- In a criminal-wiretapping case filed by the U.S. District Attorney for Los Angeles, John McTiernan plead guilty to lying to F.B.I. agents about requesting to have Anthony Pellicano investigate producer Charles Roven during production of Rollerball (2002). Sentenced to four months in federal prison on 09/24/07, plea was withdrawn and restated as innocent since statement had been given to FBI when McTiernan was admittedly suffering jet-lag and drunk after arriving in US from UK trip. Case was tried and US conviction was handed down on 10/4/2010 by US District Judge Dale Fischer with one-year sentence and $100,000 USD fine against McTiernan. McTiernan's attorneys announced intent to appeal and he is currently free on appeal.
- On July 3, 2006, his former wife, film producer Donna Dubrow, filed suit against him for invasion of privacy and other claims arising from her belief that he hired Pellicano to wiretap her telephone during their divorce negotiations. The lawsuit continued over time, and was still pending as of October 2015.
- Was offered the chance to direct Commando (1985), but turned it down. He worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger later on Predator (1987) and Last Action Hero (1993).
- He was asked to direct Speed (1994), but declined. The film was famously described as "Die Hard (1988) on a bus".
- Turned down the chance to direct Die Hard 2 (1990) and Predator 2 (1990) in order to direct The Hunt for Red October (1990). He later directed Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), the next entry in the "Die Hard" film series.
- Was a candidate to direct Batman Forever (1995), but he was busy with Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995).
- He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Die Hard (1988).
- McTiernan is one of only two directors with films on both the IMDb Top 250 and Bottom 100. Die Hard (1988) is on the Top 250, while Rollerball (2002) is the on the Bottom 100. The only other director to accomplish this feat is Guy Ritchie.
- Was originally considered to direct Mission: Impossible (1996).
- He was considered to direct Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
- Attended Julliard School in New York and The American Film Institute in L.A.
- He was initially attached to direct Patriot Games (1992), but departed when Alec Baldwin dropped out. He moved on to Medicine Man (1992), which reunited him with Sean Connery, the star of the preceeding film, The Hunt for Red October (1990).
- He was considered to direct X-Men (2000).
- Was offered to direct Jason Goes to Hell (1993).
- Spent two years developing "The Adventures of Robin Hood" for 20th Century Fox. The project was cancelled after Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) went into production.
- Was attached to direct "Sun-Tzu: the Art of War" for French producer Samuel Hadida in 2003-2004.
- He revised the script for the sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), entitled Thomas Crown and the Missing Tiger, and a movie about the corruption of the U.S. prison system during his imprisonment.
- Son of John McTiernan Sr..
- Has directed four actors to Golden Razzie nominations: Lorraine Bracco, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austin O'Brien, and Rebecca Romijn.
- He was considered to direct Patriot Games (1992), but he turned down the offer because of his Irish-American background.
- He was considered to direct Tombstone (1993).
- He likes Argo (2012) more than other blockbuster movies.
- Was interested in directing Clear and Present Danger (1994).
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