Line #19 Trivia/DieHard


1	!!Works in this franchise with their own pages:
2	* ''Trivia/DieHard2''
3	* ''Trivia/DieHardWithAVengeance''
4	* ''Trivia/LiveFreeOrDieHard''
5	* ''Trivia/AGoodDayToDieHard''
6
7	----
8	!!Trivia for the ''Die Hard'' film series:
9	* BTeamSequel: Other than Creator/BruceWillis for all films and Creator/JohnMcTiernan for the first and third films, the production team changed radically between each installment. It's said that Willis knew this and felt an obligation to [[DoingItForTheArt fight to make the films better than they otherwise would have been]].
10	* RunningTheAsylum: Arguably [[JustForFun/OneOfUs one of the biggest fans]] of the ''Die Hard'' franchise is... Bruce Willis. He apparently feels very strongly about not insulting the viewers' intelligence, and while his self-appointed "gatekeeper of the franchise" role [[WagTheDirector makes directors cry]], among other things it resulted in the villain of the fourth film actually getting a fully fleshed-out backstory (rather than what Willis described as a scene of "[=MySpace=] and cheerleader porn jokes").
11	* SequelGap:
12	** Twelve years between ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' (1995) and ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' (2007) . There were only five from ''Film/DieHard2'' (1990) to ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' (1995).
13	** In a way, the first movie also counts: the book that it's based on, ''Nothing Lasts Forever'' published in 1979, was a sequel to ''The Detective'', which was made into a film starring Music/FrankSinatra in 1968. ''Film/DieHard'' didn't come out for another two decades.
14	* 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]]. Bruce Willis retiring from acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with dementia and aphasia is almost assuredly the final nail in the coffin for any future sequels.
15	* YouLookFamiliar: Before playing NYPD Officer Ricky Walsh in the third film, Anthony Peck previously had a bit part as a (different) cop in the first film.
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17	!!Trivia for the first ''Die Hard'':
18	* 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. Ten of the thirteen were over six feet tall.
19	* ActorInspiredElement:
20	** [[https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1077362045031350272 According to]] Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie, the villains were originally going to wear camouflage gear. It was Creator/AlanRickman who suggested they wear suits, suggesting a potential meeting between the hero and villain.
21	** Creator/JohnMcTiernan had wanted Ellis to be suave like Creator/CaryGrant, but Creator/HartBochner conceived of the character's motivations coming from cocaine use and insecurity. [=McTiernan=] hated the performance initially until he noticed Laurence Gordon and Joel Silver were entertained by Bochner's antics
22	* ActorSharedBackground: Creator/BruceWillis' own love of Creator/RoyRogers inspired the film's other co-writer to come up with [=McClane=]'s signature catchphrase.
23	* BeamMeUpScotty: Hans' quote on Alexander the Great. The original quote (from John Calvin in 1557) is actually "Alexander of Macedon, who, upon hearing that there were other worlds, wept that he had not yet conquered one", though this would fit in with Hans' posturing and delusions of grandeur.
24	* {{Blooper}}: The second shot of the terrorists firing the rocket launcher is clearly a closeup version of the first, since the window is seen shattering and the terrorists wouldn't have been able to move the launcher as it was bolted down.
25	* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The original title, an English idiom, is hard to translate correctly, as it would sound like "It is hard to kill him" or "He dies slowly". That's why we have:
26	** Czech Republic and Slovakia: "Lethal Trap" (which may often confuse people as Lethal Weapon, as the Czech title of said film was translated literally)
27	** France and Italy: "Crystal Trap"
28	** Germany: "Stirb langsam" ("Die Slowly" - as an imperative. "Nicht totzukriegen" would be quite true to the original, but sounds too silly)
29	** Hungary: "Give your life expensive". The title of the sequel is "Your life is more expensive", and the third part is "The life is always expensive".
30	** Norway: "Aksjon Skyskraper" (''Action Skyscraper'')
31	** Poland: "The Glass Trap" (which sounds and fits very well in the language, but does not make sense for sequels).
32	** Portugal: "Assalto ao Arranha-Céus" ("Skyscraper Heist").
