Die Hard redefined the action genre with its vulnerable hero and confined setting. It turned Bruce Willis into a global superstar overnight. Furthermore, it created one of the most memorable movie villains in cinema history. Consequently, this holiday classic remains a favorite for millions of fans. Explore these fascinating details about the battle at Nakatomi Plaza.
Die Hard
The studio legally had to offer the role to Frank Sinatra. Decades earlier, he starred in The Detective. Because Die Hard is a sequel to that book, they contractually had to ask him first.
Alan Rickman’s terrified face during his fall was completely real. Sneakily, the stunt coordinator dropped him on the count of two instead of three. Thus, his shock was genuine.
Bruce Willis lost hearing in one ear during filming. He fired a gun too close to his head while under a table. Unfortunately, the loud blank caused permanent damage.
The Nakatomi Plaza is actually the 20th Century Fox headquarters. Interestingly, the studio charged itself rent to use its own unfinished building. This saved them money on set construction.
The German terrorists did not speak real German. In the theatrical version, they spoke nonsense grammar that confused German audiences. Later, the studio dubbed their lines for the home release.
John McClane’s tank top is in a museum. Specifically, the Smithsonian Institute displays the dirty, bloody shirt. It represents a significant piece of American pop culture history.
Filmmakers added the “Bill Clay” scene for a specific reason. They realized Alan Rickman could do a perfect American accent. Therefore, they wrote a scene where he tricks McClane.
Bruce Willis filmed the movie while working a second job. He shot the TV show Moonlighting during the day. Then, he rushed to the movie set to film Die Hard at night.
Clint Eastwood originally owned the rights to the movie. He planned to star in it years earlier. However, he eventually dropped the project, which allowed Willis to take the part.
The glass scene used special candy glass. However, Willis also wore fake rubber feet. These prosthetic feet protected him while making it look like he was barefoot.
The famous “Yippee-ki-yay” line was a joke. Willis said it to make the crew laugh. Unexpectedly, the director loved it and kept it in the final cut.
Audience testing changed the ending. Originally, the terrorists escaped in an ambulance. However, audiences hated that the bad guys got away, so the writers changed the script.
The teddy bear appears in another famous movie. Director John McTiernan used the same bear in The Hunt for Red October. It sits on the shelf of Jack Ryan’s daughter.
Studio executives hid Bruce Willis’s face on the poster. At the time, they thought an action movie with a comedy TV star would flop. Later, they added his face after the film succeeded.
Finally, the script was based on a book called Nothing Lasts Forever. The novel features a much darker ending. In the book, the hero’s daughter dies when she falls from the building.
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Matt Damon is one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood history. You likely know him as Jason Bourne or the genius janitor from Boston. However, he is also a Harvard dropout who turned down the biggest payday in cinema. He risks his health for roles and plays pranks on talk show hosts. Furthermore, he works tirelessly to bring clean water to the world. Let’s explore the life of this Boston native.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck shared a single bank account as teenagers. They used this shared money to pay for travel to auditions in New York. Thus, they supported each other financially long before they became famous.
He turned down the lead role in the massive blockbuster Avatar. The director offered him ten percent of the box office profits to take the part. Consequently, Matt Damon lost out on roughly 250 million dollars.
He attended Harvard University but left just twelve credits shy of graduating. He chose to pursue his acting career in the film Geronimo instead. However, the university eventually awarded him a prestigious arts medal later.
The script for Good Will Hunting started as a college playwriting assignment. He handed in a forty-page document to his professor during a class at Harvard. Eventually, he and Ben turned that homework into an Oscar-winning movie.
He ruined his health for his role in the movie Courage Under Fire. He ran twelve miles a day and ate only chicken breasts to lose weight. Therefore, doctors had to treat his damaged adrenal gland for years.
Steven Spielberg intentionally excluded Matt Damon from the Saving Private Ryan boot camp. The other actors trained hard and resented him for resting in comfort. This psychological trick created genuine tension between the soldiers on screen.
He has a fake, long-running feud with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Every night, Kimmel jokes that they ran out of time for Matt Damon. This hilarious gag has lasted on television for nearly two decades.
