MOVIES - Jan. 8, 1990

Airlines Protest ‘Die Hard II’: Airline officials in Denver are angry that portions of Bruce Willis’ “Die Hard II,” will be shot at Stapleton International Airport, contending that the film “is an endorsement of terrorism.” Said Jack Ekey, general manager of United Airlines’ Denver operations: “It involves terrorism, violence against airports, destruction of an aircraft and a crash. As a matter of principle, we don’t believe that kind of thing represents either airports or airlines in a way which we see ourselves or want the public to see us.” Representatives of all airlines that use Stapleton lodged a complaint last week with airport officials, and, in response to the protests, Stapleton officials placed added restrictions on the film makers, including prohibiting the filming of real airline logos and aircraft. Greg Lazzaro, location manager of the film, said the airlines’ position is “preposterous and stupid.” He said, “It’s not a movie about airlines; it’s a movie about a New York cop who’s in a cartoon.” He said the film script, which has not been shown to the airlines, is the story of a police officer’s battle against terrorists who try to take over Dulles International Airport in suburban Washington. Twentieth Century Fox plans to start shooting the film at Stapleton Jan. 15.