Yes, he has a favourite.
Jeb Stuart’s first IMDb entry is Die Hard. That was the very first movie he wrote! Talk about starting at the top…
We’d totally understand if you just wanted to retire immediately after that, but he would go on to write the screenplay for another action classic: The Fugitive.
Of course, that isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of his writing career, but with those highlights on your CV, you can’t help but be hugely impressed.
JOE was lucky enough to have a nice long chat with Stuart before he heads over to Ireland to give a screenwriting masterclass in the IFI (full details here), and we had A LOT of questions to ask about Die Hard, The Fugitive, his take on modern action movies and what he’s up to next, which includes a new action epic being filmed right here in Ireland.
But kicking off the conversation, we had to ask how he felt about the iconic homages that have been paid to The Fugitive (with Milhouse being chased down by an animated Tommy Lee Jones) and Die Hard (with Jake’s constant references on Brooklyn Nine-Nine) in popular culture over the years.
Not only did we ask how he felt about those homages, but we asked him answer the impossible question: Which of the two did he prefer?
“Well, I’m a huge fan of both of those!” Stuart tells JOE.
“And I know my daughter would say The Simpsons and my other daughter would say Brooklyn Nine-Nine, so I’m gonna have to split the baby here.
“I’m amazingly honoured that it has as many fans from that next generation that you can possibly want. I love both, but I’m partial to Milhouse. If you would twist my arm, I think that’s my favourite.”
Check out our chat with Stuart in full right below, or on Spotify right here:
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