Zooey Deschanel, forever linked to Christmas thanks to Elf, just lent her take to the debate whether Die Hard is really a Christmas movie. In an exclusive interview, the New Girl alum offered a clear opinion, acknowledging the film’s festive setting while comparing its yuletide elements to more traditional holiday fare.
Zooey Deschanel reflects on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie
Zooey Deschanel didn’t beat around the bush when the holiday movie debate came up. The 45-year-old actress made it clear that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, noting that the entire story takes place on Christmas Eve. While the 1988 action film doesn’t have the sparkle, charm, or whimsy of classic holiday favorites like Elf, its festive timing, in her view, puts it squarely in the Christmas movie category.
“And maybe it’s not like Elf or something, where there’s a magical creature or a magical person or whatever at the center of the film — so it doesn’t have that, like, super Christmas forward element — but it has Christmas in the background,” Deschanel said ( via People).
Die Hard chronicles NYPD cop John McClane, who fights off terrorists inside a Los Angeles skyscraper during his wife’s office Christmas party. The movie draws its story from Roderick Thorp’s 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever.
This argument has been ongoing for a long time. Director John McTiernan has also admitted that the movie basically evolved into a Christmas classic. However, Bruce Willis himself famously quipped during a 2018 Comedy Central roast that Die Hard is not a Christmas film but a Bruce Willis one.
“I did this roast for one reason and for one reason only, to settle something once and for all. Now, please listen very carefully: Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie,” Willis explained.
Zooey Deschanel’s stance lines up with a big chunk of fans who happily slot Die Hard into their annual holiday binge, even if it doesn’t look like a cozy, cocoa-and-carols kind of movie. It may pack explosions instead of ornaments, but the Christmas Eve backdrop and ride-or-die popularity keep it in the seasonal conversation year after year.
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya for ComingSoon.
