Nothing Lasts Forever: Comparing 'Die Hard' To The 1979 Novel That Inspired It

(This week marks the 30th anniversary of Die Hard, arguably the greatest action movie of all time. To celebrate, /Film is exploring the film from every angle with a series of articles. Today: a look back at the 1979 novel that inspired the film.)There are few movies that bring me pure, unadulterated joy the way John McTiernan's Die Hard brings me joy. Recently, I flew from New York to Los Angeles for the first time and as I looked around the Los Angeles airport, I couldn't help but shake my head and say "California" with pure disdain. In truth, I have no beef with the state, but I had just traveled the same route that John McClane took nearly 30 years earlier and I wasn't going to miss my opportunity of recreation.In fact, the purpose of this trip was to celebrate my birthday with a Die Hard drinking game party. I visited Fox Plaza (the real Nakatomi Plaza), soaked in the lobby (which looks similar despite the Peet's Coffee), and stole a rock from the courtyard as a souvenir (don't report me).After 30 years, Die Hard remains the best and most quintessential action film of all time. If you hold this movie close to your heart, well, welcome to the party, pal. But the film began its life as something very different: a 1979 thriller novel called Nothing Lasts Forever.In honor of the Die Hard's 30th Anniversary, I recently read Nothing Lasts Forever and was surprised to discover just how much Hollywood had altered. With very few exceptions, screenwriters Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza made all the right calls in their adaptation of the book. While the harrowing tale of an old man losing his last morsel of humanity during a hostage crisis is certainly compelling, the book lacks all of the fun and charm of the film. It was an enjoyable read, but it's dated, something that can't be said of Die Hard.

John and Joe are certainly cut from the same cloth. They're both buried in their work, stubborn, closed-off, and tough. However, they're in completely different stages of their life when that fateful Christmas Party strikes. As we know, John is trying (poorly) to win back his wife, who left him for a job opportunity in LA. He's still a cop and he uses that as the excuse for why he didn't follow her across the country. Of course, we know that's bullshit. As Holly so gracefully puts it, "It didn't do anything to our marriage, except maybe change your idea as to what our marriage should be." This is one of my favorite lines in the entire film, because it tells you everything you need about their relationship.Joe Leland, on the other hand, is retired and pretty worn down from his long life of bad relationships, alcoholism, and work-related horrors. John still has young kids while Joe has grandkids who barely know him. Basically, John still has room to repair his relationships whereas Joe can only reflect on the past. The biggest difference between Die Hard and this book: hope.

One of the biggest differences in the book is the Holly character, named Stephanie on the page. She's still an important figure in the building's company, but she's Joe's daughter, not his wife. The only true similarity between Stephanie and Holly is the last name. (Fun Fact: Holly's name changes from "GennAro" to "GennEro" when John is looking at the computer directory. Her office door says "GennEro" but the end credits say "GennAro". It's "GennAro" in the book, so I'm deeming that the official spelling.)Bonnie Bedelia's portrayal of Holly Gennaro is fierce, smart, and she makes it clear she isn't here for John's misogynistic tendencies. Stephanie Gennaro has a complicated relationship with her father and her shady deals while working for Klaxon Oil (not Nakatomi) are partially why the "terrorists" target the building. She's also (ugh) sleeping with Ellis, who is exactly the same as he is on screen. We love to hate Ellis, so it's sad to think there's a version of the story where Holly was sitting in his cushy office, doing coke over business deals. It's a relief to know the film version of Gennaro never saw his advances as anything but comical. We don't see much of Stephanie in the books, and what we do see is all through Joe's opinion of her, which is loving but judgmental.

Die Hard has one of the best supporting casts in cinema history. While none of the terrorists or Argyle (who is just an unnamed older gentleman from Compton in the book) get their big moments on the page, some characters still resemble the ones we've grown to love. Al Powell, for example, is basically the same with the exception of age. Book-Al is only 22, whereas Reginald VelJohnson was 35 when he donned the sergeant uniform. He even gets the distinct pleasure of killing Karl in the end, a moment that makes me well up every single time I watch the movie.Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson is also consistent, right down to his infuriating and laughable ignorance. It's no surprise they cast Paul Gleason, who proved his ability to play an imperceptive a**hole in The Breakfast Club. However, the book version of Dwayne eats it when Karl's final shot misses Leland and strikes him instead. Even more tragically, he never gets to say, "We're gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess."The Takagi character is named Mr. Rivers, who is not Japanese, which was unanticipated considering one of the best things about Die Hard, aesthetically, is the modern Japanese decor of the office. It's hard not to picture James Shigeta as the calm, cool boss who meets a tragic end. One of the SWAT cops in the film is named Rivers, though, which could be a nod to the original character.Surprisingly, the book does have one element that I wish was in the film: the presence of multiple female terrorists. Now, these women don't do much other than get killed by Leland and serve as a catalyst for his inner turmoil and the terror he feels as each kill becomes easier. Perhaps the studio thought McClane would be less likable if he was out there murdering women, which is understandable, but the visual of badass ladies roaming the building in their berets would've meant a lot to young me. We need more female villains!Remember the flight attendant who eye-fucks John like he's the First Class snack? Well, in the book, her name is Kathi Logan and Joe spends the flight with her, getting his flirt on. Not only is Joe divorced, but his ex-wife has died. Eventually, he asks for Kathi during the takeover and they chat via radio for a chunk of the story. In comparison to John and Holly, this is an incredibly weak romance.