Children of DIE HARD

Here's a partial list of films that DIE HARD inspired.

Let's examine the DIE HARD template:

1.  Lone protagonist trapped in a confined space;

2.  Hopelessly outnumbered, protagonist is separated from a crowd of people who are then taken hostage;

3.  There's a personal relationship between the protagonist and one of the hostages (helps "Up the Stakes" later in the movie);

4.  Protagonist is now the 'fly in the ointment' and only one is a position to foil the plan of the villain and his team;

5.  Authorities eventually arrive, but can't get in the confined space.   So they are forced to rely on the protagonist.  

6.  Protagonist kills off one after another of the villains and eventually there's a confrontation with the lead bad guy.

7.  Villain finds out the personal relationship with a hostage and that hostage is with villain to the end.

8.  Protagonist wins.

Not all of those elements (the personal relationship hostage, for example) but they are usually all there.

Here are some movies using the formula.   (See if you can envision the 'pitch' the writers gave selling each project).

The "It's DIE HARD in a ____________" formula....

WHITE HOUSE DOWN / OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.    

UNDER SEIGE

FIRESTORM

CLIFFHANGER

PAUL BLART: MALL COP / SECURITY

SUDDEN DEATH

PASSENGER 57

SPEED 2

DIE HARD 2

TOY SOLDIERS


I once met Jeb Stuart (co-author of the DIE HARD screenplay) and asked him if he got a cut from all the films that used his template and he said, "Unfortunately, no."   Jeb said he'd read an early draft of the script (before de Souza became involved) and it has the most famous line the series:  "Yippee-ki-yay m-----f-----!"  

Writing about the novel yesterday, I neglected to mention the book the line is "Geronimo, m-----f-----!"

I also took a seminar with Chris Soth (writer of the movie FIRESTORM - "DIE HARD in a forest fire" - a script he sold for $750,000).   Chris said, "I knew my career was in trouble when I went into a production company to pitch and they said, 'We don't want to hear any DIE HARD in a blank' scripts."

They seem quite marketable once again.  

NOTE:  Chris' book MILLION DOLLAR SCREENWRITING is available now on Kindle.  It has a beat-by-beat breakdown of DIE HARD if you've found yet another location to set such a story.