"Yippee-Kai-Yay!"

Back in early November, a wannabe screenwriter decided to go big and place a full-page advert in The Hollywood Reporter to pitch his idea for Die Hard: Year One.

In the open letter to star Bruce Willis, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Len Wiseman (who directed Die Hard 4.0 and is due to return for the sixth entry), writer Eric D. Wilkinson spelled out his plot for the prequel, while also spilling his heart out, explaining his love for the John McClane series.

While many read the open letter and appreciated the writer's high stakes gamble, many assumed that the story would just end there.

However, earlier this week it was confirmed that while the producers of the Die Hard series were yet to contact Wilkinson, another big-time Hollywood producer did indeed get in touch and asked him to send on any other scripts he might have had gathering dust somewhere.

Avi Lerner, the producer behind action blockbusters such as Olympus Has Fallen and The Expendables, has now optioned Wilkinson's script The Devil, a horror movie about a creature terrorizing the people of New Jersey.

So there you have it. Die Hard, unarguably one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, has had a hand in something of a Christmas miracle for one lucky screenwriter. 'Tis the Season!