俳優業引退のブルース・ウィリスさん、以前から症状悪化の兆し　米紙

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】失語症を理由に俳優業引退を発表したブルース・ウィリスさん（６７）にはしばらく前から症状の悪化が見られたとされ、映画制作者にとっては驚くようなことではなかったと米紙ロサンゼルス・タイムズが報じた。（写真はブルース・ウィリスさん）
　「ダイ・ハード」シリーズなどのアクション映画で知られるウィリスさんは、撮影中に周囲の状況を十分に把握していないように見える場面や、プロデューサーの指示でせりふを短くしたにもかかわらず、言葉に詰まる場面もあったとされる。
　映画『アウト・オブ・デス』のマイク・バーンズ監督は「ブルースとの仕事の初日から、問題を抱えているのが見て取れた」として、背後にもっと大きな問題を抱えていることやせりふを短くするよう指示された理由が分かったと語った。
　低予算映画『Ｗｈｉｔｅ　Ｅｌｅｐｈａｎｔ（原題）』のジェシー・ジョンソン監督は同作品の撮影開始時と数十年前に仕事をした時のウィリスさんを比較して「私の記憶にあるブルースでないことは明らかだった」と語った。
　『Ｗｈｉｔｅ　Ｅｌｅｐｈａｎｔ』の制作スタッフによると、ウィリスさんは撮影時、「君がここにいる理由は分かる。君がここにいる理由は分かる。だが、私はなぜここにいるんだ」と述べたという。
　ジョンソン監督はウィリスさんともう一作品を撮ることを提案されたものの「前作の経験から、もう一作はないとチームとして判断した」と述べ、「私たちは全員がブルース・ウィリスのファンなので、この提案は間違っており、最終的に彼の素晴らしいキャリアに悲しすぎる結末を告げるものになると思った。ありがたく思っている人は一人もいなかった」と説明した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/04/01-14:19）

The announcement that Bruce Willis was stepping back from acting because of cognitive difficulties came as no surprise to people who have worked with the action hero, reports said.
Family this week revealed the star of the Die Hard franchise has been diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that affects the use and understanding of language.
Filmmakers who have collaborated with 67-year-old Willis told the Los Angeles Times that his decline has been apparent for some time.
Some of those the paper spoke to described upsetting moments on set where the Unbreakable actor appeared not to be fully aware of his surroundings, and would have trouble with his lines -- even as producers ordered the script to be shortened to accommodate him.
Director Mike Burns, who helmed Out of Death, one of 22 films Willis has made in four years, said he quickly saw that the Moonlighting star was having problems.
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, Burns said, according to the Times.
Jesse Johnson, director of low-budget film White Elephant, said the Willis he met when shooting started last year was a different person from the man he had worked with decades earlier.
It was clear that he was not the Bruce I remembered, Johnson said.
The Times reported that crew members on the film recalled Willis saying: I know why you're here, and I know why you?re here, but why am I here?
After our experience on ?White Elephant,? it was decided as a team that we would not do another, Johnson said, of being approached to collaborate with Willis on another movie.
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.
Willis has been a major box office draw since the original Die Hard, when his hard-bitten cop John McClane burst onto screens in a hail of gunfire and explosions.
Over a career that spanned decades, he pulled in eight-figure paychecks for movies like Look Who's Talking and Armageddon.
Those box office smashes meant that even a fleeting late-career appearance in a low-budget or straight-to-video film would ensure a market, both in the United States and abroad.
The Times reported that the churn of recent films would often see him paid $2 million for just two days' work.
Fans questioned why there were so many movies of questionable quality.
The Razzies, a tongue-in-cheek award that acts as counterpoint to the Oscars, even created a special category this year: Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie.
The organization on Thursday said it was rescinding the award because of Willis's recently disclosed diagnosis.
Terri Martin, who supervised production on White Elephant told the Times Willis had looked lost.
He is one of the all-time greats, and I have the utmost admiration and respect for his body of work, but it was time for him to retire.
Tributes to the star continued to pour in Thursday.
Sixth Sense co-star Haley Joel Osment said Willis was a true legend who has enriched all of our lives with a singular career that spans nearly half a century.
I am so grateful for what I got to witness firsthand, and for the enormous body of work he built for us to enjoy for years and years to come.