“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…” Die Hard (1988)

To know why Hollywood loves remakes, sequels, and similar stories see Part 1 of this series here.

Die Hard is one of the greatest and most influential action movies ever made (and a Christmas classic, but that’s for another article). It established a simple recipe that has become the standard for a slew of action movies. This recipe has been used over and over again in Hollywood. Just take a look at how many different versions of Die Hard there are (I stopped at a dozen, but there are more).

The Many Incarnations of Die Hard (1988)

This constant re-telling of a similar story didn’t start or end with Die Hard, or even Hollywood in general. We see the same echoing of stories on television (Family Guy is a retelling of The Flintstones which was a retelling of The Honeymooners), in theater (West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo&Juliet), and in books (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is heavily structured after the The New Testament Gospels). In his book on screenwriting “Save The Cat”, Blake Snyder goes even further and says that all movies can fit into one of ten genres. The core stories being told harken back to ancient tales. “Jaws is just a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur or even the dragon-slayer tales of the Middle Ages. Superman is just a modern Hercules. Road Trip is just an update of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales”

“You can’t tell me any idea that isn’t like one, or dozens, found in the movie canon. Trust me, your movie falls into a category. And that category has rules that you need to know. Because to explode the clichés, to give us the same thing…only different, you have to know what genre your movie is part of, and how to invent the twists that avoid pat elements. If you can do that, you have a better chance to sell. And, by the way, everyone, and I mean everyone in Hollywood, already does this.” — Save The Cat, Blake Snyder Page 22–23

Following tried-and-true storytelling recipes isn’t an act of laziness or plagiarism, it’s part of the human storytelling tradition. Using a story’s framework, that has stood the test of time, in order to tell a new story gives viewers a familiar structure to enjoy new content. Working from a familiar storytelling recipe, the story will be clearer to the filmmakers and to those who will eventually opt to watch the movie. This makes the overall filmmaking process smoother because everyone knows what the end product should be which will make getting the attention of sales agents, distributors, and viewers easier, resulting in a more profitable film.

“Invoking the name of a film that has MADE A TON OF MONEY in your pitch is never a bad thing in Hollywood. For example: “It’s Die Hard meets Home Alone — set at a Chuck E. Cheese. PG. But instead of Bruce Willis to the rescue, it’s an eight-year-old. And Hans Gruber is an animatronic raccoon gone haywire.” ~Writing Movies for Profit, Robert Garant & Thomas Lennon, Page 18

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren in Black Water (2018)

What is the magical recipe that has been used repeatedly to create a multitude of successful action movies?

Step One: Get a good guy (or girl), preferably an off-duty cop, special agent or retired soldier,

The protagonist should be relatable to the audience, often acts in a non-professional capacity, and possesses a background that justifies how they can stand up to the professional villain. John McClane was dealing with marital issues, attending a Christmas party, and was a New York police officer. John Wick was struggling with the death of his wife (and dog), sought personal vengeance, and had the ability because he was a former assassin. Liam Neeson in Taken was a worried father, chasing down his daughter’s kidnappers outside of the system, and ex-CIA agent, as he said “If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you.”

The hero is the person who is constantly and unexpectedly dealing with the plans and machinations of the villain who tries to throw the proverbial “monkey wrench” into the works. In many ways they are the victim of the circumstance in which they are thrust, reacting to the events that unfold due to the antagonist.

The protagonist is going to carry the weight of the movie, often with the most screen time which requires the most time on set especially during complicated action sequences. Because of this, it is often not feasible for an independent film to bring in top talent to fill this role. This isn’t a deal breaker for an independent film. There are plenty of talented actors who can do great work as the main protagonist. They can do the heavy lifting of the film without necessarily bringing the star power of a big name actor. Filmmakers can frequently get a lot more out of these talented lesser known actors, and focus on bigger named actors for smaller and more affordable roles.