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"Die Hard With A Vengeance"
Preliminary Production Information
Detective John McClane thought he'd seen it all. He's back in New York and about to face his most unusual foe yet -- a twisted genius named Simon -- who plans to engage McClane and the city of New York in a deadly game. Simon says: John McClane is about to have a very bad day ...
Cinergi Pictures Entertainment Inc. presents A John McTiernan Film,
"Die Hard With A Vengeance," starring Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film also features Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Anthony Peck, and Larry Bryggman. The screenplay is by Jonathan Hensleigh. Michael Tadross is the producer. Jonathan Hensleigh, Carmine Zozzora and David Willis are co-producers. Executive producers are Andrew G. Vajna, Buzz Feitshans and Robert L. Lawrence.
Bruce Willis, who previously teamed with director John McTiernan in the acclaimed international box office hit "Die Hard," returns as Detective John McClane in "Die Hard With A Vengeance," which brings McClane to his home turf for the first time: the streets of New York.
He's got a nose for danger, a penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a talent for overcoming incredible odds. But, this time, danger is looking for him. Seeking a personal and mysterious revenge against McClane, a malevolent genius named Simon is forcing the heroic cop to play a deadly game. The stakes: New York City itself. But, does Simon have a hidden agenda? The game begins when a phone call from Simon sends McClane to Harlem, where he unexpectedly forms an alliance with an unwilling Zeus Carver. McClane and Zeus soon find themselves careening across The Big Apple, pursuing Simon and solving his deadly riddles. But, Simon is somehow always one step ahead. Director John McTiernan has assembled not only an impressive cast for Die Hard With A Vengeance but also an incredible production team to pull off the amazing stunts for the movie. Production for the film literally began with a bang in New York at the end of July in 1994 where the crew created probably the most elaborate stunt ever shot on the streets of New York--Bonwit Teller's department store is destroyed by a bomb. Crowds from all over the city came to watch the film crew set off an explosion that overturned cars and sent broken glass onto the sidewalks outside the building on lower Sixth Avenue that stood in for Bonwit's. Seven cameras filmed the stunt, while local TV crews, paparazzi, and untold numbers of amateur photographers also clamored to capture the action. Special effects crews carefully prepared the blast which was set off on the ground floor of the building. Despite a crystal shop that had just recently moved in, not one piece sustained damage.
Originally titled "Simon Says" (where Zeus was scripted as a woman) and was considered as the third sequel to _Lethal Weapon (1987)_ (qv).
McClane (Bruce Willis) tells Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson) "I was just getting used to my day job, smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo", which is a line from the song "Flowers on the Wall" by The Statler Brothers from the soundtrack of Pulp Fiction (1994), which starred both Willis and Jackson. Willis' character (Butch) was singing this song in Gabrielle's car when he spotted Marsellus Wallace. Character "Dr. Fred Schiller" is a reference to the 18th century German poet Friedrich Schiller, who wrote the lyrics used by van Beethoven, Ludwig in his 9th symphony, which is the music used in Die Hard (1988). The original ending had Simon getting away with the gold, and McClane tracking him down to Austria, where he defeats him in a game of "chicken" with rocket launchers.
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