He was offered the chance to direct Commando (1985), but turned it down. He later worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Predator (1987) and Last Action Hero (1993).
He 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 the next entry in the "Die Hard" film series, Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995).
On July 3, 2006, his ex-wife, film producer Donna Dubrow, filed a lawsuit against him for invasion of privacy and other claims stemming from her belief that he had hired Pellicano to wiretap her phone during their divorce negotiations. The case continued over time and as of October 2015 was still pending.
He directed a film selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant: Die Hard (1988).
He was a candidate to direct Batman Forever (1995), but was busy with Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995).
He was asked to direct Speed (1994), but turned it down. The film was famously described as "Die Hard on a bus (1988)".
He was initially thought to be directing Mission: Impossible (1996).
McTiernan is one of only two directors with films on both the IMDb Top 250 and the Bottom 100. Die Hard (1988) is in the Top 250, while Rollerball (2002) is in the Bottom 100. The only other director to achieve this is Guy Ritchie.
He was initially assigned to direct Patriot Games (1992), but left when Alec Baldwin departed. He moved on to Medicine Man (1992), which reunited him with Sean Connery, the star of his previous film The Hunt for Red October (1990).
He remade two Norman Jewison films: The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and Rollerball (1975).
He was thought to be directing Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
He attended the Juilliard School in New York and the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.
He was offered the chance to direct Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993).
He was thought to be directing Patriot Games (1992), but turned down the offer because of his Irish-American background.
He was thought to be directing X-Men (2000).
He 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.
In 2003-2004 he was attached to "Sun-Tzu: The Art of War", directed by French producer Samuel Hadida.
He reviewed the script for a sequel titled Thomas Crown and the Missing Tiger, and a film about the corruption of the US prison system during his incarceration.
He was thought to be directing Tombstone (1993).
He was interested in directing Clear and Present Danger (1994).
He likes Argo (2012) more than other blockbuster films.
He is the son of John McTiernan Sr.
He directed four actors nominated for a Golden Razzie: Lorraine Bracco, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austin O'Brien and Rebecca Romijn.
He was added to the directorial first versions of John Carter (2012) and Killing Season (2013).