Ain't It Cool News (www.aintitcool.com)
Movie News

Bruce Willis is Talking Back - So Here's A TalkBack To TalkBack With Him about DIE HARD 4

Hey folks, Harry here... Sorry I haven't been doing more on the site recently, but getting married and setting up the wedding is kinda, almost a full time job. That said - I am here to clear something up today. Around 3:45am last night, Bruce Willis left a message on my cel phone regarding... talkback. As many of you have figured out... yes, Bruce is talking to you. He is Walter B in talkbacks and I've given him Black Box Posting powers so you can see that it is, indeed, him. I've also seen that he wants a new talkback, and well... what the Bruce wants, the Bruce gets... because if he wants to moonlight as a Talkbacker, that's pretty goddamn cool! So... Bruce... Talkbackers? Enjoy... P.S. - If you want to read his Talkback history so far, look here and check out his Walter B (Black Boxed Interactions) posts and get caught up on what he's said, thus far. P.S.S. Below are some of the best nuggets from the previous posting by Bruce - that way you don't have to search through it all - though... I highly recommend it, the context of the give and take is pretty awesome:

The Mythology of Die Hard, for me consists of the following- 1. an ordinary guy confronted with an extraordinary circumstances 2. MaClane loves his Family, his Country, and despises anyone who preys on people who cannot defend themselves, and has a severe distaste for Authority. 3.You just can't stop MaClane 4. A story that is riveting from beginning to end. 5. Finally, the weiredness of seeing a set of films whose timeline covers 22 years. Once the term "the Mythology of Die Hard started getting used, everyone got it, almost immediately. We never thought we were shooting a movie, not a rating. i have said it elsewhere on this Thread, but except for the Fuck quotient, this Film is as badass as the First, and way tougher than 2 or 3, and the hardcore heart of the Film's Mythology has not been compromised one bit, regardless of the outrage of those who haven't seen it yet.

----

Other than the 5 year old character of Lucy McClane, who is now 26, there are no cameos from the 3 previous Die Hards.

----

Nice explanation of how things work in the AICN world. And having my own personal problem with Authority, I completely get it. And that extends far beyond the range of the Movie Industry. I think we are currently in a deep parochial trough in this country that comes along every 20 years or so.(example's of the opposite of this Parochialism would be the roaring 20's, the 60's, and the 80's.) It's almost as if it's gotten to the point where the next thing we'll see will be "Word Rehab"- witness that guy from Grey's Anatomy who merely said he did NOT call someone a fag. Off to SOME kind of Rehab. But I do not for one minute believe anyone is really changing their behaviour, but simply doing whatever they do and say, much more quietly. This to shall pass. I find the alternative points of view expressed here at AICN, which are pretty varied, to be refreshingly honest. Every group has Haters, and to be honest, when I mentioned Haters in an earlier post, I was referring to Haters in general. I just have zero tolerance for hatred of any kind, except the hatred reserved for Rapists, Kidnappers, and Child Molesters. But I see what even your own members call Haters as passionate people who express themselves without an editing mechanism. Too bad you don"t have any sway with the politicians. I would like to see the Presidential candidates in the upcoming election be forced to answer the questions of AICN's membership. Doubtless this post will be seen as more spin, but fuck it- I reject all judgment, and in general keep my own counsel, for good or bad. Which is why I can take credit for deciding to do movies like 12 Monkey's and Pulp Fiction, as well as having to hang my head for deciding to do dogs like Striking Distance and Sunset.... Thanks krack

----

I forgot to mention that MaClane is a lot crankier in this Film than in any of the previous Films. As i am still working on LF orDH, it is hard to say what my response would be to a 5th installment. I said I wouldn"t do another one after the first Film, so all I really learned is to never say never. But right now, I cannot see myself doing another one. The 'wrong place,wrong time' gag has pretty much run it's course. The first DH was the most fun, because it was all very new, and at that time I had no idea it would become a quartet of Films spanning 22 years. The second was my least favorite, and the least fun. Far too self-referentially precious, the story was all over the place, and suffered from severe un-claustrophobic-ness. This last one was the most draining, physically, and mentally. I will have been working on this Film for an entire year by the time it opens, but most definitely the most rewarding from an artistic standpoint. And I have already gone on record as saying it will be as good, if not better than the first Film. thanks bw

----

What I said in the VF article, and what actually got printed were 2 different things. I said that INITIALLY, along with len and a few others working on the film heard about the rating, I was a little bummed, but once we got shooting, I never thought about it again. We shot a hard-ass movie, not a rating. And I had not seen the movie when I did the VF interview. Writers often need to present a "thesis" to their articles, and Peter Biskin chose the rating as his. And while you can't imagine how a PG-13 movie can be a rough as an R, you will just have to wait and see this movie. If you need swearing to make you happy at the movies, there are plenty of those out there. But if you want a new action movie that will rock you, go see LF or DH. Thanks bw

----

let's see if I can remember all these. I have seen a few of the knock-offs. Being a movie fan, I didn't want to judge just because I chose not to make Die Hard in a Deli- which you must see, btw- but no, there was no grave-rollin' 2.John Woo rocks. Especially with Hard-Boiled. That movie is on my heavy-rotation list. And Chow Yun Fat is the Boss of ass-whoopin'. 3.Yippe Ki Yay has only become part of the Mythology over time. At the time I first said it, it was just a cool thing to say to Alan Rickman when he was raggin on me about 'Mr. Cowboy'. I am amazed still that such a simple line would become part of the World's language. But I say it now under many circumstances, mainly when I am trying to be extra-indecipher-able. 4. If it were in my Power, I, along with almost everyone in Hollywood would set the MPAA's antiquated ratings system. I say let the parents decide. If you remember, Jaws was rated PG. I believe there was some blood in that movie, not to mention Robert Shaw getting chomped and eaten by the shark. I believe it'll come around to a less antiquated system, but who knows when. Jack Valenti ran that sytem into the ground. I donated a first class recording studio to those kids from the Hip-Hop project, and when they decided to do the documentary, I got that credit. thanks Vern. bw

----

here are my top 5 or 6 movies, which I generally watch 3 to 5 times a year. Dr. Strangelove, Raging Bull, The first 2 Godfathers, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Spartacus, Bridge on the River Kwai, Bullitt, the Great Escape, On the Waterfront, Resevoir Dogs, Patton, I really dug 300, the first Alien, Last Picture Show.... that's more than 5 or 6... thanks bw

----

Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus