An appeals court has upheld a judgment that "Die Hard" director John McTiernan serve a year in prison for lying about discussing illegally wiretapping a movie producer.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed the judgment of U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer who sentenced McTiernan in late 2010 to a 1-year prison term.

McTiernan argued the judge erred in denying a motion to suppress a recording in which he and private investigator Anthony Pellicano talked about wiretapping producer Charles Roven.

McTiernan pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements to the FBI and one count of perjury.

Pellicano was convicted at two trials on racketeering, conspiracy and wiretapping counts for digging up dirt for well-heeled clients to use in lawsuits, divorces and business disputes.