Novel That Inspired 'Die Hard' Returns to Print After 20 Years. Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever was adapted into the iconic franchise's first film. Die Hard has returned, and not just to movie theaters. The book that inspired the original film is back in print after 20 years. Late author Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever is being released in trade paperback and ebook by Graymalkin Media to mark the 25th anniversary of its original publication. The book was adapted into 1988's Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis brought New York cop John McClane to life, he was an idea scrawled in Thorp's notebook. (The cop is named Joe Leland in the novel.) The ebook includes copies of Thorp's notes, the first time they have been published. He wrote them while living in Laurel Canyon, his house overlooking a high-rise building on the Wilshire Corridor. (That building became the inspiration for the one taken over by terrorists in the book.) Just as there are no flashbacks, there are no shifts in point of view. Everything is told -- discovered from Leland's interior, Thorp wrote in his treatment for the novel. Before Willis ultimately took the role, a number of other stars turned it down. The first to pass was Frank Sinatra, who played Joe Leland in The Detective (1968), based on Thorp's novel of the same name. Other stars who declined to play the now iconic role included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson. 'Die Hard very closely follows the book, so reading Nothing Lasts Forever gives fans the chance to enjoy the thrill of the Die Hard story in more detail, experience the scenes that didn't make it into the film, and discover the novel's shocking ending' said Graymalkin Media Owner and CEO David Zindel. --The Hollywood Reporter, 2/23/2013 by Aaron CouchAbout the AuthorRoderick Thorp is the bestselling author of The Detective, which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra. Mr. Thorp worked as a private detective for nine years and did extensive crime reporting including a twenty-one-part series on cocaine traffic in southern California, which was published in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. His other titles include Rainbow Drive and Devlin. what are the best product to sell online Nothing Lasts Forever (The book that inspired the movie Die Hard)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good, but Grim and Depressing - don't expect "Die Hard"By Justin R. StebbinsI bought this book because of my love for the 1988 Bruce Willis movie "Die Hard", possibly the all-time best action movie. Nothing Lasts Forever was put back into print for the 25th anniversary of Die Hard, which was somewhat loosely based on the novel. The film's central plot and setting (the whole "Die Hard scenario" of one man against impossible odds with little real help from the incompetent authorities), and several of the most memorable action scenes, are straight out of the book. Most of the characters are as well - with the notable exception of the hero. The fairly stereotypical grim, hard-boiled detective Joe Leland (played by Frank Sinatra in a film adaptation of the previous book, The Detective) shares only a few similarities with wisecracking everyman hero John McClane.The overall tone of the story is the most significant change. The novel is mostly a downer, with Leland frequently reminiscing about his dead wife and the mistakes of his past as he slowly grows more accustomed to dehumanizing and killing his enemies, who are young (and often female) German extremists using terrorism to fight corporate greed - not a ragtag band of thieves only pretending to be terrorists, as seen in the film. In the end, the central theme is that there are no true heroes here. Don't expect a happy ending where our stars ride away into the sunset to the tune of "Let It Snow"...While it feels almost wrong that the movie pretty much wiped out the novel's grim message about violence and replaced it with bombastic action, I have to say I prefer the 80's action flick over the 70's hard-boiled detective story. Still, I think that (despite all the terrible novel-to-movie adaptations out there) most movies benefit from having a book to provide a narrative backbone. It's probably one reason the original Die Hard stands so far apart from its lackluster sequels.Oh, and the book is a pretty good read too. Just wish it hadn't been so depressing. But if you like that kind of thing, which a lot of readers do, then it's worth checking out.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. I preferred the movie.By SerialnerdThere are many online summaries comparing the book to the film, so I won't rehash that. I will say, however, I can appreciate the inspiration but enjoyed the movie much better. I had a difficult time separating the film from book, but that's likely a personal challenge. At times, the writing felt disjointed during the action scenes as trying to follow how the character was going from place to place was tough. I also felt the dialogue between characters quite unnatural. I don't know, maybe the author thought that was how cops spoke or maybe his consult wasn't very good. The majority of the story is spent setting up the main character Joe Leland (aka John McClane) working his way through Tony Gruber's (aka Hans Gruber) henchmen. Then, in the final pages, the characters make a few declarations and then it just sorta ends. I'll admit there was one part I didn't see coming, but everything else was either predictable or unresolved in a logical manner, considering how much exposition was written. The kindle version also has some typos but nothing that you can't decipher.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. you can have fun. There's no funBy JPI actually prefer this book over the movie, somewhat. It takes it's ''Terrorists hijack building on Christmas Eve'' scenario much more seriously than the film does. For one thing, the terrorists in the book, are straight up ''terrorists''. It's not a robbery disguised as a terrorist act. The films director, John McTiernan, said that ''I made the suggestion to change it to a robbery, because, you can have fun. There's no fun, in terrorism.'' To that, I say. ''Well, no, its not supposed to be fun, that's why they call it terrorism'' and an act of terrorism on Christmas eve is just about one of the scariest thoughts one could think of, especially today.