A Good Day to Die Hard

A Good Day to Die Hard is an upcoming American action film directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods. It is the fifth installment of the Die Hard film series and stars Bruce Willis reprising the lead role of John McClane, who travels to Russia to help his estranged son (Jai Courtney) out of prison, but is soon caught in the crossfire of a terrorist plot. It is set to be released on February 7, 2013, in Hong Kong and South Korea, and on February 14, 2013, in the United States.[1] It is the first Die Hard film using Dolby Atmos Surround Mixing and also released as IMAX.

Plot

When his son Jack gets into trouble in Russia, John McClane travels to Moscow to help him out. Terrorists use the circumstances behind Jack's arrest to further their agenda, and the pair have to stop them.[2]

Cast

    Bruce Willis as John McClane
    Jai Courtney as John "Jack" McClane, Jr.
    Cole Hauser as Collins
    Sebastian Koch as Komorov
    Yuliya Snigir as Irina
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy McClane
    Amaury Nolasco
    Pavel Lychnikoff
    Megalyn Echikunwoke
    Anne Vyalitsyna
    Ivan Kamaras

Production
Pre-production

Production of the film was formally announced in 2010, with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The A-Team writer Skip Woods confirmed as the film's screenwriter. Noam Murro was originally attached to direct the film, but left production to direct the 300 prequel, 300: Battle of Artemisia. John Moore was subsequently drafted in to replace him.[3]

The film was initially titled "Die Hard 24/7", with speculation in the media suggesting that the film would be a crossover between the Die Hard and 24 franchises, with Kiefer Sutherland to reprise his role as Jack Bauer alongside John McClane. This was never confirmed by the studio, and the film's title was later revealed to be A Good Day to Die Hard—with no further mention of any involvement from the 24 franchise—with a release date of February 14, 2013.[4]

Casting

Bruce Willis will return as John McClane, expressing a desire to shoot A Good Day to Die Hard and a sixth installment in the franchise before retiring the character.[5]

When casting the role of Jack McClane, the studios considered several actors, including Liam Hemsworth and James Badge Dale,[6] before ultimately settling on Australian actor Jai Courtney.[7] Mary Elizabeth Winstead will also feature in the film, reprising her role as McClane's daughter Lucy.[8]

Sebastian Koch will play the film's primary villain, Komorov,[9] whilst Yuliya Snigir and Cole Hauser will feature as secondary villains Irina and Collins.[9][10] The cast was completed by actors Amaury Nolasco as a friend of McClane,[11] Pavel Lychnikoff as a taxi driver,[11] and Megalyn Echikunwoke, Anne Vyalitsyna and Ivan Kamaras in unknown roles.[11][12]

Shooting

Production began in Hungary in April 2012, with the capital Budapest standing in for Moscow.[13] A military shooting range near Hajmáskér was used for shooting live ammunition,[14][15] whilst vehicular stunts were shot at the Hungaroring, a Formula One racing circuit in Mogyoród.[16] During the eighteenth season of British television programme Top Gear, host Jeremy Clarkson announced that he and co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May had been hired to script and shoot a car chase through the streets of Moscow after production had been impressed by their work shooting a chase sequence for the 2012 remake of The Sweeney.

In July of 2012, a fire broke out on the set whilst shooting an aerial stunt, though no-one was injured and shooting resumed after a short delay.[17]

Post-Production

The films audio will be mixed in Dolby Atmos surround sound.[18] Marco Beltrami who had composed the soundtrack for the previous film Live Free or Die Hard, returned to score A Good Day to Die Hard. The soundtracks full album will be released on February 12, 2013 by Sony Classical.[19]