“Live Free or Die” is the official motto of New Hampshire, adopted by the General Court in 1945. It is probably the most well-known state motto, partly because it speaks to an aggressive independence in the American dream. The phrase comes from a toast written by General John Stark in 1809. Poor health forced Stark (NH’s most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War) to decline an invitation to an anniversary reunion of the Battle of Bennington and to send his toast by letter: “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” The motto was enacted at the same time as the state emblem, on which the motto appears.

“Live Free or Die Hard” (a/k/a Die Hard 4.0) is the fourth installment in the Die Hard film series with actor Bruce Willis as John McClane, the hero of the first three films. The film takes place some 18 years after the first film, and sees McClane coming out of retirement to face a gang of Internet terrorists. The film’s U.S. release date is June 27, 2007.