Owais Crawford
Die Hard 2, the 1990 action film starring Bruce Willis, is set in Washington Dulles International Airport. The film sees John McClane, waiting at the airport for his wife, come up against a group of terrorists. The film was shot in various locations, including the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and Alpena County Regional Airport in Michigan.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Setting | Washington Dulles International Airport |
| Filming locations | Stapleton International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Alpena County Regional Airport, water treatment facility near Los Angeles |
| Release date | 4 July 1990 |
| Gross revenue | $240 million worldwide |
| Production budget | $62-70 million |
| Filming duration | Approximately four months |
| Extras | Real passengers |
| Aircraft | Boeing 727-22 of American Trans Air, Boeing 747 of Evergreen International Airlines, and more |
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What You'll Learn
The film is set in Washington Dulles International Airport
The film Die Hard 2 is set in Washington Dulles International Airport, the primary international airport serving the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The story unfolds on Christmas Eve in 1990, as off-duty police detective John McClane waits at the airport to pick up his wife, Holly. He notices some suspicious men in the airport lounge and follows them to the luggage area, where he discovers them tampering with the control panel for the luggage conveyor belt. This sets off a chain of events that leads to a shootout, with McClane killing a mercenary named Oswald Cochrane while another, Miller, escapes.
Despite the setting, the movie was not actually filmed at Dulles International Airport. Instead, the majority of the airport scenes were shot at the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. To accommodate the filming, a temporary terminal was constructed at Stapleton, and various modifications were made to the runways, including adding fake snow, constructing crash sites, and enhancing lighting and special effects setups.
Some scenes were also filmed at other airports, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where the entrance terminal shots were captured, and Alpena County Regional Airport in Michigan. The scenes featuring Bruce Willis running through tunnels under the airport were not filmed at any airport but instead at a water treatment facility near Los Angeles, which offered miles of underground tunnels ideal for filming.
The film's production involved real aircraft to ensure authenticity. For instance, a Boeing 747 owned by Trans World Airlines (TWA) was used for a climactic scene. Additionally, real passengers served as extras in the airport scenes, enhancing the realism of the setting. The filming of Die Hard 2 lasted approximately four months, from March to June 1989, and the movie was released in 1990 to great success, grossing $240 million worldwide.
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It was predominantly filmed at Stapleton International Airport
While Washington Dulles International Airport is the predominant setting for the film Die Hard 2, it was not the primary filming location. The now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, served as the stand-in for Dulles Airport. The opening scene of John getting his car towed was filmed at the arrival concourse of Stapleton International Airport. The exit of the baggage area, the stampede of passengers out of the airport, and the news chopper taking off were also shot at Stapleton International Airport. The Old Stapleton Airport Tower, located at 3120 Uinta St in Denver, is a notable filming location for the movie.
The interior scenes at the airport terminal, including the bar where John sits at the start of the film, were filmed at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The rental stand where John sends a fax to Powell was another scene shot at LAX.
A few scenes were also filmed at various locations in California. The scenes with Bruce Willis running through tunnels under the airport were shot at the Joseph Jensen Water Treatment Plant in Granada Hills, which has miles of underground tunnels. The area where Major Grant's platoon arrives by helicopter was filmed outside Concourse E of Stapleton International Airport, and the start of the snowmobile chase took place at a frozen lake in Mead, Colorado.
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Real passengers were used as extras
The 1990 film Die Hard 2, starring Bruce Willis, was predominantly filmed at Washington Dulles International Airport, the primary international airport for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. However, the film crew did not get permission to shoot at the airport and had to use creative alternatives to portray the airport setting.
The film includes several scenes with extras playing passengers, and these were real passengers who were recruited at the airport. The film's production crew approached passengers at the airport and asked them to participate as extras. This approach added authenticity to the film, as it featured actual travellers going about their daily routines.
The use of real passengers as extras contributed to the film's realism and helped to create a sense of authenticity for viewers. By including these individuals in the background of scenes, the film effectively captured the hustle and bustle of airport life, with all the associated emotions of travel, such as excitement, anxiety, and anticipation.
