To bring Die Hard to life, the producers assembled a top technical team, including cinematographer Jan De Bont (who went on to direct 'Speed'), and selected local Los Angeles landmark, Fox Plaza, as a stand-in for the Nakatomi Plaza. Scenes were filmed in and around that location, but the main floor of the Nakatomi headquarters was constructed on a sound stage at Fox Studios, just a few blocks away. 

To duplicate the view from the Nakatomi offices overlooking the city, the filmmakers constructed a 350 foot long cyclorama that meticulously represents the topography of West Lost Angeles. Complete with moving lights on all the major streets and lighting changes for any time of day, the filmmakers could portray the passage of time as the tense drama unfolds inside the occupied building. 

Special effects expert Al DiSarro coordinated the various explosions that occur throughout the film. One of the most spectacular assignments was blowing up an armored car on the steps of the Fox Plaza. The end sequence shows the building in ruins with debris and a burnt out helicopter littering the grounds amongst fires blazing in the rubble. 

While the building proved to be perfect for filming, the bustling Century City streets in Los Angeles provided logistical nightmares--in particular for the sequence where helicopters fly 50 feet above the ground at 75 mph and then make a vertical climb up the Fox Plaza. It was shot on a Sunday with 12 cameras stationed along the streets where an army of Los Angeles Police personnel closed off streets leading in to the area. 

