20 Things You Didn't Know About Speed

For reasons unexplained, no one seemed to want to be the next John McClane. After Baldwin passed, Reeves also turned down Yost's quip-heavy script, claiming it felt like it was a chain of events more in line with a screwball comedy. It wasn't until script doctor Joss Whedon underwent heavy rewrites that the actor agreed to the role.

According to Yost, about 90% cent of the dialogue in the finished film can be credited to Whedon, including the well-known "Pop quiz hotshot" routine repeated throughout. He also scaled back some of the characters. On the page, Traven was the hot-shot cop in any given action film. Whedon transformed him into a more ordinary guy doing his best not to get anyone killed.

Whedon also created the three act structure of elevator-bus-subway rather than setting the entire film on the freeway. The original draft had the bus exploding against the Hollywood sign.