The whole thing is a little more realistic and plausible than the movie. It involves a much older hero (Joe Leland) who is desperately trying to save his daughter and two grandchildren, rather than his wife. While retaining the same basic “terrorists seize building” plot of the film, the novel is actually very different. For me, reading the book it was based on was a no brainer, but I even recommend it to people who aren’t fans of the movie. “First of all, I should probably say that Die Hard is one of my favorite movies of all time. The desperation of the main character, whose name is Joe Leland in the book, is much the same as John McClane’s in the movie.
Some of the character’s from the movie are the same. The basic premise of the movie is all there in the book. The Examiner said, “Once you get in depth into the book you’ll see what an amazing job the screenwriter’s did in converting the book to the silver screen. Mitchum thought there was too much running and jumping for a man his age, and declined.” He had played the character in the hit film “The Detective”, after all. The first person they offered the lead to was, of course, Frank Sinatra. He found “Nothing Lasts Forever” in the Fox archives and commissioned a script. Fifteen years later, Joel Silver was looking for a project they could make on the cheap. “Nothing Lasts Forever” didn’t even go to paperback until 1979, and even with good reviews (“Single mindedly brilliant in concept and execution” – Los Angeles Times) it did not sell well. And the hardback book (without the heat of the film deal) didn’t become a best seller. Until Frank Sinatra turned down the film. This didn’t bother Thorp, as the hardback book would certainly become a best seller as soon as the film was officially announced. “Fox made a “back loaded” purchase deal with Thorp, with the majority of his payment coming when the film went into production. So Thorp substituted terrorists for fire, his Detective for the firemen… and “Nothing Lasts Forever” was born.” What they did report was civil unrest, the latest bombings by the Weather Underground, and the latest kidnapping or bank robbery committed by the Red Army terrorist group. “In that time period, the newspaper headlines seldom reported fires. He had read a book titled “The Glass Tower” (which would eventually be made into the film “The Towering Inferno”) about a group of people trapped on the top floor of a high rise office building by a raging fire, and found the idea of people trapped above the reach of rescue equipment intriguing. Thorp’s response was “I’m writing one now.” Then he went home and started writing a new chapter in the life of the detective played by Frank Sinatra.
“When the film became a hit, the producers told Thorp if he wrote a sequel, they would buy it.
“In 1968, Roderick Thorp’s best selling novel “The Detective” had been made into a film starring Frank Sinatra and Lee Remick, released by 20th Century Fox”, explained ScriptSecrets. But even before it was a “Commando 2”, the guts of the story was originally intended for use by another sequel. The story was inspired by one of de Souza’s favourites, a treasured detective novel by Roderick Thorp called “Nothing Lasts Forever”, which tells of a retired police officer named Joseph Leland and his plight to rescue the people of Klaxon Oil, whose company is taken over by terrorists (Frank Sinatra played the character in “The Detective”, also based on a book by Thorpe). John McTiernan’s landmark actioner originally started as a sequel to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s camouflaged-hero movie “Commando” (1985).įox had commissioned Steven de Souza, writer of “Commando”, to write a sequel to the 1985 Arnie biffobuster and he completed the libretto on-time and to company specifications. Allysa Milano’s Pop should’ve been swinging from rope outside a building. It also wore the guise of “Commando 2” – for about 5 minutes.
Referring to the North's recent launches as "increasingly dangerous provocations," the United States on Friday called for a "resolution to update and strengthen the sanctions regime" against Pyongyang at the UN Security Council.“Die Hard” started out as “Nothing Lasts Forever”. North Korea has 'likely more in store' after missile test, need tougher UNSC sanctions, says US This comes after Calcutta High Court directed the CBI to take over the investigation and submit a report by the next date of hearing, which was set for 7 April Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 98.61 per litre as against Rs 97.81 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 89.07 per litre to Rs 89.87, according to a price notification of state fuel retailersīirbhum killings: CBI takes over probe, dispatches team to site of crime Petrol, diesel prices today: Fuel rates hiked again on 26 March, check here to know rates in your city