July 29, 2007

● Bay shoots back at Willis
Director Michael Bay has hit back at Bruce Willis after the actor wrote an internet blog vowing never to work with him again.
The pair fell out on the set of Armageddon, prompting Willis to recently write, "Few people will work with Bay now, and I know I will never work with him again. A screaming director does not make for a pleasant set experience."
But Transformers film-maker Bay claims' Willis rant is just a publicity stunt for his latest film Die Hard 4.0.
He said: "If you look, he posted at 3:30 in the morning.; Does anything good happen at 3:30 in the morning? I think we have movies that were supposed to open on the same date and I think he thought, 'Maybe I'll get some fans if I do that.' Bruce wrote, 'If Michael Bay would have done Die Hard 4.0, it would have sucked.'
"Now, my action is usually pretty good. So I'll put it to the test. Put Transformers action against Die Hard 4.0 action. If you want to go the competitive way, we can go there."

● Bruce Willis wants your respect
As he returns in a long-awaited new Die Hard romp, 52-year-old action star Bruce Willis says he's happy to reprise his character - but he wants respect as an actor too.
It's amazing how well Bruce Willis has aged. He probably looks more like an action hero today at 52 than when he was first cast as John McClane in Die Hard two decades ago.
In a sharp grey suit and lily-white shirt, he dresses like a man who earns his pay cheque. He's cool, but he knows it.
Recently, though, Bruce Willis has been acting more like a computer nerd. He went on the movie fan website AintitCoolNews under a pseudonym to attack the studio and makers of Die Hard 4.0 for demanding the swearing be toned down so it received a rating that would allow teenagers in to see the film.
Willis says of his internet adventures: "Well, so much of my interaction and talking about films is with writers, reporters, critics, whatever. I had a website of my own up for a couple of years because I wanted to talk to people that were just fans of the films.
"Those guys and girls who use AintitCoolNews are passionate film fans, they're from all over the world. They're very vocal in their like and dislike of any film or any film director or actor and that is who I wanted to talk to.
"I didn't want to talk to someone who would pull their punches, talk to someone who would handle what they say in a politically correct way."
In an age when stars are protected by their publicists and encouraged to be as bland as possible in interviews, Willis, in his opening salvo, took the kid gloves off.
The obvious place to start was by asking Willis about the photographs taken by Annie Leibovitz of him on a boat hanging out with his ex-wife Demi Moore, with whom he has three children, and her younger beau, Ashton Kutcher.
The shots published in Vanity Fair just didn't seem right because Hollywood break-ups are supposed to be of the Kramer vs. Kramer variety.
Willis responds: "I'm at a point in my life where I've spent many years kind of closed off from the world. It was the same reason I wanted to talk to the guys at AintItCoolNews. I was tired of being up in the tower.
"I live my life as a regular guy, I come and go and I don't fight any more; I've got nothing to fight against.
"But we all do really get along, and it's a very modern way of dealing with extended family, and I'm sure not everybody can do it. It is one way of doing it that we have found has been successful. It all came about from one single phrase: put the children first. It allowed us to be friends; it allowed me to become friends with Ashton."
While there is no surprise in Willis espousing the sanctity of family values (he reveals he is hoping to star in a film with his oldest daughter, Rumer, if all the contracts are agreed), I baulk at the suggestion he has given up fighting.
Wasn't this the man who offered a million dollars' ransom for whoever captured Saddam Hussein (US Army rules prevented him paying up), joined a pro-Israeli forum during the recent Lebanon crisis and has been vocal in his support of several Republican Presidents?
I put this to him, but he protests that the common perception of him as a Republican is wrong: "I don't think that I'm anything anymore. I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. If you have to put me in a category say I'm an independent. I've been telling people that for a few years now.
"I'm back to the point of being disillusioned with the world of politics. I support the men and women who are still fighting in this very desperate war, and while no one can be pro-war, it just seems like a silly thing to say.
"So much of my political mindset is in contradiction. My Republican point of view is, very simply, I'm for smaller companies, more conservative government, less government intrusion and lower taxes.
"On the other hand, I want the Government to take care of the kids in foster care. I want them to take care of the elderly who really can't take care of themselves. It seems like the business of politics is to do nothing but give the illusion of doing something."
Demi Moore may have a man on her arm but Willis remains single, or more correctly - given the fact that he has been rumoured to be dating nearly every Hollywood starlet he is pictured with - he is without a permanent partner.
On his love-life, Willis is dismissive of the rumours but does have one fear: "Gossip is a billion-dollar industry worldwide but it really has no true meaning right now. It may be at some point in 25 years from now, maybe gossip will become the thing that is remembered as history. Who knows what is going to be?"
He is already cautious about what the truth is, and says that he now gets his news from the internet because he doesn't believe what is being reported to him on television.
The more we talk, the more it dawns on me just how closely Willis' life is reflected in the persona of John McClane. Willis was an unusual choice for the action hero and only a string of coincidences led to him getting the part.
First, the leading action heroes of the day, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, reportedly turned down the role. Then the dates of filming clashed with Moonlighting and it was only when Cybill Shepherd became pregnant that an 11-week break in the shooting schedule allowed him enough free time to shoot the film.
The reason McClane swore so much was that Willis, finally liberated from the no-swearing rules of TV, decided to let rip and allow his own vernacular to shine through, ad libbing most of the comedic lines.
He says now: "I did Die Hard when I was still learning how to act. So much of who I was then, a guy coming out of South Jersey having done a couple of years of TV, was invested in that character: my sense of humour, my disrespect for authority, my love of family, my country, my South Jersey sarcasm."
Willis is resigned to the fact none of the sequels will ever be as good as the original. He acknowledges that the second Die Hard film wasn't so hot because, made at a time when the sequel business was still in its infancy, it was too self-referential and his character had not moved on.
As for the third in the series, Die Hard with a Vengeance: "Thank God Samuel Jackson and Jeremy Irons were in it."
Die Hard III was made around the same time as Willis had been reinvented as an actor by his portrayal of the boxer in Pulp Fiction. His poor performance in the Die Hard movie showed his sense of frustration with his own career at that point. He even wrote himself a leading role, but Hudson Hawk ended up getting some of the worst reviews since Ishtar.
Pulp Fiction gave Willis credibility and allowed him to move his career in a different direction.
Now, in between the big action film paydays such as The Siege and 16 Blocks, Willis says: "I get to work one day on a Rick Linklater film [Fast Food Nation], I get to work two days on Grindhouse with Robert Rodriguez and I get calls from people whose work I admire and so something seems to work."
Willis produced Die Hard 4.0 and his hand is all over the character. Twelve years since the last episode, McClane is still divorced, single and zealous in his paternal duties.
The action and his attitude remain positively old-school. If this Die Hard is a success he may do another one before his body pleads for a rest.
On his career, he is still not satisfied. He says: "Just sticking around for 22 years is a feat in itself - a lot of people don't have that. My goal is to have Clint Eastwood's career."
Only a fool would not want Eastwood's career, but there is a hint of something more profound and a change in direction envisaged by Willis' words.
Ironically, the roots of this can be found in Hudson Hawk, which until recently was considered his biggest failure. It is having a second life.
"Hudson Hawk is underrated," he says. "But it has really caught on as a cult film, it is having resurgence on DVD and it has been, kind of, rediscovered.
"At the time people didn't get it because it was satire and it was just too hip for the room."
I get the feeling that often Willis sees himself as being too hip for the room and, on many counts, he's right.

● Die Hard Bruce Willis Likes Women In Red, Reveals Former Lover
The opera-trained former U.S. soap star briefly dated the Die Hard hunk in 2005 and 2006 after breaking off her engagement to a banker, and she still swoons when she recalls her sex sessions with ladies man Willis.
Part-Swedish Bjorlin, now 26, tells Britain's News Of The World that Willis wasted no time in wooing her and then bedding her after they met at top Los Angeles restaurant KOI.
The actress reveals Willis invited her to his Malibu, California home "after a few dates", ordered fine wine and fed her Haagen Dazs ice-cream.
She recalls, "He led me to his bedroom... and that night we made love slowly and gently as he whispered how beautiful I was in my ear.
"He told me that he loved my boobs and bottom and that I was perfect."
And Bjorlin admits she quickly learned how to fire up sex sessions with her Die Hard lover - by donning skimpy red underwear.
She adds, "His favourite outfit was some tiny red lacy underwear with red stockings and a red garter. He loved it because he said I looked wild and naughty in the colour."