In addition to using real passengers, the film also featured some of the airport's actual staff members. These individuals added further authenticity to the production, as they went about their regular duties, ensuring the smooth operation of the airport despite the ongoing filming.
The decision to include real passengers and staff as extras was a strategic one. By incorporating them into the film, the production gained access to areas of the airport that would have otherwise been off-limits. This allowed for a more seamless integration of the film's narrative into the airport setting, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
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Bruce Willis performed some of his own stunts
Bruce Willis, who played John McClane in the Die Hard franchise, performed many of his own stunts in the first Die Hard film. In one scene, Willis's character leaps off a rooftop while explosions detonate around him. An inflatable safety mat was placed five stories beneath him, but the explosions were triggered improperly, causing Willis to nearly miss the bag. This could have killed the actor.
Willis also suffered hearing loss due to the volume of the guns used in the film. In an interview with The Guardian, Willis said he lost "two-thirds" of his hearing in his left ear. Rumer Willis, Bruce’s daughter, told the Toronto Sun that her father believed he had to do the “cool guy” thing and push through, despite the unsafe conditions.
Willis's stunt double in most of his films between 1985 and 1991 was Keii Johnston (sometimes credited as Keii Johnson). Johnston won a Taurus World Stunt Award in 2003 for best fire stunt in Red Dragon and was nominated twice in 2005 for best work with a vehicle in the films Taxi and The Punisher.
Although it is not clear how many of his own stunts Willis performed in Die Hard 2, the film did feature several athletic action scenes. The movie was shot in Colorado, Michigan, and California, USA, with locations including Los Angeles City Hall, Los Angeles International Airport, Alpena Airport, and Stapleton International Airport.
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Explosions were created using practical effects, pyrotechnics, and visual effects
Washington Dulles International Airport, the primary international airport for the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, was the predominant setting for Die Hard 2. The film features several explosions, which were created using practical effects, pyrotechnics, and visual effects.
Visual effects supervisor Michael J. McAlister oversaw a large crew of artists and technicians for six months to create the film's remarkable assemblage of exciting images. The flying aircraft scenes, which feature some of the biggest and most convincing work in years, were produced at Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects division of Lucasfilm Ltd.
McAlister emphasized that their miniature work for Die Hard 2 was like a second-unit operation rather than a traditional special-effects job. The reason for this approach was to achieve realism, especially with the interplay between the airplanes and clouds and the explosions. They used the largest models that were practical and economical to build, handle, and transport. These scenes were photographed in the California desert town of Mojave.
To capture the explosions, they had three models that they planned to blow up if needed. Four copies were made from the same mold. One airplane had a detailed paint job for the beauty shots of the plane flying above the clouds, while the others were not as meticulously painted. They also had to consider the budget and the number of models they needed to build.
The high-speed photography required high-speed film, and they used Kodak 5296 due to the low-light conditions and night filming. Some trial and error was necessary for scenes involving pyrotechnics. For example, they filmed the 747 crash with the bad guys twice, the first time with four different cameras, but the airplane disintegrated too quickly. They then increased the delay between explosions and captured three distinct bits of pyro action in that shot.
In addition to practical effects and pyrotechnics, Die Hard 2 also utilized visual effects companies like Screen Scene VFX and Scanline. Screen Scene VFX created animatics for the film's key action beats and provided postviz shots and final visual effects for a Predator Drone sequence. Scanline, meanwhile, produced one of the film's climactic moments, the "sea of fire," matching practical fire elements with various tools, including its Flowline fluid simulation software.
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Frequently asked questions
Washington Dulles International Airport.
The film was shot at the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, with some scenes shot at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Alpena County Regional Airport in Michigan.
Yes, real passengers were used as extras in the airport scenes, adding to the realism of the setting.
Yes, several scenes were filmed on real airplanes, including a Boeing 747 owned by Trans World Airlines (TWA).
Bruce Willis did perform some of his own stunts, but a stunt double was used for the more dangerous and physically demanding scenes.
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