Whatever Happened To Renny Harlin?

July 29, 2010   

If one were able to travel back in time twenty years ago to the summer of 1990-in particular, the month of July-and walk into a typical movie theater multiplex, two of the films one would find listed on the marquee would most certainly be “Die Hard 2,” and “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.” The eventual path these two films would take, however, could not have been more divergent. The aforementioned “Die Hard” sequel would turn out to be one of the summer’s biggest hits, while the much anticipated ‘Ford Fairlane,’ which featured the first and last major starring role for comic Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay, would turn out to be one of the biggest bombs-critically and financially-of the Summer. Both films did have two things in common, though. Both were released and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox and both films were directed by a movie director from Finland named Renny Harlin.

As fate would have it, “Die Hard 2” would prove to be Harlin’s greatest triumph. In the two decades since then, the director has had a few minor successes, but the financial and critical failures that litter Harlin’s resume-Harlin won the golden Raspberry award five times for worst film-outweigh his triumphs. Though Harlin still churns out films, the days when a major studio would trust him with not one but two major films has definitely come and gone. The director still ranks 81st on the list of highest grossing directors of all time-mainly due to Die Hard 2’s success-but the case of Renny Harlin is still a cautionary tale and a prime example of what happens in Hollywood when a director lets success go to his head.

Photo: Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2, directed by Renny Harlin

Born in Riihimäki, Finland, Harlin’s nurse mother often took him to see films at the cinema as a child, particularly those of Hitchcock and Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch). Harlin had the advantage of owning a video camera from a very early age and by the age of 12 had already directed his first short film. After watching director Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) in Helsinki directing the Charles Bronson starrer Telefon, Harlin decided movie directing was the life for him.

Harlin directed his first film at the age of twenty one, a six minute short. He was working as a commercial director for Shell Oil when he filmed the short film entitled “Custody International.” It debuted on Finnish television to much acclaim. Soon after Harlin started working as film buyer for a Finnish company and, while in LA, met aspiring writer/producer Markus Selin. The two quickly put together a script and financing for what would become Harlin’s first feature film, Born American.

After several low budget horror films, Harlin was handed over the reigns of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise in 1988 to direct the fourth installment. The result was the highest grossing entry of the series which would lead to Harlin’s opportunity to direct the second installment in the Die Hard franchise, after studio executives were so impressed with his work on the aforementioned Adventures of Ford Fairlane, which he was already directing.

In 1993, producer Mario Kassar offered Harlin Gale Force a film about hurricanes with Sylvester Stallone (in a career slump at the time) attached to star. Harlin initially turned down the offer due to the script’s similarities to Die Hard 2, but Kassar offered a bigger salary and, in turn, changed the pay scale of Hollywood directors. Harlin took on the project and, when the film’s cost spiraled, the plug was pulled. The film then morphed into the 1993 hit, “Cliffhanger.” This was another commercial success and is credited with reviving Stallone’s flagging career, though it didn’t last long. Still, the actor did became good friends with his director, Harlin.

This same year Harlin married actress Geena Davis, an act that would eventually prove detrimental to the Finnish director’s career.

In 1995, Harlin was offered a new project, a pirate film, entitled, “Cutthroat Island.“ At the time Harlin was offered the project, Michael Douglas was attached to star. Harlin convinced producer Mario Kassar that, despite being known for lightweight comedy roles, Davis was perfect for the female love interest in this action blockbuster. The producer agreed and Harlin dove into the task of beefing up his then wife’s role in the film. When Douglas became fed up with this, he left the production and Harlin gave his wife the lead. The film turned out to be a $92 million production and grossed around $5 million. The film was such a failure that it was listed for a time in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest loss of money for a studio ever.

The next year, Harlin somehow found employment as director of another film with Davis in the lead, “The Long Kiss Goodnight.” This film also failed, though not as astoundingly as “Cutthroat Island.” However, the one-two punch of the failure of these two films effectively ended Davis’ film career and dealt a serious blow to Harlin’s career from which he has yet to recover. The two would divorce several years later.

And so the tale of the career of Renny Harlin serves as a textbook example of what happens when the power of movie directors goes unchecked. With the exception of the mildly successful “Deep Blue Sea” in 1999, Harlin has yet to produce a bonafied hit in over a decade. Only time will tell whether Harlin will make a comeback or remain the answer to a certain trivia question regarding biggest box office losers.

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