by Lucash | comments:

July 22, 2007

● Rocky Balboa helped Bruce Willis and Die Hard co-star bond
Bruce Willis and his new Die Hard co-star Justin Long broke the ice by bonding over Sylvester Stallone's boxing movie 'Rocky Balboa'.
Long revealed that after two months of just exchanging pleasantries with his famous co-star, the two finally got to know each other a bit more when Willis invited him for Rocky Balboa.
Till then, Long admits that he had thought that Willis hated his guts.
'Bruce is a very cool, stoic kind of guy, He kind of keeps to himself. He's got his friends and he jokes with the crew, but he and I have very different energies and, for the first two months of the shoot, I thought he hated my guts,' Contactmusic quoted Long, as saying.
'But then he invited me to the premiere of Rocky Balboa just randomly. 'We'd go home every day and it would be like, 'See ya Bruce.' 'See ya later, kid,' and we just kind of went our separate ways. Then, one night, he was just like, 'Hey, you wanna go see Rocky? I told my friend I would go.'
'His friend turned out to be (Rocky Balboa star) Sylvester Stallone and we also ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger.
'It was an amazing night - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Sly and me on the periphery, saying, 'Excuse me, Bruce, do you want some popcorn? Did you say you wanted the Diet Coke or the regular Coke?' It was a very strange night,' Long added.

● Timberlake and young Willis were set to co-star
Justin Timberlake was originally set to have a part in the new Bruce Willis action-packed sequel "Die Hard 4.0". Willis and Timberlake originally co-starred in the crime drama "Alpha Dog". Willis was so impressed by Timberlake's acting skills that he wanted him cast as John Jr., John McClane's son.
Young John Jr. appeared in a photo in the original Die Hard film and was set to join the story plot along with sister Lucy, at one point rumoured to be played by Willis' real-life daughter, Rumer Willis. However, both popularized casting rumours faded as Timberlake did not take the part and subsequently the character was dropped entirely. Lucy McClane is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the action-packed sequel "Die Hard 4.0".

by Lucash | comments:

July 18, 2007

● Willis wants Bedelia back as his wife in 'Die Hard 5'
Action hero Bruce Willis wants to see Bonnie Bedelia reprising her role as his wife in the planned fifth 'Die Hard' movie.
Bedelia portrayed Holly in the first two instalments in the famous action series, and now Willis is desperate to have her back in the franchise's fifth flick.
The actor wants Bedelia to star alongside 'the gang from part four', reports Contactmusic.
Meanwhile, grapevine has it that Morgan Freeman is being lined up to play the villain in 'Die Hard 5'.
Freeman is currently working in association with Willis to produce 'The Last Full Measure'.

[ Discuss it on forum ]

by Lucash | comments:

July 16, 2007

● 'Live Free' was worth waiting for, Willis says
Bruce Willis admits he wasn't satisfied with the first two "Die Hard" sequels. But, he says, the franchise returns to form with "Live Free or Die Hard," the fourth chapter of a saga that helped redefine the American action film.
Willis says "Live Free," third at the box office last weekend, is the closest a sequel has come to capturing the magic of that first seminal flick, one that Entertainment Weekly last month named the best action movie of all time.
"The first film is so well-built and so well-crafted and so claustrophobic," Willis says. "The good guys and the bad guys and the hostages are all in that one building. It's almost a perfect action scenario."
"Live Free or Die Hard" isn't as tightly centered as the original.
In fact, it has Willis' hard-boiled, New York City detective, John McClane, traveling from one state to another as he tries to protect a computer hacker - played by Justin Long - with information regarding a technological terrorist attack on the United States. The settings are many, but Willis says the tone is similar to that of the 1988 original.
It had been 12 years since the release of "Die Hard: With a Vengeance" - the third "Die Hard" movie - and Willis says he was waiting on a great story.
"I didn't have to do this one," he says. "I really could have retired undefeated. But I always wanted to make a film that was much closer in nature and, in the overall feel of it, to the first film, which for me is the only really great one."
Willis says "Live Free" director Len Wiseman limited his use of computer-generated imagery, and that was key.
"The thing that, I think, makes this different from other films that are out right now, especially films that are out this summer, is that 90 percent of the stunts that are in this film are real," Willis says. "The car that they shot into a helicopter, it was a real helicopter and it was a real car. They actually did that."
And although it's been 12 years since moviegoers last saw McClane, Willis says he didn't alter the character's belief system or personality. He did, however, make adjustments for age.
"He's older and I made a conscious choice to play him at my age now," Willis says. "I didn't try to play him younger or make myself look younger. I just wanted to play him at 52 and see what a cop, what this character, is capable of at 52."

