John McTiernan is one of the most influential American action filmmakers of his generation. Educated at the American Film Institute, influenced by European cinematic style, McTiernan hit the stratosphere as a director with a trio of groundbreaking action films: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October. The rest of his career became a mixture of successes and epic, infamous failures, including Last Action Hero, one of the most colossal misfires in the history of Hollywood. As the 21st century arrived, McTiernan’s career and personal life would come unraveled, as he would be indicted and briefly imprisoned for his involvement in a wiretapping scandal that shook Tinseltown.

Through extensive research including news reports, biographies, commentaries, interviews, and behind-the-scenes details, the story of John McTiernan and his tumultuous life and career is mapped out from the beginning, through his successes, his failures, his incredibly extensive legal battles, all the way to his multiple attempts at a comeback.