fait alors confiance avec un nouveau projet, le film d'action Piège de cristal. Le succès critique et commercial du film fait de la tête d'affiche, Bruce Willis, une star dans le monde entier. Quant à McTiernan, devenu une valeur montante du cinéma d'action, la Paramount lui confie l'adaptation d'un roman à succès de Tom Clancy. En mars 1990 sort ainsi le thriller d'action À la poursuite d'Octobre Rouge, avec Alec Baldwin et Sean Connery. C'est un nouveau succès critique et commercial.

Ces trois longs-métrages lancent des franchises dont McTiernan se désengage, pour privilégier des projets originaux. En 1992, il retrouve Sean Connery pour un film d'aventures, Medicine Man, mais le long-métrage rembourse à peine son budget. Il revient donc vers l'action et retrouve cette fois Arnold Schwarzenegger pour Last Action Hero. Mais cette satire du cinéma d'action hollywoodien est un flop critique et commercial. Le cinéaste accepte donc l'offre de 20th Century Fox de mettre en scène le troisième opus de la trilogie Die Hard. En 1995, Une journée en enfer lui permet de reconquérir le box-office, surtout à l'international.


Diversification difficile
Pour son huitième long-métrage, il s'attelle à un projet ambitieux : un film de guerre et d'action historique. En 1999 sort Le 13e Guerrier, une adaptation du roman Le Royaume de Rothgar de Michael Crichton (lui-même inspiré d'un manuscrit de Ibn Fadlân). Le film, porté par Antonio Banderas, connaît une production difficile, et se solde par un échec commercial.

Il enchaîne avec Thomas Crown (1999) et Rollerball (2002), remakes de deux films réalisés par Norman Jewison : L'Affaire Thomas Crown (1968) et Rollerball (1975). Si le premier est un succès critique et commercial, le second est un flop critique et commercial.

Il réalise ensuite le thriller militaire Basic, avec John Travolta, qui sort en 2003. Ce onzième film n'est pas un succès, ne rapportant que 42 598 498 $ pour un budget de 50 millions de dollars.


Démêlés judiciaires
Le réalisateur a recours aux services du détective privé Anthony Pellicano qui met en place un procédé d'écoute afin de surveiller les propos du producteur Charles Roven, durant la production de Rollerball : McTiernan désirait connaître les véritables intentions du producteur à propos du film et s'en prémunir. Le détective privé a déjà travaillé pour John McTiernan au moment de son divorce avec Donna Dubrow en 1997. Roven et Dubrow, entre autres, porteront plainte contre ces écoutes.

À partir de 2006, impliqué dans « l'affaire des écoutes illégales Pellicano », et de surcroît dans l'impossibilité de trouver des assurances pour tourner, il est contraint de mettre sa carrière de réalisateur entre parenthèses. Il est accusé d'avoir menti sous serment (perjury) au FBI, affirmant qu'il n'avait pas eu recours aux services de Pellicano — or ce dernier a été condamné pour ses pratiques et son port d'arme illégal. En août 2012, McTiernan est condamné à un an de prison après avoir vu son appel rejeté par la Cour Suprême : il doit accomplir sa peine qui est d'un an de prison ferme.

Au début de l'année 2013, des fans du réalisateur se regroupent pour le soutenir et protester contre sa condamnation jugée abusive. Il est emprisonné du 3 avril 2013 au 25 février 2014. Dans la foulée, un juge le déclare en banqueroute et ses biens sont liquidés.


Libération et retour discret

Depuis sa cellule, John McTiernan continue de développer des projets cinématographiques. Il est libéré le 25 février 2014 et assigné à résidence jusqu'en avril 2014. Il confirme ensuite qu'il travaille sur un projet de film d'action intitulé Red Squad.

En octobre 2015, il est révélé que le cinéaste, en sérieuses difficultés financières, souhaite donner une suite à Thomas Crown, son dernier grand succès critique et commercial. Un an plus tôt, il avait déjà révélé avoir écrit un script, intitulé Thomas Crown And The Missing Lioness.

Le 1er juin 2016, c'est par la page Facebook John McTiernan Newspage qu'est officiellement annoncé le retour du metteur en scène derrière une caméra, faisant suite à « beaucoup de rumeurs fantaisistes (ayant) circulé (les mois précédents) ». On y découvre notamment une photo montrant McTiernan en repérage dans la région de Barcelone aux côtés du chef opérateur Jeff Cronenweth, en vue du tournage imminent d'une publicité pour ce qui y est décrit comme « un gros jeu vidéo d’action » pour le compte de la société Ubisoft. La diffusion du film est prévue pour la fin de l'été 2016. Cependant, il s'agit de deux bandes-annonces pour le jeu Ghost Recon Wildlands : The Red Dot et Ruthless.

En mai 2019, la presse annonce que John McTiernan reprendra les chemins des plateaux de cinéma pour un film d'action futuriste intitulé Tau Ceti Four avec Uma Thurman et Travis Fimmel dans les rôle principaux.

Best films

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
(Producer)
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
(Director)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
(Director)
Die Hard (1988)
(Director)
Last Action Hero (1993)
(Director)
Predator (1987)
(Director)

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of John McTiernan (15 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Nomads
Nomads (1986)
, 1h31
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Fantastic, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Ghost films
Actors Pierce Brosnan, Lesley-Anne Down, Nina Foch, Mary Woronov, John McTiernan, Frank Doubleday
Roles le professeur de Boston au téléphone
Rating51% 2.5989752.5989752.5989752.5989752.598975
The film begins with the violent and painful death of its protagonist, French sociologist Jean-Charles Pommier (Pierce Brosnan). The moment he dies in the Emergency Room of a Los Angeles city hospital the physician treating him, Dr. Eileen Flax (Lesley-Anne Down), becomes possessed with his memories.

Director

Basic
Basic (2003)
, 1h38
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Actors John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Timothy Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Roselyn Sánchez
Rating64% 3.2006753.2006753.2006753.2006753.200675
In Panama, a team of Army Ranger trainees and their instructor, Master Sergeant Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson), engage in a training exercise: navigate the jungle in hurricane conditions using live fire to hit targets before rendezvousing at a bunker.
Rollerball
Rollerball (2002)
, 1h39
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Sports films, Films set in the future, Roller derby, Dystopian films
Actors Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn, Naveen Andrews, Pink
Rating31% 1.557631.557631.557631.557631.55763
It is the year 2005 and the new sport of Rollerball is hugely popular in Central Asia, Russia, China, Mongolia, and Turkey.
The 13th Warrior, 1h42
Directed by John McTiernan, Michael Crichton
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, War, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Seafaring films, Films based on mythology, Transport films, Films set in the Viking Age, Films based on Norse mythology
Actors Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich, Clive Russell, Omar Sharif, Richard Bremmer
Rating66% 3.300383.300383.300383.300383.30038
Ahmad ibn Fadlan is a court poet to the Caliph of Baghdad, until his amorous encounter with the wife of an influential noble gets him exiled as an "ambassador" to Northern Barbarians. Traveling with Melchisidek, his caravan is saved from Turkic raiders by the appearance of Norsemen (presumably Varangian). Taking refuge at their settlement on the Volga river, communications are established through Melchisidek and Herger, a Norseman who speaks Latin. Ahmad and Melchisidek are in time to witness a fight, which establishes Buliwyf as heir apparent, followed by the Viking funeral of their dead king, cremated together with a young woman who agreed to accompany him to Valhalla.
The Thomas Crown Affair, 1h53
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Crime, Romance
Themes Peinture, Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary, Ben Gazzara, Fritz Weaver, Frankie Faison
Rating67% 3.3996053.3996053.3996053.3996053.399605
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an attempted robbery of precious paintings fails when museum employees discover imposters posing as staff. In all the confusion of locking down the museum and capturing the robbers, Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) slips into an adjacent room and steals the painting of San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk by Monet. The insurers of the $100 million artwork send investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) to assist NYPD Detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) in solving the crime.
Die Hard: With a Vengeance, 2h8
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action
Themes L'action se déroule en une journée, Films about terrorism, Buddy films, Heist films, Children's films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Larry Bryggman, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp
Rating75% 3.7978553.7978553.7978553.7978553.797855
In New York City, the Bonwit Teller department store is destroyed by a bomb during the morning commute. The New York City Police Department receive a call from a man calling himself "Simon", ordering them that suspended police officer Lt. John McClane be dropped in Harlem wearing a sandwich board that says "I hate niggers" and threatening to detonate another bomb if they don't comply. They collect McClane and follow Simon's instructions; McClane is saved from a potential attack by a group of young men by Zeus Carver, a nearby shop owner. McClane and Carver escape and return to headquarters, where Simon calls again and threatens to detonate more bombs if McClane and Carver do not follow his instructions.
Last Action Hero, 2h10
Directed by John McTiernan, Brian W. Cook, Vic Armstrong
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Films about films
Actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Charles Dance, Tom Noonan, Austin O'Brien, Art Carney
Rating64% 3.2495153.2495153.2495153.2495153.249515
Danny Madigan is a teenage boy living in a crime-ridden area of New York City with his widowed mother Irene. To escape from his harsh reality, Danny often skips school to watch movies at the run-down Pandora movie theater, owned and managed by Danny's friend Nick. Nick receives the film reels for Jack Slater IV, the latest in one of Danny's favorite film series about the titular Los Angeles police detective and violent action hero, and offers to show it to Danny at a private screening just before the world premiere. To mark the occasion, Nick tears up a special ticket he received from Harry Houdini years ago, giving one half of the stub to Danny as a keepsake.
Medicine Man, 1h46
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films
Actors Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, José Wilker
Rating59% 2.9998152.9998152.9998152.9998152.999815
A pharmaceutical company sends biochemist Dr. Rae Crane (Bracco) into the Amazonian rainforest to locate researcher Robert Campbell (Connery), after his wife and research partner abandon him.
The Hunt for Red October, 2h15
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres War, Thriller, Action, Adventure
Themes Spy films, Seafaring films, Politique, Transport films, Underwater action films, Submarine films, Political films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Sam Neill, Joss Ackland
Rating74% 3.74923.74923.74923.74923.7492
In 1984, Soviet submarine Captain First Rank Marko Ramius (Connery) commands Red October, a new Typhoon-class nuclear sub featuring a caterpillar drive, rendering it undetectable to passive sonar. Ramius leaves port on orders to conduct exercises with the V.K. Konovalov, commanded by his former student Captain Tupolev (Skarsgård). Once at sea, Ramius kills political officer Ivan Putin (Firth), and commands the crew to head toward America's east coast to conduct missile drills.
Die Hard
Die Hard (1988)
, 2h12
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action
Themes L'action se déroule en une journée, Christmas films, Psychologie, Films about terrorism, Heist films, Children's films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexandre Godounov, Reginald VelJohnson, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton
Rating81% 4.0976554.0976554.0976554.0976554.097655
On Christmas Eve, New York City Police Detective Lieutenant John McClane arrives in Los Angeles to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly. McClane is driven to the Nakatomi Plaza building for a company Christmas party by Argyle. While McClane changes clothes, the party is disrupted by the arrival of Hans Gruber and his heavily armed group: Karl, Franco, Tony, Theo, Alexander, Marco, Kristoff, Eddie, Uli, Heinrich, Fritz, and James. The group seize the tower and secure those inside as hostages, except for McClane, who manages to slip away.
Predator
Predator (1987)
, 1h47
Directed by John McTiernan, Craig R. Baxley
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action
Themes Films about extraterrestrial life, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Elpidia Carrillo, Kevin Peter Hall, Richard Chaves
Rating77% 3.8976553.8976553.8976553.8976553.897655
Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer and his six-man team, consisting of himself, operators Mac Eliot, Billy Sole, and Blain Cooper, ordnance expert Jorge "Poncho" Ramírez and radioman Rick Hawkins, are tasked by the CIA with spearheading the rescue of an official held hostage by insurgents in Val Verde. Agent George Dillon, an old friend of Schaefer's, is assigned to supervise. The team is taken to a remote jungle and begins the mission.
Nomads
Nomads (1986)
, 1h31
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Fantastic, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Ghost films
Actors Pierce Brosnan, Lesley-Anne Down, Nina Foch, Mary Woronov, John McTiernan, Frank Doubleday
Rating51% 2.5989752.5989752.5989752.5989752.598975
The film begins with the violent and painful death of its protagonist, French sociologist Jean-Charles Pommier (Pierce Brosnan). The moment he dies in the Emergency Room of a Los Angeles city hospital the physician treating him, Dr. Eileen Flax (Lesley-Anne Down), becomes possessed with his memories.

