CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER with Paul Scheer!

It’s Die Hard in the war on drugs!

For this very special episode, Phil and Liam are joined by a VERY special guest: actor, writer, director, comic book author, renaissance man and podcasting superstar PAUL SCHEER! That’s right, the effervescent host of top film podcasts Unspooled and How Do This Get Made? chartered a helicopter and flew in to join Phil and Liam for an intensive analysis of this mid--90s classic! 

The film’s complex plot is thus: after a close friend is murdered by international drug traffickers, the vengeful US President (Donald Moffet) tacitly instructs his National Security team to launch a series of secret military strikes against the parties deemed responsible. Soon the new CIA deputy director Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) discovers himself to be an unwitting pawn in a covert, illegal war between American paramilitary forces and the Colombian drug cartels. As the carnage escalates, Ryan must find a way to quell the bloodshed and expose the corruption at the heart of his own government.  

CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER is the third entry in the Jack Ryan film franchise that started with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. That particular movie was of course directed by DIE HARD helmer John McTiernan, meaning that there is plenty of ‘DIE HARD DNA’ in the mix here…but does this motion picture also share some key similarities with Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER? The guys assess its influences and its legacy, while also wrestling with another burning question: is this the ultimate ‘Dad movie’? 

Paul talks passionately about his deep and long-standing connection with DIE HARD and his youthful love for all things Bruce Willis, and the guys go deep on the film’s eclectic creative contributors, that includes personalities such as Tom Clancy, Harrison Ford, Philip Noyce, John Milius and Steven Zaillian. They also discuss the virtues of an outstanding ensemble cast that features the likes of Willem Dafoe, James Earl Jones, Anne Archer, Thora Birch, Joaquim de Almeida, Henry Czerny, Harris Yulin, Raymond Cruz, Benjamin Bratt and Miguel Sandoval. Paul even discusses the part he’d most love to play! 

The stacked cast makes for a particularly entertaining edition of the ‘Die Hard Oscars’, and a tantalizing trivia quiz provides some stimulating brain-teasers…along with a warm and fuzzy moment or two. This highly entertaining episode is not to be missed - how DARE YOU not listen to it?! 

CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuYb6ZNQaZo

At the time of release, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER is streaming on Paramount + and is available to rent of buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple/iTunes, YouTube, Vudu, Redbox, Direct TV, AMC and all the usual platforms.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/die-hard-on-a-blank/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy