When independent writer and movie producer Eric D. Wilkinson saw that the “Die Hard” movie franchise was going to get a sixth film titled “Die Hard: Year One,” he knew he had a great idea for a script — so he decided to take out a full page ad in The Hollywood Reporter.
“When I read the announcement and it said the movie was going to have an origin story, I wasn’t thrilled about that,” Wilkinson, who was a teenager when the original movie was released, told Tech Insider. “The original ‘Die Hard’ is the origin story. Before that, he was a police officer in a bad marriage.”
—Ivy Lam (@ivylam22) November 9, 2015
But because Hollywood loves a prequel, Wilkinson decided he wanted to help the studio come up with a better angle — something that would satisfy true “Die Hard” fans like himself and would bring back what he believed to be the crux of the character John McClane: “an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.”
After watching the movies again, Wilkinson had an idea.
He worked with his producer partner Richard Schenkman to polish a plot that would see McClane in prison for a murder he didn’t commit when a riot breaks out — here’s a snippet:
By nightfall, inmates control the facility, holding Holly McClane and many others hostages. We soon learn that the riot itself was a distracting subterfuge… part of a plan to break both Al-Maqdisi and bin Saeed out of prison so they can help complete a horrific new terrorist attack in New York City.
However the one thing terrorists didn’t count on was the one man who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time…And when it comes to John McClane, old habits die hard.
Wilkinson had the plot, but now how to get it noticed?
He decided to spend “thousands of dollars” of his own money to take out a full page ad in The Hollywood Reporter to gain the attention of the industry and hopefully the “Die Hard” movie creators. He included his email address and phone number just in case. Wilkinson titled the ad, “An open letter to: Bruce Willis, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Len Wiseman and the makers of DIE HARD.”
Already, Wilkinson is getting attention on Twitter as people share his ad.
—Ted Geoghegan (@tedgeoghegan) November 9, 2015
—Tyler Hisel (@TylerHisel) November 9, 2015
—Nick Schober (@NicSchober) November 10, 2015
And while some people might be bemused at his idea, Wilkinson, whose credits include independent films like “Mischief Night” and “Man From Earth,” said he’s confident in his proposal.
“It’d be awesome if an agent or a manager saw that I’m a creative person and wanted to see what else I have,” he told Tech Insider. “My wife thinks I’m a little crazy. Normally she would probably balk at me for spending money on something like this, but I don’t spend a lot of money on myself and this year, this is what I decided to spend my money on.”
As for whether or not he’s nervous that the studio will steal his idea without credit, Wilkinson said he thought about that, but isn’t too concerned.
“Two years from now if a ‘Die Hard’ movie comes out with my plot and they never call me about it, people will know that I wrote it,” he said. “It’s my idea.”
You can read the full ad below:
