History Trivia / DieHard

* OnSetInjury: Creator/BruceWillis lost two-thirds of his hearing after firing a gun loaded with extra-loud blanks from underneath a table.

* TheWikiRule: [[https://diehard.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page The Die Hard fan wikia]].

* TheWikiRule: [[http://diehard.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page The Die Hard Wiki]].

* EnforcedMethodActing: Creator/AlanRickman was told that he was going to be let go on a count of three. They dropped him on "two," and the look of panic on his face is definitely not acted; one is not surprised to learn that he was extremely angry after that shoot was over.

** It is often said that Creator/BruceWillis' lines during the scene when he pulls the glass out of his feet were ad-libbed. Indeed, it is said that upon learning this, Creator/TerryGilliam cast Willis as the lead in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys''. However when comparing the original script, it appears that Willis only veered very slightly from the original written dialog.

* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/JohnMcTiernan and Joel Silver came across Creator/AlanRickman when they saw him in Broadway production of ''Le Liaisons Dangereuses''.

** Spain: "Glass Jungle" (same problem as in Poland).

* {{Defictionalization}}: You can buy gray sweatshirts that say "NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN. HO HO HO."

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The sixth film. Initially announced as ''Die Hardest'' and intended to be the GrandFinale to the series, it eventually resurfaced as ''[[CharacterTitle McClane]]'', a prequel/sequel hybrid taking place in both the 1970s and the modern-day. Development stalled out, with the underperformance of ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'' and difficulties in casting an actor for the younger John [=McClane=] being blamed, but the final nail in the coffin appears to have been Creator/{{Disney}}'s buyout of Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios in 2019, whom [[https://entertainment.ie/cinema/movie-news/die-hard-prequel-cancelled-fox-413559/ reportedly canned the film among other projects]].

** [=McClane's=] Beretta 92F is the exact same Beretta used by Creator/MelGibson in ''Film/LethalWeapon1987'', modified with an extended slide catch and magazine release. It has since been retired to a museum display.

* DivorcedInstallment: The film was was based on a book, ''Nothing Lasts Forever''. This book was a sequel to ''The Detective'', which had its own adaptation film in 1968, starring Music/FrankSinatra. When 73-year-old Sinatra declined to do the film (the contract for the first film stipulated that Sinatra would be the first pick if the sequel was adapted), it was quickly retooled as a stand-alone work. Rumors that it was briefly intended as a sequel to ''Film/{{Commando}}'' were debunked by co-writer Steven de Souza, though Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, among others, was offered the role of [=McClane=] but declined.

* DivorcedInstallment: The film was was based on a book, ''Nothing Lasts Forever''. This book was a sequel to ''The Detective'', which had its own adaptation film in 1968, starring Music/FrankSinatra. When 73-year-old Sinatra declined to do the film, it was quickly retooled as a stand-alone work. Rumors that it was briefly intended as a sequel to ''Film/{{Commando}}'' were debunked by co-writer Steven de Souza, though Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, among others, was offered the role of [=McClane=] but declined.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Only a couple of the actors who played the German terrorists [[FakeNationality were actually German]], and only a couple more could speak broken German; Tony, Fritz and James were the only ones played by native Germans. The actors were cast for their menacing appearances rather than their nationality. Nine of the twelve were over six feet tall.

** The line "Alas, your Mr Takagi did not see it that way, so he won't be joining us ''for the rest of his life.''" was an ad lib; Creator/AlanRickman also improvised the bit of helping himself to the party buffet while saying this. Much of the scene where Hans tries to use a fake American accent to pass himself off as a hostage to [=McClane=] was apparently ad-libbed after the producers discovered that Rickman could do a good American impersonation.

** Creator/KirstieAlley was considered for the role of Holly Gennaro-[=McClane=], but the producer of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', James Burrows, wouldn't let her take the role. Creator/GlennClose, Creator/JamieLeeCurtis, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/SallyField, Creator/CarrieFisher, Creator/LindaHamilton, Creator/GoldieHawn, Creator/DianeKeaton, Creator/MichellePfeiffer, Creator/MerylStreep and Creator/DebraWinger were also considered for the role. But, Creator/BruceWillis rejected wanted Creator/BonnieBedelia, aunt of Creator/MacaulayCulkin, to play her since he was a fan of her work.

** Creator/KirstieAlley was considered for the role of Holly Gennaro-[=McClane=], but the producer of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', James Burrows, wouldn't let her take the role. Creator/GlennClose, Creator/JamieLeeCurtis, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/SallyField, Creator/CarrieFisher, Creator/LindaHamilton, Creator/GoldieHawn, Creator/DianeKeaton, Creator/MichellePfeiffer, Creator/MerylStreep and Creator/DebraWinger were also considered for the role. But, Creator/BruceWillis rejected them, because he wanted Creator/BonnieBedelia to play her since he was a fan of her work.

* DivorcedInstallment: The film was was based on a book, ''Nothing Lasts Forever''. This book was a sequel to ''The Detective'', which had its own popular film adaptation in 1968, starring Music/FrankSinatra. When Sinatra declined to do the film, it was quickly retooled as a stand-alone work. Rumors that it was briefly intended as a sequel to ''Film/{{Commando}}'' were debunked by co-writer Steven de Souza, though Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was offer the role of [=McClane=] but declined.

* DivorcedInstallment: The film was was based on a book, ''Nothing Lasts Forever''. This book was a sequel to ''The Detective'', which had its own popular film adaptation in 1968, starring Music/FrankSinatra. When Sinatra declined to be in a film sequel, it was quickly retooled as a stand-alone work. Rumors that it was briefly intended as a sequel to ''Film/{{Commando}}'' were debunked by co-writer Steven de Souza, though Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was also considered for the lead.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Only a couple of the actors who played the German terrorists were actually German and only a couple more could speak broken German; Tony, Fritz and James were the only ones played by native Germans. The actors were cast for their menacing appearances rather than their nationality. Nine of the twelve were over six feet tall.

* NamesTheSame: Hans Gruber was also the name of the villain in ''Film/OurManFlint''.

** Besides Andreas Wisniewski (Tony) and Wilhelm von Homburg (James), none of the terrorists are actually German. Half-[[AvertedTrope averted]] with Hans Buhringer (Fritz), who's from Austria.

** In the original script, as in the original novel, the action took place over three days, but Creator/JohnMcTiernan was inspired to have it take place over a single night by ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream''.

* WikiRule: [[https://diehard.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page The Die Hard fan wikia]].

* ReferencedBy:
** ''Webcomic/KnightsOfBuenaVista'' talks about this film using estranged people in love having to overcome their estrangement. One character also gives FanonDiscontinuity to the fourth and fifth films.
** In an episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'' entitled "Bad Guys", where the team find themselves mistaken for the villains of a DieHardOnAnX scenario, the leader of the team refers to the bumbling security guard trying to catch them as "a bit of a John [=McClane=]". When one of the team members (Earthling, born and bred) doesn't get it, the [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare resident alien of the group]] namedrops the film.
** When Will finds himself crawling through the vents in an episode of ''{{Series/Sanctuary}}'', he quotes [=McClane's=] iconic lines.
** TV series' all over the place -- including cartoons -- have episode titles that are play-on-words on "die hard".

* NamesTheSame: Hans Gruber was also the name of the villain in ''FilmOurManFlint''.