Die Hard 5 Officially Hires Max Payne Director John Moore
Posted 09.01.11 by Ryan
Twentieth Century Fox has been trying to put together Die Hard 5 (working title) since late 2009, when franchise star Bruce Willis revealed that "Fox is already talking about doing another one." Willis added that the studio "better get it done soon" because, he admitted, "I'm not getting any younger." Years later, the studio finally has their director.
The same was said in February, when Fox hired Smart People director Noam Murro to helm the sequel, but when Murro landed the directing job for Warner Brothers' 300 sequel, 300: Battle of Artemisia (formerly Xerxes), Murro had to drop out of Die Hard 5, leaving the director's chair open for Max Payne director John Moore to "take or leave." In the end, Moore took.
Deadline reports that a sticking point for hiring Moore was Willis, since the studio was already convinced that Moore could direct the sequel on budget and within the tight shooting schedule (Fox is trying to squeeze Willis into Die Hard 5 before he has to shoot the sequel to RED). Last February, Willis publicly campaigned for Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman, saying that he wanted Fox to hire Wiseman "right now."
According to the report, Moore won over Willis by convincing him during "long meetings" that he was capable of directing "non-CGI-heavy action scenes," at which point Moore must have crossed his fingers hoping Willis has never seen Max Payne.
Written by Skip Woods (The A-Team), THR reports that Die Hard 5, which will be set in Russia, will feature John McClane (Willis) and his son. In Live Free or Die Hard, McClane save his daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) from cyber-terrorists and in the first two Die Hard movies, he protected his wife (Bonnie Bedelia). We can't wait to see what's in store for the McClane boys.