John McTiernan Would Love to Direct an Indie Action Movie Because “Studios Died 25 Years Ago”

John McTiernan reinvented the action movie in the ‘80s with “Predator,” and “Die Hard.” The ‘90s were fairly prosperous for him as well with “The Hunt For Red October,” “Die Hard With A Vengeance,” “The Last Action Hero,” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

However, the aughts weren’t so kind for McTiernan, for a number of reasons. “Basic” and “Rollerball” tanked, but he was also convicted of illegally spying on his “Rollerball” producer and sent to jail in 2013. He was eventually released in 2014 and served the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. He went on to declare bankruptcy on his assets. The term “director’s jail” should have McTiernan’s face firmly planted next to the definition.

In a new interview with Forbes, McTiernan, 74, who hasn’t directed a film in almost 25 years, says he’s working on three new scripts, all of which might might never see the light of day, but he’s clinging to the hope one of them gets made:

Sure, I have 3 possibly 4 pieces that I would like to do, I don’t know whether I will. Maybe I’ll have enough strength and energy. Or not.

He was supposed to shoot “Taut Ceci Foxtrot” in 2022, but something happened and that film was nixed. It was supposed to star Uma Thurman and Laurence Fishburne and tell the story of a group of rebels who set out to kill the oligarchs and military thugs that terrorized a war-torn planet in the remote Tau Ceti solar system. Sounds like “Rebel Moon.”

In another interview, this one with Le Figaro, McTiernan says that if he ever made another film again then it would be an action movie, but one financed independently because “big studios died 25 years ago.”

There’s never been a vogue in movies that lasted 30 years. They made Westerns for 10 years, 15 maybe. They made detective movies for 10 years, all sorts of vogues, one after another. Except, we get the comic books. And they make comic book movies for 30 years. And they make the same movies over and over again. Why? Because they’re not filmmakers running the studios, they’re here for the money. And they make whatever is most likely to be sellable for the largest group of people, which for a filmmaker who built the studio, would be shameful.

The filmmaker recently spoke to Finnish outlet Helsingin Sanomat and tackled why he hasn’t directed a film in almost 20 years. He implied that the reason why was the shape-shifting change within the industry. McTiernan claimed that he’s still getting plenty of offers to direct, but none of them are for good films.

McTiernan still has this fervent fanbase, especially in Europe, where his films are revered, and he is seen as an auteur with a distinct cinematic voice. McTiernan retrospectives happen there all the time, the latest one is taking place in Paris, where his body of work was celebrated.