The 22nd edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival is warming up to present new and classic proposals in morbid cinema. In its next iteration, one of its special guests will be director John McTiernan.
McTiernan is a director who has always had one foot in fantastic cinema. His first work was in Nomads, a horror film starring Pierce Brosnan, who would eventually become the James Bond of the 90s. The handling of suspense he achieved despite its rather modest budget caught the attention of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who asked the filmmaker to direct what would become one of the key pieces of science fiction and which he still tries to emulate today: Predator.
Just a year later, McTiernan released Die Hard, the quintessential action film and, it could be argued, a blueprint for today’s superhero films, full of action and quick, humorous responses from the heroes, something that was far from common until Bruce Willis arrived in the Nakatomi building.
He worked twice with the legendary Sean Connery and would repeat with Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero, in which he parodied himself and in which even Death of The Seventh Seal had a special appearance. He would also return to the world of Die Hard in Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Between films of political intrigue, action, horror and science fiction, there will surely be plenty to talk about with John McTiernan, who will be featured in a debate moderated by Rafaël Wolf (RTS), on Sunday, July 2 at 2 pm. In addition, three films by the director, who will be present, will be screened.
The 22nd edition of the NIFFF will be held from June 30 to July 8 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.