● Die Hard Bruce Willis Likes Women In Red, Reveals Former Lover
The opera-trained former U.S. soap star briefly dated the Die Hard hunk in 2005 and 2006 after breaking off her engagement to a banker, and she still swoons when she recalls her sex sessions with ladies man Willis.
Part-Swedish Bjorlin, now 26, tells Britain's News Of The World that Willis wasted no time in wooing her and then bedding her after they met at top Los Angeles restaurant KOI.
The actress reveals Willis invited her to his Malibu, California home "after a few dates", ordered fine wine and fed her Haagen Dazs ice-cream.
She recalls, "He led me to his bedroom... and that night we made love slowly and gently as he whispered how beautiful I was in my ear.
"He told me that he loved my boobs and bottom and that I was perfect."
And Bjorlin admits she quickly learned how to fire up sex sessions with her Die Hard lover - by donning skimpy red underwear.
She adds, "His favourite outfit was some tiny red lacy underwear with red stockings and a red garter. He loved it because he said I looked wild and naughty in the colour."

by Lucash | comments:

July 15, 2007

● Fan forum @ Bruce Willis PL officially opened !
I would like to invite all of you to join brand new Forum @ Bruce Willis PL - the place to talk about Bruce, Die Hard and his other movies, Moonlighting and Bruce's other TV appearances and anything you want with other Bruce Willis fans from all over the world. Enjoy!

● Willis suffers hearing loss after Die Hard
Actor Bruce Willis suffered hearing loss after an accident filming 1998s "Die Hard". The action superstar still carries the injury and admits he hates having to make people repeat themselves. He says, "Due to an accident on the first Die Hard, I suffer two-thirds partial hearing loss in my left ear and have the tendency to say, 'Whaaa?'"

● Added 57 HQ photos of Bruce attending the premiere of "Perfect Stranger" on April 10, 2007 :

by Lucash | comments:

July 10, 2007

● Added 9 UHQ/HQ movie stills with Bruce Willis in "Perfect Stranger" :

● ...and 2 Movie Posters :

by Lucash | comments:

July 09, 2007

● Willis' hard-cop portrayal in 'Die Hard' inspired Wiseman to become director
Len Wiseman has revealed that the awe-inspiring portrayal of Bruce Willis as John McClane in 'Die Hard' provided him the inspiration to become a film director during his high school days.
The maker of 'Live Free or Die Hard' says that he is a huge fan of the original 'Die Hard'.
Wiseman insists that 1988 hit, along with 'Indiana Jones' and 'Lethal Weapon', inculcated in him the desire to become a filmmaker.
"Die Hard, Indiana Jones, and Lethal Weapon were the movies that really kicked it off for me in high school. I saw the making of Raiders of the Lost Ark documentary and thought: 'Man, that's the job I want to do.' And I absolutely love the original Die Hard," Contactmusic quoted him as saying.
"John MCClane is our best reluctant hero. He doesn't wanna be there, he's bitching all the time, he can be a bit of an asshole, a bit crude. We can relate to that, because we wouldn't want to be there either," he added.
'Live Free or Die Hard' was released in the US and Canada on June 27 as the fourth instalment of the 'Die Hard' franchise.
The film is based on the 1997 article 'A Farewell to Arms', written for Wired magazine by John Carlin.

