John McTiernan announced as London Action Festival’s headline guest

John McTiernan, the legendary filmmaker and director of Die Hard, is the headline guest at the inaugural London Action Festival.

The London Action Festival will open on 28 July with a very special screening of what is widely considered the greatest Action movie of all time – Die Hard, with a Q&A with the film’s legendary director John McTiernan, as well as other surprise guests for the evening. The festival sets out to settle once and for all the global debate as to whether John McClane’s first adventure is a Christmas film.

The festival will also celebrate another masterpiece from John McTiernan – the original Predator, which has its 35th anniversary this year. Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on an extra-terrestrial hunter in the first classic instalment of the ongoing franchise.

With the support of UK production powerhouse MARV, the London Action Festival will be hosting exclusive footage from their new action movie School Fight marking the debut of Damien Walters as Director. Damien has a long association with director Matthew Vaughn as his stunt coordinator. A world-renowned free runner, Damien will deliver a masterclass on making the leap from stunt professional to director. Cast members Greg Townley and Bobby Holland Hanton, highly regarded stunt professionals in their own right, also join the panel.

Visitors will also be able to take a look at the world of visual effects in Jurassic World Dominion with a masterclass from some of the leading experts in the field of visualisation and VFX including Pawl Fulker (partner and creative director, Proof London Ltd./senior visualisation supervisor), Dave Vickery (ILM, visual effects supervisor) and with the involvement of director Colin Trevorrow. This panel event is presented by Proof Inc. who celebrate their 20th anniversary this year, as well as the 10th anniversary of their London operation.

The London Action Festival is a first-of-its-kind celebration of one of the most globally produced and commercially successful genres of film and TV that will launch in London with a major four-day celebration this summer. The film and television world has hundreds of established festivals, yet action seldom gets the focus the genre truly deserves. With that in mind, a dedicated and passionate team of industry professionals have set out to create a world class action festival. Featuring a host of thrilling events, premieres and exclusive screenings, panels and workshops, the festival will bring together great filmmakers from around the world in a one-of-a-kind event.

“We will be celebrating the skills and talent of those who bring Action Movies and TV to life. We see the festival as a way of showing far greater appreciation for those whose incredible work and achievements are rarely recognized come awards season, particularly in the areas of stunts and action design,” said Julian Alcantara (festival co-director and founder).

“This is going to be an exciting, fun and inspiring experience for audiences who love all things action. The very filmmaking that powers global entertainment deserves this level of attention and respect,” added Ron Fogelman (festival co-director and founder).