McTiernan lost his bid on Monday to have the US Supreme Court review his guilty plea for perjury and lying to the FBI.
The 62-year-old filmmaker was sentenced in late 2010 to one year in prison and a fine of USD 100,000 after pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI in its investigation into the activities of Pellicano, the former Hollywood private detective who already is behind bars.
His appeal to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals had been rejected in August. He had sought to suppress a digital recording where he discussed the use of an illegal wiretap by Pellicano, whom he had hired to investigate producer Chuck Roven.
He was given a stay from prison until the Supreme Court could consider his case. Now that the high court has denied the appeal, he'll soon be incarcerated. After serving his time, McTiernan will continue to be under a supervised release for three years.