Die Hard with a Vengeance

In Die Hard with a Vengeance John McClane (Bruce Willis) and a Harlem store owner (Samuel L. Jackson) are targeted by German terrorist Simon Gruber (Jeremy Irons) in New York City, where Gruber plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.

It’s a 1995 movie and a perfect example of why I detest most movies made after the turn of this century. Take a look at this short clip of an explosion – three second delay – & then I’ll explain.

They were shooting the explosion in Manhattan early one Sunday morning. I was a student at the New York Film Academy & staying in a room on Sixth Avenue that was a little smaller than the interior of my current Chevy Suburban. My girlfriend spent the weekend with me & I was dropping her off at Grand Central Station for her return trip to Baltimore when we encountered traffic delays.

I was pissed because we had to park & walk to the station ─ & that’s when I realized we were walking onto the set of an explosion. Didn’t know what movie being made was but didn’t care. I knew it was a major production.

It took several takes to rehearse and the timing had to be coordinated down to the millisecond because several cars & a truck were getting blown up ─ definitely not much margin for error. As a film student this wasn’t something you got in the classroom ─ even though you were paying through the ass. It took better than an hour to shoot but it turned out great. They don’t make movies like that anymore because they use cheesey CGI & blue or green screens to produce phony looking crap because it’s cheaper & easier.

Gotta tell ya, I’ve been lucky over the years by randomly walking into situations just like this. We were out of frame but watching from behind the barricades at the end of the block.

Off my soapbox now & back to the movie with the full trailer below. Good movie & fine cast. I watched it more than a dozen times over the years.

Bruce Willis & Samuel L. Jackson are two of my favorite actors.

I pay homage to Bruce Willis in a couple paragraphs of The Dead Stripper ─ coming out March 1st ─ & I’ll be posting about it soon.

I’m America’s Best Crime Writer – Barry Bowe – & I approve this message.

My first book – Born to Be Wild – was published in 1992 & is still selling on Amazon & Kindle. It’s a true story about certain members of the Warlocks motorcycle gang.

The story took 21 years to play out – many twists & turns – an amalgam of Sons of Anarchy & Breaking Bad – but these outlaw bikers make the Sons look like Cub Scouts.

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