● Bruce Willis won't Die Hard, but lives forever in history
In 1988, Bruce Willis and Die Hard redefine the action genre. Now, almost twenty years later, the 52-year-old superstar, the film, and McClane are now part of American history.
A week ago, Willis visited the Smithsonian Institute to donate the dirty, blood-smeared undershirt he wore as McClane in the first Die Hard, as well as a poster of the film, a prop police badge and script from the fourth installment, Live Free or Die Hard (now in theatres). The items will go on display as part of the "Treasures of American History" exhibition on Thursday, July 12.
In Live Free or Die Hard, McClane must protect both America and a computer hacker (Justin Long) from terrorists planning on bringing the country to its knees through its computer systems.
What makes John McClane such an icon now, according to Willis, is that the character became a new type of action hero in Hollywood: one that has both humor and heart.
"What I've been saying about the character for a long time", states the actor, "is that he loves his country, loves his family. He has a very American sense of humor. This character, in all four films, has always had zero tolerance for anyone trying to hurt or do harm to innocent people."
Willis also said that the films he has done-- such as the Die Hard series and Armageddon-- are the same films that actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood have done for decades.
"You can draw a straight line from Westerns and cowboy movies, to military movies and gangster movies, to what they now call 'action movies' - they're really just about good triumphing over evil," he continues. "They're morality stories that sometimes work and sometimes don't."

● Bruce Willis Loves Impersonating Fans
Hollywood actor Bruce Willis loves fans who mimic scenes or phrases from his hit movies.
The actor says he is amused by admirers who greet him using famous lines from his actions films such as 'Yippee-kiy-yay, mother f**ker', from the Die Hard series.
He says, "I get plenty of 'I see dead people' (The Sixth Sense) and 'Zed's dead, baby', (Pulp Fiction) too. People say these things whenever they like; even in toilets."

by Lucash | comments:

July 08, 2007

● Added 14 HQ photos of Bruce Willis attending MTV's Total Request Live on 25th June, 2007 :

● ...and 8 regular quality photos :

● ...and 4 caps :

by Lucash | comments:

