The Creative Alliance’s ‘Die Hard’ Movie Night Has Become a Baltimore Holiday Tradition

This time of year, Jen Marsh knows exactly how to get into the Christmas spirit. She pulls out her ornaments, props up her tree, and, most importantly, puts Die Hard on her television.

“I mean, who doesn’t love Hans Gruber?” says Marsh emphatically of the over-the-top action-film’s villain, played by the late, great Alan Rickman—and foil to Bruce Willis’ hunky-cop protagonist, John McClane. “I get a little swoony when he comes on screen. Like, be still my heart! He’s so intelligent and self-assured. I like the bad boys, too, you know?”

For Marsh and her neighbor Heather Keating, nothing says holidays like a screening of this 1988 cult-classic, and the Patterson Park residents are ready to host their wildly popular Die Hard Interactive Movie Night at the Creative Alliance on Dec. 6, now in its sixth year and always a sell-out.

“It’s so fun, so silly, just total nonsense,” says Keating, former marketing director at the Eastern Avenue arts center. It’s what they describe as “Rocky Horror meets Mystery Science Theater 3000,” with the duo incorporating improv comedy, costume contests, trivia, and props, like water guns that attendees are encouraged to spray.

“We tell people from the very beginning, if you’re here to watch like a normal person, this is not the movie for you,” says Marsh.

Today, the co-hosts are besties, but their friendship actually began as a business proposition, when Marsh, then the publisher at City Paper, suggested a joint film series with the Creative Alliance. A decade ago, Interactive Movie Nights debuted with The Royal Tenenbaums. Only about a dozen people showed up, but those that did were all-in, with a few even dressed in costume, by their own accord. Wet Hot American Summer, The Goonies, and The Princess Bride followed, with the audiences—and production values—getting bigger and better every year. And as requests started rolling in, one particular picture kept coming up time and time again.

“So we did Die Hard, then we did it again, and we did it again,” says Marsh. “I say give the people what they want.”

“And now we have diehards—oh my god, look at that, diehards!” exclaims Keating, “who come back year after year.”

For them, Interactive Movie Nights showcase the magic of their beloved Creative Alliance, where visitors can experience art and connect with community in unexpected ways. They’re especially proud of their recent Jaws screening, coinciding with ultramarathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey’s water-themed art exhibition, and their recurring Death Becomes Her showing, featuring performances by local drag queens Betty O’Hellno and Fulla Regrets.

“There is nothing more delicious than looking out over the crowd when something crazy is happening on screen and seeing everyone just going berserk,” says Marsh.

“It’s become more than a job for us,” says Keating. “With so much insanity in the world, the fact that we can provide this space for levity, to laugh and let loose, it feels good—it feels important.”

This year, Die Hard will swing into the venue’s Patterson Theater on Dec. 6. Still, is it really a Christmas movie? Sure, it takes place on Christmas Eve, during a Christmas party, with plenty of carols. But it was initially released in July and takes place in Los Angeles, with not a flake of snow in sight.

“There’s not really anything super Christmasy about it,” says Marsh, before adding matter-of-factly, “but it’s definitely a Christmas movie.”