Die Hard Die Hard Die Hard is a 1988 American action thriller film. It was directed by John McTiernan, and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It was produced by the Gordon Company and Silver Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) who is caught in a Los Angeles skyscraper during a heist led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). It is based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel "Nothing Lasts Forever". Made for $28 million, "Die Hard" grossed over $140 million theatrically worldwide, with the film
Die Hard (film series) the idea of a man being targeted for revenge by someone whose life he had unwittingly destroyed. Once the Simon character became the brother of Hans Gruber and the backstory was established, the project fully came together. It was novelized by Deborah Chiel. "Live Free or Die Hard" was based on the 1997 article "A Farewell to Arms" written for "Wired" magazine by John Carlin. It also drew on a script 20th Century Fox owned called "WW3.com", which dealt with a massive cyberterrorism attack against the U.S. and was nearly put into production in 2001 but ultimately abandoned because several