July 07, 2007

● Bruce Willis Interview
Why did you decide to make 'Die Hard 4.0'?
Bruce Willis: I love this character [John McClane], he is truly mythical and one of the cool things about 'Die Hard 4.0' is that the first one was made 20 years ago, so guys who grew up watching the film now have families of their own and it's great that they can take their own children to this one. Loads of guys come up to me and say, 'I'm so excited I can to take my son and my daughter to see this film.' That is a terrific thing. I took a great leap of faith that people would still be really interested in this character, but you know, they are.
How exciting was it for you returning to John McClane?
BW: It really is exciting. It was a huge risk, on the face of it, because I could have retired from the series undefeated, and gone out with just the three films. But during the years since the third film, whenever I travelled around the world, I found that when we actually started shooting the film and word got out about a fourth 'Die Hard', there was a great response and I got even more excited.
So I do know there is a huge audience waiting for this film, and you can be sure that I personally feel this one is at least as good as the first one and maybe even better. We had a terrific crew who were all fans of the original films themselves. Everyone who came to work on this film did so because they believed in it.
Once again, this film is action packed, how much of the action did you do yourself?
BW: I have a stunt man, there are some things I just cannot do. I can't jump off a tall building and land on the hood of a car, somebody else does that. But I have to tell you, I did a lot of stunts, all the fight sequences. I know that getting hurt is always one of the dangers, but I was happy to take the risk.
You did get injured, how did that happen?
BW: I got injured a lot. I got kicked in the head, I have an 'L' shaped scar. I had to have about 20 stitches on the inside and 14 on the outside.
You are in such great shape, did you do special training for the film?
BW: I work with a trainer all the time. I lift weights and do cardiovascular training for stamina. I run too. I look at working out as work, I don't do it for fun. It's not a thing I look forward to, I don't say, 'wow, great, lets go work out', but I had to do it a lot on this film because I needed the stamina. I needed to have as much muscle on my frame as possible so that I could do the action sequences, for example, diving onto concrete from four or five feet.
Did the fact that you are older take a toll on you physically and make the shoot harder?
BW: Being older means that the recovery time takes a little bit longer if you are injured. I have a lot of scars, physical mementoes from this film. And the stunts were a lot easier to do 20 years ago. But I don't mind the hard physical aspect of making 'Die Hard' films because doing this kind of film brings this little kid out in me (laughs). As kids we used to jump off the roof in the backyard and do really crazy stuff and that's what it felt like doing this film, being a wild kid again, falling out of trees.
What were some of the most challenging aspects of making the film?
BW: Doing the stunts for real - they are not special effects, they are mostly real. For example, at one point a car flips over 10 times narrowly missing Justin and me - that was actually a real car.
They had it on cables, it was not CGI. Different guys would have used more effects. Obviously we had stuntmen doing some of the bigger falls.
What were the challenges for you in terms of your career, of stepping back into John McClane's shoes?
BW: The potential to fail was very high. I can tell you that we didn't fail and we have made a great film. The hardest part of doing these films is trying to put the character back in jeopardy. Once you get him in jeopardy then it becomes easier because you are on your way. The hook this time is very believable.
Would you agree that 'Die Hard' had a formidable influence on the entire action genre and continues to do so?
BW: Along with 'Lethal Weapon', that was shot in the same year, it did become the template for a lot of other films that came afterwards. It spun off a lot of other action movies that tried to replicate that 'Die Hard' experience and it did have a big impact. But you know, imitation is always a backhanded compliment, it is flattering.
This film deals with terrifying themes. Do you have fears about terrorism yourself?
BW: You have to have an awareness of how dangerous the world is. Demi [Moore] and Ashton [Kutcher] and I all work together to teach our three kids what the world is and what is out there, what the dangers are - all the perils of the world that you and I have worked out for ourselves over the years. These kids are just coming into the world and it is hard, but my kids are really smart and really hip, they get it. I am so fortunate that we communicate about everything.
After all these years, is acting still a passion?
BW: I am very passionate about acting. I get to do all kinds of different films and have a lot of choice, I am lucky. I can make small independent films as well as big films and supporting roles in other people's movies like 'Grindhouse' and 'Lucky Number Slevin'. And then I get to do big, juicy studio films like 'Die Hard' and 'Perfect Stranger'.
But you know, I am still learning how to act. I am still finding a way. I do my best in everything I take on. Not every film I have done has turned out to be a hit, but I have always tried my hardest. Acting is a passion, I get a very big kick out of it, it is much more than a job for me and always has been, it is the way I express myself creatively.
What are some of your own favourites?
BW: 'Die Hard' of course, and the others - 'Pulp Fiction', 'The Sixth Sense', 'Twelve Monkeys'. There is also a good movie I did called 'Immortal Thoughts' that I did with Demi that didn't make a lot of noise or money but I like that character. And I liked 'Nobody's Fool' too with Paul Newman. I don't know if I have done my best work yet, though.
Do you still enjoying playing music with your band The Accelorators?
BW: I do. Because music is something that I get to do and not that I have to assign some kind of monetary award to it. I do it just for myself, I do it just for fun. I couldn't make a living at it, I would starve

● Cybill Shepherd wants to do Moonlighting again
And I second that. I'd love to see a Moonlighting reunion movie. Now all Cybill Shepherd has to do is convince Bruce Willis.
Shepherd tells Entertainment Tonight that she still thinks Willis is "hot" and that she would be up for doing Moonlighting again. Of course, Willis is really busy doing movies these days and who knows if he wants to look back like that, especially since the two had a lot of tension on the set (though I think Willis would be more up for it now than, say, 10 years ago).
Shepherd also reveals that she was abused by a very famous actor she was dating years ago. She doesn't name the actor, but says she never revealed what happened til now and never told the police. Shepherd stars in a new TV movie about rape, Open Window, which airs on Showtime on July 16.

by Lucash | comments:

July 05, 2007

● Bruce Willis proved he is a real action movie hero by jumping off the Ed Sullivan Theater on the Late Show with David Letterman on 25th June, 2007. Actually, a mannequin was tossed of the building while Bruce laid on the ground. The whole thing was a fake stunt :

by Lucash | comments:

July 03, 2007

● Added 14 HQ photos of Bruce attending the photocall and Die Hard 4.0 premiere in Berlin on 18th June 2007 :

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July 01, 2007

● Added 39 HQ/UHQ photos of Bruce attending the Die Hard 4.0 premiere in London (UK) :

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