LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Bruce Willis' friend, director Quentin Tarantino, wants the ailing actor to take one last assignment before retirement. The 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’'director wants Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February, to make his last bow to acting through a cameo in his upcoming venture, 'The Movie Critic', which is scheduled to release in 2024.
The acclaimed director will make his tenth and reportedly final movie, which starts filming in September. A senior production source reportedly disclosed Tarantino’s desire to have at least a cameo by the 'Die Hard' star in The Movie Critic', as per Express. However, the informer also stated that the 'Kill Bill' director wants to prioritize the wishes of the actor's family. "Quentin hasn’t approached Bruce’s family yet – and will completely bow to their wishes if they say he’s too sick. If that’s the case, he aims to try to work a brief clip from one of Bruce’s many previous movies into the film," said the source.
Did Bruce Willis retire from movies for good?
Willis announced his retirement from acting in 2022 after he was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder. Later, in February 2023, he was further diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which can cause him to lose his cognitive abilities and debilitate his communication abilities. Before his retirement, Willis appeared in more than 20 films in the span of four years. The crew members, however, had a feeling that all was probably not right with the 'Pulp Fiction' actor, as the director of 'Out of Death', Mike Burns, wrote to the screenwriter of his film, saying, "It looks like we need to knock down Bruce’s page count by about 5 pages. We also need to abbreviate his dialogue a bit so that there are no monologues, etc." While he did not divulge the reason, he insisted on making Willis' dialogues "short and sweet," as per the Los Angeles Times.
Burns later expressed, "After the first day of working with Bruce, I could see it firsthand and I realized that there was a bigger issue at stake here and why I had been asked to shorten his lines." He even doubted the situation when asked to direct another film starring Willis in 2021. Before starting with 'Wrong Place' Burns called one of the actor’s associates to inquire about his health, who apparently replied that he was "a whole different person ... way better than last year." When they finally started filming in October, Burns realized that Willis was not better, as he said, "I didn’t think he was better; I thought he was worse. After we finished, I said: ‘I’m done. I’m not going to do any other Bruce Willis movies.’ I am relieved that he is taking time off."
'We are all Bruce Willis fans and the arrangement felt wrong'
Another director Jesse V Johnson worked with the star decades ago. When tasked with directing 'White Elephant', Johnson realized the apparent difference in Willis' demeanor, as he said, "It was clear that he was not the Bruce I remembered," after meeting the actor before shooting began. He also approached Willis' team to ask about his health. "They stated that he was happy to be there, but that it would be best if we could finish shooting him by lunch and let him go early," Johnson shared about the incident.
Two crew members claimed to recall, Willis, saying it aloud, "I know why you’re here, and I know why you’re here, but why am I here?" Furthermore, When Johnson was asked to direct two more movies with Willis, he declined. "After our experience on 'White Elephant', it was decided as a team that we would not do another. We are all Bruce Willis fans and the arrangement felt wrong and ultimately a rather sad end to an incredible career, one that none of us felt comfortable with," the 'Savage Dog' director explained.
