It ’s not so surprising that the function of John McClane inDieHard(1988 ) was reportedly offer to player like Sylvester Stallone , Harrison Ford , and Don Johnson . But what would oblige producers to offer the part to a septuagenarian Frank Sinatra ?
The answer , as we hash out in the former episode of The List Show , has to do with the film ’s generator material and the idiosyncracies of Hollywood contracts . go Hardis base on Roderick Thorp ’s 1979 novel , which was a sequel to his 1966 novelThe Detective , which was adapt into a 1968 photographic film starringFrank Sinatra . As such , twentieth Century Fox was contractually oblige to first declare oneself the role of John McClane inDie Hardto Sinatra . consort to the film ’s screenwriter , Steven E. de Souza , Sinatra said “ I ’m too honest-to-goodness and too rich to move any more . ” That turned out to be golden forBruceWillis and action ( and Christmas ? ) movie enthusiasts everywhere .
That odd cast what - if is just one of 30 captivating fact about the chronicle of movies brood in Mental Floss ’s a la mode video , produced to celebrate the release of our newest ledger , The Curious Movie Buff : A Miscellany of Fantastic Films from the Past 50 year .
You ’ll learn which legendary film care to get a PG rating despite threefold - digit “ F - bomb , ” howBend it Like Beckham(2002 ) made chronicle in North Korea , and why Baz Luhrmann was committed to “ smashing ” what he called “ Club Shakespeare ” with his 1996 adaptation ofRomeo and Juliet .
Looking for a new movie to watch , or at least a picture show that ’s new to you ? Mental Floss ’s new book , The Curious Movie Buff , offers behind - the - scenes particular and amazing fact about some of the greatest movies of the past half - one C . Find it at your favorite station to buy books , or onlineright here .
