“Die Hard” Screenwriter Jeb Stuart Says It’s “Definitely a Christmas Movie”

Dec. 10 (UPI) — Screenwriter Jeb Stuart has confirmed his 1988 action classic, Die Hard, is a Christmas movie, hopefully settling a debate that has divided viewers for decades.

“Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie,” Stuart told UPI with a laugh in a Zoom interview Thursday.

“I’m out in L.A. now and I can remember writing it years and years ago at Christmas and, coming from the East Coast, I felt a little bit of, ‘What am I doing in Los Angeles for Christmas?’ And there is a lot of that wrapped up in that script,” the North Carolina native said.

In the film, Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a New York police officer who heads to Los Angeles to reunite with his estranged wife and kids for Christmas.

“Stylish and cool Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) is in Los Angeles as well for the holiday season, but he’s not there to give out presents,” an official synopsis of the movie said.

“He’s there to take more than $600 million in negotiable bearer bonds from the multinational Nakatomi Corporation, where McClane’s wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) is an executive. When the takeover becomes hostile, it’s up to John McClane to take on the terrorists with all the grit and determination he can muster — but not without a sense of humor.”

Die Hard was followed by four sequels.

Stuart is now the showrunner for Vikings: Valhalla.

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