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EXCLUSIVE: In the second significant material sale in a week that has a Die Hard theme to it, Universal Pictures acquired Speeding Bullet, a pitch by Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer that went for mid-six figures. Paramount also pursued the pitch which is described as a throwback to the Die Hard-esque 90s buddy cop movie (though this sounds more Lethal Weapon-esque). KatzSmith Productions partners Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg are producing.
This comes after Sony last week acquired White House Down, a spec by Amazing Spider-Man scribe James Vanderbilt that is being loglined as Die Hard in the White House. While this surge of material sales is certainly welcome–White House Down went for a 2012 spec best $3 million–I can recall that after Die Hard became a hit, studios for the next 20 years bought pitches and specs that were loglined “Die Hard in a…” Maybe some smart studio exec will go back and dust off some of those scripts, now that the Die Hard premise is back in vogue.
The UTA-repped scripted wrote Family Getaway and are working on the remake of the Whitney Houston-Kevin Costner film The Bodyguard at Warner Bros.
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Die Hard in the White House has already been done, as a Vince Flynn novel called “Transfer of Power,” the first of his Mitch Rapp series…if his agent is worth anything, then James Vanderbilt should give a fairly decent percentage of the earnings to Mr. Flynn…
A very well done book (and series) might I add.
I read a DIE HARD in the White House spec in 1992. And it was pretty good. So does that writer get to share in Vince Flynn’s success?
“…a throwback to the Die Hard-esque 90s buddy cop movie…”
Except that Die Hard is about a guy who’s all alone with no one to help him and has nothing to do with buddy-cop movies.
“…which is described as a throwback to the Die Hard-esque 90s buddy cop movie.”
Except that Die Hard was made and released in the 80s and has nothing to do with buddy cop movies. (Remember how the whole movie is about how John McClaine is all alone and has no one to help him…?)
And to think that all this is happening while Shane Black is busy writing/directing Iron Man 3. Maybe Favreau will want to reboot Lethal Weapon after he finishes Magic Kingdom.
“For the next 20 years” is way off. The trend was dominant, but lasted less than a decade. The last major “‘Die Hard’ on a Something” was “Air Force One” in 1997.
Yeah, I remember how crappy most of those Die Hard clones turned out.
Mikkel Bondesen is on fire again. A $300k fee. The Killing is his show. How does he do it?
If only we could get Bruce Willis to do one of these Die Hard movies he’d be great but would he do it? Doubtful. He’s too old for this kind of action movie. I doubt he’ll ever do another Die Hard sequel.
Die Hard-esque buddy cop movie of the 90s doesn’t even make sense.
The DIE HARD template is neither a buddy cop movie nor a throwback to the 90s (it’s glorious 80s action).
But all the clones started in the ’90s.
I think they should one in a building. It’s like Die Hard in a Die Hard
Yo dawg.
Die Hard in the White House actually *happened*, back in the Summer of 1814 during James Madison’s presidency, when British Troops, who’d crossed an ocean to bring the foundling, upstart nation called America to her knees, invaded Chesapeake Bay and the District of Columbia and set fire to the still-under-construction White House.
The historical raid wasn’t very dramatic, as most inside had already fled. But that’s where a little historical mashing up would do wonders. Jeeze, that’d make a great spec! Which I’m sure at least half a dozen toiling wannabees have already written.
I can see it now. First Lady Dolley Madison and her husband James are estranged, and Dolley’s gone back to her maiden name “Payne.” Then the Brits attack, take Dolley, several cabinet members and servants hostage. Leaving hubby, president James Madison, to utilize crawlspaces the Masons built into the architecture to go from the China Room to the Oval Office, taking out the Brits one by one. Maybe he even leaves a note on one British Troop’s body – “Now I have a musket. Ho, Ho, Ho.” ‘Course, after he saves the day, Dolley Madison takes her married name back. Just spitballing here…
OUTSTANDING post! well played studio plant–well played
I’d watch that movie with james madison kickin’ redcoat arse with a musket…and in 3-d!
You’re a very funny bastard, FSP.
the Masons’ crawlspace bit was the icing on the cake.
It’s AIR FORCE ONE in a building.
how about Die Hard at Universal
and all the moronic producers that waste money on this crap can die