Today, or at least in the next 24 hours, John McTiernan will be released from prison. He surrendered himself on April 3rd last year to authorities to begin his one year term. The whys and hows of his imprisonment are a long and contrived affair, which is best summed up in Michael Hastings’ excellent article produced in Buzzfeed last year: Exclusive: The Tragic Imprisonment Of John McTiernan.



By the way, when it comes to John McTiernan not getting any respect, you’d think that the aforementioned article by the (late) Michael Hastings would be an excellent source to update John’s curiously threadbare Wikipedia page. No such luck, that article has its own protection team like a lot of Wikipedia pages. No-one can argue against Hastings’ article being an exemplary source. So much for Wikipedia’s ‘public’ interface.



Actors who have came out in support of McTiernan are: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Kulich, Sam Neill, Alec Baldwin, Jeremy Irons, Robert Davi, Peter Firth, Sven Ole Thorsen. In particular, here are two messages that Robert Davi and Alec Baldwin offered on the case respectively:

Dear friends , I have always been outspoken when it comes to certain things not particularly in step with Hollywood mainstream. So this may be no different but I wish to opine!! As you may know I was a character in the first Die Hard. It is during that experience I had met and worked with John McTiernan. Then subsequently he asked me to play a role in Hunt for Red October but I was unavailable at the time.



We had met over the years at a few functions but never “hung out”. I say this because my wanting to speak out is not a friend supporting someone out of loyalty. No, that is not my motivation . My motivation stems from several things. First , it seems to me that he has already suffered enough in regards to the offense. We live in a time when corrupt politicians , rapist, thieves, drug dealers , business tycoons,murderers and a host of other criminals seem to get away with a lot less. It is almost ABSURD that this has been taken to the lengths it has .



Secondly, , I do not hear the outpouring of support from Hollywood. Where are the voices of support ? I mean, was’nt there a HUGE OUTCRY for Roman Polanski ??!! and is THIS not a LOT less “controversial “? This kind of thing “wiretapping” has gone on for a long time in all kinds of business,politics and personal life . I am not condoning it but it is a fact. The Government has used illegal wiretaps for pete’s sake and if we knew how many times it would be shocking., well maybe not. Could it have been that JM was in fear of his life had he spoken up ? OR threatened ? and even if it is not the case ,,, there are so MANY spiney threads of deception in LALA land it boggles the MIND. Could one possibly be afraid of being Blacklisted ? OF COURSE ,, it has and still does occur!!! I have seen this for 40 years in this town the BIG FISH eat the little fish !



The ups and downs of careers . One is like a leper when the career tanks , no one wants to associate for fear of the stink coMing off on them. Then an upturn happens And ironically, mortal enemies become friends once again when a deal can be put together.

Thirdly, when I was researching my part for Special Agent Bailey Malone in NBC’s Profiler , I went to Quantico the FBI Academy for several days. While I was having lunch with Jim Greenleaf(he was number 3 in overall FBI also headed the Academy at one time) , a group of about 7 or 8 young agents in training came up to me and said ” Lose the Grid or Lose your Job , you know who’s in charge here ! the United States f—-ing Government THATS WHO’s in CHARGE !!!!!” then preceded to all say the reason they went into the FBI was because of me and my Character in DIE HARD !!!!!! That by the way STILL happens !!! So , I pose the question ,,,, HOW MANY LIVES COULD HAVE POSSSIBLY BEEN SAVED OR CRIMES SOLVED BY THE AGENTS OVER THE YEARS WHO HAD JOINED BECA– USE OF” DIE HARD “. This does’nt excuse any crime commited but sometimes one must take into account the totality of the individual. The epic moral sensibilty in the work of John McTiernan needs a voice once again . The culture cries out ! Who knows who or what his work will inspire ! So , it is with this that I call all who can be if help to possibly help -FREE JOHN MCTIERNAN. Prayers to St Patrick to Intercede.

Robert Davi (Big Johnson).







“Aside from being an extraordinarily gifted film director, John McTiernan is an admired industry colleague who has overseen films that have employed thousands of motion picture professionals.

What is happening to John is wrong. His sentence is a travesty. And I encourage everyone who reads this to e-mail your reps in Congress to ask that John be set free.

Alec Baldwin”

Of course worth mentioning most of all is the Free John McTiernan Facebook movement, where most of these messages of famous support were sent to. Kudos to them for their tireless efforts over the past year. To end on a positive note, don’t forget, John McTiernan is shooting an action/thriller this year. ‘Red Squad’ will shoot in Alabama in April, ironically a year after John’s incarceration. It’ll see a rogue DEA agent take down Cartel members on the US/Mex border.



One more thing, John For Expendables 4!





