After seeing Die Hard so many times after it came out on video and cable, a good friend of mine and I were so excited to see an ad in January 1990 in our local Detroit newspaper advertising a request for extras to work one night on a scene for the upcoming sequel in Northern Michigan.
I was 16 and my friend was probably around 25.
WE had it all planned out what we would do and how we would get there, but at the last minute, our plans had to get cancelled and we couldn’t make it.
We were so disappointed. 😦
I actually don’t recall what happened that made us cancel, but even 25 years later, I’m a bit disappointed that we were “forced” to abandon our plans.
It would be so cool to be able to say that I was an extra on a movie like this, even if I wouldn’t have had any screen time.
The scenes filmed in Michigan were apparently the landing ones at the end of the movie.
The movie was slated for a July 4th release which was a Wednesday that year and we vowed that we would see it together at the first showing.
My friend had a part time job as a DJ in a local radio station in the evenings and so we agreed that we would go the see the noon showing on the 4th (which was the first one)
We were all set and psyched to see it.
On Tuesday, July 3rd, they had an advertisement in the paper for a sneak preview of this movie at 8pm that night, so I called my friend to make sure he was free.
Unfortunately, he had to work at the station and couldn’t make it that night, but we still agreed that we would go the following day.
I was truly disappointed and started to try and find another freidn to share the experience with.
Finally, I was able to catch a good friend of my family, who was doing his residency in a local hospital who was available that evening.
We went to the packed theater and were both amazed at how great the movie was.
The adrenaline was pumping in me and I was even able to figure out why many of the characters had colored tape on their guns because of both a movie and the book it was based on called the Park is Mine utilized this same idea.
After the movie was over and I got home (there were no cellphones back then for everyone to use) :), I called my friend the DJ and the conversation went like this
DJ – so what did you think, it was awesome, right?
Me – It truly was, I can’t believe how great a movie it was”
DJ – what movie? I was referring to my show tonight”
This was one of my first lessons in life where I learnt that not everyone else’s minds revolved primarily around movies like mine does. 😦
Suffice it to say, we say the movie again the following day at noon as planned and to this day, this is one of very few instances where I saw the same movie back to back in the theater and it was an amazing experience to have had.
I still waiver as to which of the first two DH movies is better, but I think the first one has the edge because of it’s story and it not feeling as campy as this one does in some scenes.
This one just has a warm place in my heart because of my personal story
MovieRob 