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John Suits On Working With Bruce Willis On His Latest Film Breach & ‘Die Hard Is Back’ Ad

December 5, 2020 | Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz

The 411 Interview: John Suits

John Suits is a writer, producer, and director who has been working in the movie business since, at least, according to imdb, 2006. Suits has directed such movies as 2ND Take, The Scribbler, Pandemic, and 3022. Suits is also an accomplished commercial director, directing the “DieHard in Back” commercial that was all the rage this past October. Suits’ latest movie as a director is the sci-fi action horror flick Breach, starring Cody Kearsley and Rachel Nichols and featuring Bruce Willis and Thomas Jane and which hits movie theaters, On Demand, and Digital on December 18th, 2020. In this interview, Suits talks with this writer about making Breach, working with Bruce Willis and Thomas Jane, and more.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Why did you want Breach to be your next movie as a director?

John Suits: When I was approached about the movie Bruce Willis was already on board. I’m a huge fan of Bruce’s body of work and of sci-fi so those two elements definitely got me hooked right away.

BK: Was the movie originally titled Anti-Life? If so, why the title change to Breach?

JS: Yes, the movie was originally called Anti-Life. I’m not totally sure what prompted the title change as it’s above my paygrade, but I am sure it was done by people that know what they’re doing and who understand that part of the process a lot better than me.

BK: How did you cast Breach?

JS: Corey Large (producer) has a lot of connections to actors and was able to bring amazing talent to the table. It was really great working with him on that.

BK: What was it like working with Bruce Willis?

JS: Bruce Willis is an icon so he was definitely someone I’d always wanted to work with. He really had a great attitude and was a lot of fun to work with.

BK: What was it like working with Thomas Jane?

JS: Thomas Jane was awesome to work with. He has a Zen attitude that is very welcomed when you have an aggressive schedule.

BK: Where was Breach filmed?

JS: Breach was filmed in a town called Fitzgerald in Georgia. Fitzgerald is an awesome town with a really great community. I loved shooting there and definitely miss all of the people there.

BK: Is it right to call Breach a sci-fi movie or is it more of a horror movie? Or is it both?

JS: Good question. I think both is the answer in that it’s a sci-fi horror movie. A fun part of the filming process was figuring out how to approach the genre beats while mixing them in with the action beats and sci-fi story.

BK: How long did it take to make Breach, from finishing the script to completing post-production?

JS: I’m not sure on the exact timing in terms of from when the script was finished, but we shot the film last October over 15 days and then finished the film around June, I believe.

BK: What was the hardest part of making Breach for you, as a director?

JS: The trickiest part was navigating how to best utilize the 15 shoot days and make sure we completed all the scenes while giving extra time to the genre and action beats.

BK: How did you approach the overall look of Breach?

JS: I worked with the DP, Will Stone, and production design team to figure out how best to approach the overall look. We definitely used a lot of references to get on the same page in terms of the tone we were going for with the visuals and style.

BK: How did you come up with the design of the monster?

JS: Our VFX supervisor, Daniel Calvo, and his team did a great job designing the creature. We had conversations where the creative team described how we were picturing the creature and it was really fun watching them bring it to life.

BK: How did you get involved in making the “DieHard is Back” TV commercial featuring Bruce Willis?

JS: I was coincidentally contacted by The Marketing Arm, a marketing agency, about the spot and was very excited to get the opportunity to bid on the project. It was really crazy figuring out all the logistics of shooting during Covid, but it was a great experience and really fun getting to work with Bruce Willis and his awesome team again.

BK: Any moviemaking heroes?

JS: Yes, too many, haha. I particularly really appreciate watching the work of directors that have mastered their craft. In that sense, directors like David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino are fun for me to watch because they are true experts in what they do.

BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

JS: I’m mostly focused on commercials these days but am potentially doing a film in the first half of next year.

BK: What do you hope audiences get out of Breach?

JS: I hope audiences enjoy watching the film and have a fun time on the journey.

BK: If you had the opportunity to travel to space would you do it?

JS: It’d be amazing but I don’t think I would because I’m not a big risk taker, in that sense. For example, I would never parachute or bungee jump and until space travel is more commonplace, I’m much more comfortable with my feet on the ground.