American society as well as American film-making took a hard hit on Sept. 11, 2001. Before that infamous day, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center had been an iconic landmark of the New York City skyline, used as an establishing shot dozens of times over.
The view of those gleaming skyscrapers used to be a staple of nearly any movie or television program set in the Big Apple. They were featured in several major Hollywood productions including “Ghostbusters,” “Home Alone 2,” “Trading Places” and the third “Die Hard” movie starring Bruce Willis.
Source: How tragedy changed cinema | Filmaniacs | Entertainment | hanfordsentinel.com