--- description: Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, Die Hard really is a Christmas movie title: The 'Die Hard' Writer Just Settled the Christmas Movie Debate Once and For All image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acdbf197dd4788b/6988f686fb4eac76cf8951db/die-hard-bruce-willis.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The _Die Hard_ Writer Just Settled the Christmas Movie Debate Once and For All by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 26, 2017 3:47 PM CUT  Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard' Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard'20th Century-Fox/Getty Images) by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 26, 2017 3:47 PM CUT Yippee-ki-yay, _Die Hard_ fans. Go ahead and switch from the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas fare and fire up _Die Hard_, because the film’s writer has confirmed that it is indeed a [Christmas story](http://time.com/4597160/christmas-movies-stream-2016/?iid=sr-link6 "undefined"). CNN reporter Jake Tapper used his investigative journalism skills to get to the bottom of one of the burning questions that is dividing the nation—is _Die Hard_ a Christmas movie? Tapper reached out to the film’s writer, Steven de Souza, on Twitter and asked him to settle the debate once and for all. > [](https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/944740130681753601) > [](https://twitter.com/StevenEdeSouza/status/944812347461218305) According to de Souza, _Die Hard_ really is a Christmas [movie](http://time.com/5060626/national-film-registry-2017/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), but only “because the studio rejected the Purim draft.” While the idea of [Bruce Willis](http://time.com/5002211/bruce-willis-is-almost-unrecognizable-in-his-highly-successful-halloween-costume/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined")’s sardonic, seen-it-all police officer John McClane battling [Alan Rickman](http://time.com/4181498/alan-rickman-appreciation/?iid=sr-link7 "undefined") as a Hans Gruber-esque Haman laying siege to the office Purim party will make many movie-lovers chuckle, it’s good to know that _Die Hard_ can safely be added to the Christmas movie playlist next to _It’s A Wonderful Life_ and _A Christmas Story_. Getting the definitive answer to this long-running question, isn’t the only way that Tapper applied his journalistic skills to the _Die Hard_ legacy. He also also transformed the action movie into an epic, rhyming poem that tells of the struggle between good and evil that took place at the Nakatomi Tower on Christmas Eve, all tapped out in a series of tweets. > [](https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/945475213797584896) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5079487/die-hard-christmas-movie/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5079487/die-hard-christmas-movie/"},"headline":"The Die Hard Writer Just Settled the Christmas Movie Debate Once and For All","datePublished":"2017-12-26T15:47:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:49:27.013Z","description":"Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers","url":"https://time.com/5079487/die-hard-christmas-movie/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acdbf197dd4788b/6988f686fb4eac76cf8951db/die-hard-bruce-willis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acdbf197dd4788b/6988f686fb4eac76cf8951db/die-hard-bruce-willis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bruce Willis In 'Die Hard'","caption":"Bruce Willis In 'Die Hard'","creditText":"20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5079487/die-hard-christmas-movie/","name":"The Die Hard Writer Just Settled the Christmas Movie Debate Once and For All"}}]}] ```