What Happened to Bruce Willis?

Bruce Willis Updates: Bruce Willis appeared to be on the verge of a comeback nine years ago. The veteran action performer had taken on some unusual parts in a few unusual films, and they were paying off well. Willis appeared to be beginning a new phase of his career thanks to his roles in critically praised dramas such as the Moonrise Kingdom and Looper.

Perhaps this actor is making the shift from primarily starring in action and comedy pictures to taking on riskier material from respected auteurs, as he has done in supporting roles in films like Pulp Fiction and Nobody’s Fool. Given how well Willis had performed in similar roles in 2012, the actor’s future appeared bright.

After over a decade, Willis hasn’t worked on a film like Kingdom or Looper since 2012. Willis hasn’t starred in a major motion picture since 2015, with the exception of Death Wish and Glass. Instead, the actor has embraced director/producer Randall Emmett’s direct-to-video ventures.

These films have developed a bad reputation on the internet for plastering Willis’ visage on the posters but only giving him a few minutes of screen time. Midnight in the Switchgrass, the most recent of these ventures, garnered particular ire for Willis’s phoned-in performance.

Bruce Willis Bad Movies

Daily Mail

Willis starred in a number of big-budget films in 2013, but they weren’t directed by Wes Anderson or Rian Johnson. Instead, he starred in films like A Good Day to Die Hard and Red 2—the type of generic action fare from which Willis seemed to have escaped for a time. Not only was he back in this realm, but the film’s underwhelming box office returns cast doubt on Willis’s future as a leading man.

In 2013, though, Willis began to be pulled from high-profile projects, which was much more troublesome. The first of these was The Expendables 3, which had Willis reprising his role as Church from the previous two films. Willis, on the other hand, sparked a public quarrel by seeking a huge quantity of money for a small amount of filming. Willis was then pulled from the franchise completely, and producer Sylvester Stallone publicly chastised Willis. Willis was not only trying to make a living as an action star, but he was also having trouble keeping strong relationships with his fellow 1980s action stars.

Another significant film, Woody Allen’s Café Society, slipped through Willis’ fingers just two years later. This was the first time it looked like Willis was attempting to express his 2012 work by collaborating with a well-known director on a film that wasn’t part of a series. Willis, who signed on to portray the boss of Jesse Eisenberg’s protagonist, was able to shoot certain sequences as his character that were photographed by paparazzi.

Willis, on the other hand, did not feature in the final edit of Café Society. Willis was unexpectedly dismissed from the role just a few days into production, and Steve Carell was swiftly brought in to fill the void. Willis’ departure was officially attributed to schedule issues with a Broadway production, but other sources said the actor was having trouble recalling his lines. Willis was no longer a part of this production for whatever reason, forcing him to miss out on an opportunity for further arthouse rehabilitation.

Willis began working with producer Randall Emmett’s works the same year he came and departed from the cast of Café Society. These films were created on a shoestring budget for the home video market. Emmett and other producers behind films such as Extraction and Marauders had a mechanism in place that allowed them to pay Willis up to $1 million for as little as a week’s labor on a film. Both parties were pleased with the outcome, as Willis received a sizable salary and these little films were allowed to use Willis’ visage on their posters.

It was a professional decision that tapped into Bruce Willis’ worst acting instincts. In the past, he had no qualms about calling it in if he thought a film was beneath him. Kevin Smith’s Cop Out is a well-known example of this, with Smith subsequently stating that Willis was tough to work with and failed to deliver his lines correctly. Willis now had a steady stream of films to choose from that didn’t take much work but yet paid well. It wasn’t quite as glitzy as the Die Hard days, but it was still in line with Willis’ previous work.

There is, however, optimism, just as there is in any Hollywood crowd-pleaser. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Willis tapped into his creative audacity, and he might do it again. Plus, the success of Glass at the box office in 2019 shows that moviegoers aren’t instantly put off by Willis in a big-screen role. Willis’ tale is far from done, but he is now in the midst of one of his most dismal chapters. Unfortunately, Willis’ IMDB presently lists eleven very low-budget action films under post-production or main filming, so this chapter does not look to be coming to an end anytime soon.

Leave a Comment