9 Things You Might Not Have Known About 'Die Hard'
11/08/2017 04:16 pm EST
A Way with Words
When the filmmakers struggled to find an organic way for John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) to share a scene with one another before the finale, Rickman showed off his American accent, inspiring the idea that Gruber pretend to be one of the lost partygoers. The scene wasn't rehearsed between the two actors, in hopes of adding to the uncomfortable and impromptu nature of the encounter.
[H/T YouTube, DeadByDawnVids3]
"Hans...Bubby"
Hart Bachner plays Harry Ellis, a partygoer that seems to have his sights set on McClane's wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). Thinking he can talk some sense into Hans Gruber, Ellis asks for a pow-wow with the terrorist, in which he refers to Hans as "Bubby." The pet name was ad-libbed by Bachner, so Gruber's confused reaction is the genuine reaction of actor Rickman.
[H/T YouTube, Brian Taylor]
Hard Worker
Willis was so devoted to the project, he filled his days by shooting the TV series Moonlighting and would head to the Die Hard set to shoot the evenings. His exhaustion from filming both of the shows resulted in giving the supporting cast members beefier roles.
More German than Germans
The terrorists that overtake the Nakatomi Tower are referred to as German, although of the 12 henchmen, most weren't German and only a couple could speak more than a few lines of broken German. In fact, Bruce Willis was more German than many of the other characters, having been born in West Germany.
Company Resources
The famous Nakatomi Tower was actually a building on 20th Century Fox's own lot, a building which can still be easily visited today. In addition to shooting in their own building, many of the addresses and phone numbers that pop up in the film are actual telephone numbers to offices at 20th Century Fox, as they owned the rights to the numbers and places.
[H/T YouTube, Lackawanna952]
A Star is Hidden
Considering he hadn't established himself as an action star, the film's theatrical poster's didn't include Willis' face, in fear that his image would deter his detractors. Once the film became a success, his face was put back onto the poster to create the now memorable promotional art.
Lucky Break
Die Hard was Rickman's very first feature film role, one that he almost passed on. The actor had arrived in Hollywood two days prior and was disgusted at the thought of his first film role being one of a villain. Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, In the Mouth of Madness) was almost given the role of Hans Gruber before Rickman reluctantly accepted.
"Yippie-Ty-Yay"?
The now iconic "Yippie-Ky-Yay, motherf**ker!" almost sounded completely different. McTiernan argued that the line should be delivered,"Yippie-Ty-Yay," while Willis insisted on saying, "Yippie-Ky-Yay." The two compromised and shot the scene with both deliveries, ultimately opting for Willis' version.
Shocking Finale
SPOILER (for Die Hard, which is almost 40 years old)
When filming Gruber's death scene, he was dropped from a height of roughly 20 feet onto an air bag. Rickman was being held by a stuntman, and to get a genuine look of surprise, dropped Rickman at the count of 2 as opposed to waiting for the count of 3.
[H/T YouTube, Movieclips]
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