He shaved his head and sang in the movie EuroTrip by accident. He was filming another movie in Prague when the director asked him to join. He agreed instantly because he happened to be in town that week.
Matt Damon co-founded the organization Water.org to solve the global water crisis. He uses his massive fame to help millions get access to safe sanitation. This humanitarian work matters more to him than his movie roles.
He and Ben Affleck have a strange and quiet writing process. They sit in a room together but often write scenes silently for hours. Then, they trade pages to critique the other person’s dialogue.
He actually learned how to grow potatoes for his role in The Martian. Botanists taught him the real science of soil and fertilization on the set. Thus, he understands the botany behind survival on the red planet.
He played a redneck in Deadpool 2 under intense prosthetic makeup. He is credited as Dickie Greenleaf in the final movie credits. Consequently, most fans never realized the famous actor was in that scene.
Matt Damon performed many of his own driving stunts for the Bourne franchise. He went to a special driving school to learn reverse 180-degree turns. Consequently, he crashed several cars during the intense training sessions.
He successfully used hypnosis to finally quit smoking cigarettes. He smoked heavily for nearly two decades before seeing a specialist in Los Angeles. Thankfully, the mental treatment worked after just a few sessions.
Matt Damon used to breakdance for money in the middle of Harvard Square. He performed robot moves to earn extra cash during his college days. He claims he was actually quite skilled at the time.
Jennifer Lawrence stands as one of the most relatable superstars in Hollywood. You likely know her as the brave Katniss Everdeen, but her off-screen personality is famous for its clumsiness and honesty. She broke the mold of the polished actress by tripping on red carpets and talking openly about her love for reality television. Furthermore, she achieved massive success without ever taking a single acting class. Consequently, she remains a favorite among fans who appreciate her genuine nature. Let’s explore the life of J-Law.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence was discovered by a talent scout while watching street performers in New York City. Remarkably, she was only 14 years old and had no prior experience when the agent spotted her.
She famously tripped up the stairs while accepting her Oscar for Best Actress. Later, she admitted that she was thinking about cake while walking, which distracted her in the moment.
For her role in Winter’s Bone, she learned how to skin a squirrel in real life. vividly, she wanted the scene to look authentic, so the director challenged her to do it herself.
She possesses a tattoo on her hand that says H2O to remind her to drink water. Hilariously, the artist inked the number 2 too high, making the chemical formula scientifically incorrect.
An Olympic archer trained her for the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Specifically, Khatuna Lorig taught her the proper technique to ensure she looked like a believable warrior.
She almost turned down the role of Katniss because she feared the level of fame it would bring. Fortunately, her mother convinced her that she would regret saying no to such an empowering character.
During the filming of The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence accidentally kicked co-star Josh Hutcherson in the head. Apparently, she was trying to show off her flexibility and misjudged the distance, giving him a mild concussion.
She developed a drunk alter ego named Gail during a vacation with friends. According to her, Gail emerges when she drinks rum and becomes an aggressive adventurous turtle wrangler.
She grew up as a tomboy and played field hockey, softball, and basketball on boys’ teams. Her father actually banned her from playing with other girls because she was too rough.
Jennifer Lawrence never took professional drama lessons or attended acting school. Instead, she relied entirely on her instincts and natural ability to read people’s emotions.
She auditioned for the role of Bella Swan in Twilight before Kristen Stewart got the part. Although she did not get the job, she admits that she dodged a bullet regarding the intense media scrutiny.
She keeps her Oscar statue at her parents’ house in Kentucky rather than in her own home. She felt odd displaying it in her living room, so her mother put it on the family piano.
She obsessed over the reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. In fact, she caused a minor car accident once because she thought she saw the cast on a parade float.
For the movie X-Men: First Class, the makeup team painted her blue for seven hours a day. Consequently, she developed skin irritation and demanded a bodysuit for the later sequels to save time.
Kris Jenner is one of her closest friends in Hollywood. Surprisingly, her friends arranged a birthday surprise where she drank wine and read teleprompter lines on Kris Jenner’s bed.