33	** Russia: "Hard Nut" (to crack).
34	** Spain: "The Glass Jungle" (same problem as in Poland).
35	** The Finnish version is an interesting case: the original title was "Vain Kuolleen Ruumiini Yli" ("Over My Dead Body"). While the translated title is fairly close to the original, nowadays the original English title is used to refer to the movie (or, alternatively, the series as a whole).
36	** Taiwan: ''The Ultimate Detective''
37	** Surprisingly averted in Mexico and Brazil where it was named "Duro de Matar", which is a direct and very accurate translation.
38	* DarkhorseCasting: This was Creator/AlanRickman's first film role. He was cast after Joel Silver saw him in ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' on Broadway.
39	* {{Defictionalization}}:
40	** You can buy gray sweatshirts that say "NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN. HO HO HO."
41	** Also available are commemorative "Nakatomi Plaza Christmas Party 1988" t-shirts.
42	* 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 get first dibs on the role 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.
43	* EnforcedMethodActing: For shooting the moment of Hans falling to his death, 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.
44	* FakeNationality:
45	** Besides Andreas Wisniewski (Tony) and Wilhelm von Homburg (James), none of the terrorists are actually German.
46	** The actress who played Paulina was actually Portuguese.
47	* NoStuntDouble:
48	** Creator/BruceWillis was really riding on the elevator.
49	** For the close-up of Hans' death, Creator/AlanRickman was really dropped onto an airbag.
50	* OnSetInjury:
51	** Creator/BruceWillis lost two-thirds of his hearing after firing a gun loaded with extra-loud blanks from underneath a table.
52	** Creator/AlanRickman tore the cartilage in his knee when he jumped down for the scene in which Hans and [=McClane=] meet. When he's holding the gun at him, he was actually standing on one foot.
53	* OrphanedReference: Notice when [=McClane=] hands Gruber a cigarette, he looks at Gruber's watch. [[https://www.slashfilm.com/die-hard-deleted-scene-watches/ According to Steven E. de Souza]], this was part of a deleted subplot where [=McClane=] would notice that the villains all have the same watch.
54	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/JohnMcTiernan had to fight hard to get Willis the role of [=McClane=] because nobody thought the guy from ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'' could be an action star. Then he got so well known for ''Die Hard'' that it became hard for people to remember him as a comic actor at all.
55	* PropRecycling:
56	** [=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, as well has missing the gold finish for the Beretta logo on the grip. It has since been retired to a museum display.
57	** The giant teddy bear was later used in ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'', also directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan.
58	* SleeperHit: There was not a lot of enthusiasm for the movie before release. Reports came that seeing the trailer and Bruce Willis as an action hero made audiences laugh (he was previously known for ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}''). It wasn't until release and the startlingly good reviews that brought audiences in.
59	* StarMakingRole: For Creator/BruceWillis and Creator/AlanRickman, the latter making his film debut.
60	* TechnologyMarchesOn: John [=McClane=]'s inability to contact the outside causes him some problems initially, as he's forced to use a captured radio to try calling the police. If he had had a mobile phone, the movie would have gone ''much'' differently. Humorously, Argyle spends most of the film luxuriating in the fact that he can call his friends on his limo's car phone.
61	* ThrowItIn:
62	** Karl handing over a dollar bill to Theo was ad-libbed by Alexander Godunov, who theorized that the pair would have a bet between them as to whether Takagi would give up the code.
63	** 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''"; 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.
64	** The shot in the elevator shaft where [=McClane=] drops from the vent he was aiming for, but manages to grab the next one down was an accident on the part of the stuntman that made the final cut anyway.
65	** Al Leong improvised the bit where he takes a candy bar from the concession stand before fighting the SWAT team, as he felt the scene could use some comic relief.
66	** 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 dialogue.
67	** Willis has claimed that the iconic "Yippee ki yay, motherfucker" was ad-libbed, playing off Hans Gruber's cowboy taunt. Willis did not expect that line to make the cut.
68	** Ellis' line "Hans... [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Bubby]]!" was ad-libbed. Creator/AlanRickman's quizzical reaction was genuine.
69	** [=McClane=]'s "Hi honey" upon seeing Holly again was ad-libbed by Willis.
70	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
71	** This is the big one: ''Nothing Lasts Forever,'' the 1979 novel on which the first film was based, was a sequel to the novel ''The Detective'', which was adapted to film in 1966 starring Music/FrankSinatra. Sinatra was 73 at the time, but a clause in the first movie's contract meant he had a right to reprise his role as Joe Leland in the sequel before it could be offered to anyone else. Notably, Joe Leland is old and retired in the novel – it's likely that the novel was written with Sinatra in mind to reprise his role in a film adaptation. When Sinatra turned the role down, the character was made younger.
72	** Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was the production team's choice for John [=McClane=], and following Sinatra's above-mentioned rejection, the script was written to accommodate him. Once Arnie too turned the role down and Bruce Willis was cast, the movie had to be considerably altered to fit the latter's acting style.
73	** Creator/AlanRickman nearly passed up the role of Hans Gruber, which ended up being his first film role. He had only arrived in Hollywood two days earlier and was appalled by the idea of his first role being the villain in an action film.
74	** Creator/RichardDeanAnderson, Creator/AlecBaldwin, Creator/TomBerenger, Creator/CharlesBronson, Creator/RobertDeNiro, Creator/ClintEastwood, Creator/HarrisonFord, Creator/RichardGere, Creator/MelGibson, Creator/DonJohnson, Creator/MichaelKeaton, Creator/ChristopherLambert, Creator/StephenLang, Creator/MichaelMadsen, Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/NickNolte, Creator/AlPacino, Creator/BillPaxton, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/MickeyRourke, Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/SylvesterStallone, Creator/PatrickSwayze and Creator/JohnTravolta could have been John [=McClane=].
75	** In the original script, the action took place over three days, but Creator/JohnMcTiernan was inspired to have it take place over a single night by ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream''. This is closer to the original novel, which ends at dawn rather than shortly after midnight.
76	** Creator/SamNeill turned down the role of Hans Gruber.
77	** 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 wanted Creator/BonnieBedelia, aunt of Creator/MacaulayCulkin, to play her since he was a fan of her work.
78	** Creator/WesleySnipes [[https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2386622/wait-wesley-snipes-auditioned-for-die-hard auditioned]] for Sgt. Al Powell. Creator/RobertDuvall, Creator/LaurenceFishburne and Creator/GeneHackman were also considered.
79	** Creator/GeorgeTakei wanted to play Takagi, and [=McTiernan=] really wanted to cast him, but Takei's agent got things mixed up.
80	** Creator/PaulVerhoeven was asked to direct.
81	** The original script called for terrorists to hijack the building, and for a super-hero cop to stop them. [=McTiernan=] modified the script to change the bad guys into robbers pretending to be terrorists so that the audience could enjoy their intention of grabbing a load of money. He felt having terrorists as the villains would make the movie less enjoyable and give it a political angle, which he wanted to avoid.[[note]]Quite unlike the novel, which ends up ''very'' political as it turns out the "terrorists" are actually just after all the money that was stolen from the Chilean people during Henry Kissinger's negotiations with Pinochet, and Leland ends up bitterly realizing he was actually the villain all along, making things much bloodier than they needed to be.[[/note]] [=McTiernan=] also changed the hero, John [=McClane=], into an everyday, flawed man that rises to the occasion in dire circumstances. He felt the audience would identify more with him than with a "super-cop".
82	** [=McClane=] was originally supposed to meet Theo on the roof, but it was changed to Hans when [=McTiernan=] realized the hero and villain needed to meet face-to-face before the ending.
83	* WriteWhoYouKnow: The character of Hans Gruber (named Anton Grueber in the book) is rumored to be based on author Roderick Thorp's father, a known tyrant amongst friends and family.
84	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Much of the script was improvised due to the constant screenplay tweaks that were being made during filming. In the commentary track, Creator/JohnMcTiernan nonchalantly points out there's no ambulance in the back of the terrorists' semi-tractor trailer when they arrive, since they hadn't thought of it yet.

Context Trivia / DieHard