January 4, 2024 – Die Hard

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today our throwback year is 1988. One of the biggest movies that came out that year was Die Hard. It was based on a 1979 novel, Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. The movie follows New York City police detective John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) who gets caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper on Christmas Eve while visiting his estranged wife. It was the film debut of both Alan Rickman and Reginald VelJohnson.
Die Hard was based on the novel sequel to the movie The Detective, starring Frank Sinatra. Because of this, the studio was contractually obligated to offer the part of John McClane to him. Sinatra, who was 70 at the time, turned it down. Many well-known actors of the era also turned down the part, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. At the time, Bruce Willis was known more for comedy, mainly for his role opposite Cybil Shepherd in the TV show Moonlighting. He initially had to turn down the role of McClane because of his contractual obligations for the show. But when Shepherd became pregnant, production paused for 11 weeks, allowing Willis enough time to shoot Die Hard.
Willis was paid $5 million for the role, comparable to more successful and established film actors. Principal photography began in November 1987. 20th Century Fox’s headquarters was the perfect location for Nakatomi Plaza, as it was still under construction and mostly unoccupied. Willis did many of his own stunts.
Expectations for Die Hard were low, and initial reviews were mixed when it was released in July 1988. Since then, though, the movie has come to be considered one of the greatest action movies of all time. It also is often named one of the best Christmas films, although this is hotly disputed. A 2018 poll of Americans found that 25% supported Die Hard‘s status as a Christmas movie. The film spawned 4 sequels, most recently in 2013. In 2007, Bruce Willis donated the blood and sweat-stained undershirt he wore in the film to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. Learn more here.