Scriptwriter

The 13th Warrior, 1h42
Directed by John McTiernan, Michael Crichton
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, War, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Seafaring films, Films based on mythology, Transport films, Films set in the Viking Age, Films based on Norse mythology
Actors Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich, Clive Russell, Omar Sharif, Richard Bremmer
Rating66% 3.300383.300383.300383.300383.30038
Ahmad ibn Fadlan is a court poet to the Caliph of Baghdad, until his amorous encounter with the wife of an influential noble gets him exiled as an "ambassador" to Northern Barbarians. Traveling with Melchisidek, his caravan is saved from Turkic raiders by the appearance of Norsemen (presumably Varangian). Taking refuge at their settlement on the Volga river, communications are established through Melchisidek and Herger, a Norseman who speaks Latin. Ahmad and Melchisidek are in time to witness a fight, which establishes Buliwyf as heir apparent, followed by the Viking funeral of their dead king, cremated together with a young woman who agreed to accompany him to Valhalla.
Nomads
Nomads (1986)
, 1h31
Directed by John McTiernan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Fantastic, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Ghost films
Actors Pierce Brosnan, Lesley-Anne Down, Nina Foch, Mary Woronov, John McTiernan, Frank Doubleday
Roles Ecrivain
Rating51% 2.5989752.5989752.5989752.5989752.598975
The film begins with the violent and painful death of its protagonist, French sociologist Jean-Charles Pommier (Pierce Brosnan). The moment he dies in the Emergency Room of a Los Angeles city hospital the physician treating him, Dr. Eileen Flax (Lesley-Anne Down), becomes possessed with his memories.

Producer

Live Free or Die Hard, 2h9
Directed by Len Wiseman
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action
Themes Films about computing, Films about terrorism, Sécurité informatique, Cyberpunk films, Buddy films, Children's films
Actors Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Cliff Curtis, Maggie Q, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Roles Producer
Rating70% 3.5468753.5468753.5468753.5468753.546875
The FBI responds to a brief computer outage at their Cyber-Security Division by tracing down top computer hackers, finding several of them have been killed. Taking others into protective custody, the FBI asks New York City Police Department detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) to bring in Matthew "Matt" Farrell (Justin Long), one of the targeted hackers. McClane finally arrives just in time to prevent Farrell from being killed by assassins working for Mai Linh (Maggie Q), a mysterious cyber-terrorist who works for her boss and love interest, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant).