Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film Footage Quotes RSS

Fourth Of July Fun: 7 Things You Didn't Know About 'Independence Day'


Will Smith Roland Emmerich

Happy Fourth of July! Just like one watches 'Star Wars' on May the 4th and 'Friday the 13th' on Friday the 13th, sci-fi fans everywhere will no doubt be watching 'Independence Day' today. The Roland Emmerich-directed flick was released twelve years ago and, in honour of that legacy, here are seven fascinating facts about the movie that you probably never knew.

Independence Day (1996)Independence Day (1996)

1. The Area 51 Conspiracy
Initially, the US military were on board to provide the film's producers with resources such as costumes, props, airplanes and personnel, with their only demand being that all references to Area 51 be removed from the script. Of course, co-writer Dean Devlin didn't want to do that, the secret location being such an integral part of alien culture, so they ended up withdrawing their support. 

Continue reading: Fourth Of July Fun: 7 Things You Didn't Know About 'Independence Day'

Roland Emmerich attending a Casino event during the Catalina Film Festival in Avalon, Catalina Island, California, United States - Friday 30th September 2016

Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich - Independence Day: Resurgence Los Angeles Premiere held at the TCL Chinese Theatre at TCL Chinese Theatre - Los Angeles, California, United States - Tuesday 21st June 2016

Roland Emmerich

The Stonewall Trailer Has Been Stonewalled With Criticism


Jeremy Irvine Roland Emmerich

The trailer for upcoming American drama Stonewall has been released and it has come out surrounded with its fair share of controversy. Roland Emmerich is the blockbuster movie director who has taken on the film, loosely based on the 1969 Stonewall riots that are widely acknowledged as the catalyst for the modern gay rights movement.

StonewallStonewall, based on the 1969 riots, has released its trailer - but not everyone is happy about it

Initially, the idea and the director received tremendous amounts of praise for tackling and highlighting such an important issue as this and Stonewall looked to be heading towards being a big hit.

Continue reading: The Stonewall Trailer Has Been Stonewalled With Criticism

Stonewall Trailer


Danny Winters is a young man in 1969, who becomes disenfranchised from the marginalisation and discrimination of some members of society. His radical opinions cause his parents to kick him out of their Kansas home, and so he takes the opportunity to travel to New York where he meets a group of liberal and flamboyant youths who shelter him and bring him to a discreet gay club run by the mafia known as The Stonewall Inn. Unfortunately, this is a place frequently raided by cops, who are less than liberal in their way of thinking. Tired of the constant social threats and alienation, Danny leads an army with members of the gay, trans and cross-dressing community to fight against the corrupt police with a full scale riot.

Continue: Stonewall Trailer

'Independence Day 2' Lands Vivica A. Fox


Vivica A Fox Will Smith Roland Emmerich Jeff Goldblum Bill Pullman Liam Hemsworth

He may not have been able to secure the services of Will Smith, but director Roland Emmerich has at least manage to secure the services of Smith’s on-screen wife Vivica A. Fox to reprise her role for the Independence Day sequel.

The director made the announcement via Twitter that Fox would be reappearing as her character Jasmine from the 1996 blockbuster. Fox has enjoyed a revival in her fortunes in the last couple of years, coming off a high-profile performance in the so-bad-that-it’s-good Sharknado 2: The Second One.

Vivica A Fox
Vivica A Fox will reprise her original role in 'Independence Day 2'

Continue reading: 'Independence Day 2' Lands Vivica A. Fox

Roland Emmerich Returning To Direct 'Independence Day 2'


Roland Emmerich Will Smith

Nearly 20 years after the original sci-fi epic, Roland Emmerich has signed on to direct Independence Day 2 for 20th Century Fox. Dean Devlin, producer of the original movie starring Will Smith, is also returning and confirmed the news on his Twitter account this week.

Roland EmmerichRoland Emmerich is directing Independence Day 2

The movie has a release date of June 26, 2016, meaning Emmerich and Devlin are going to have to get moving - sharpish. The sequel will take place in an alternate reality where humans have enjoyed 20 years of peace since the alien invasion featured in the first movie.

Continue reading: Roland Emmerich Returning To Direct 'Independence Day 2'

Is 'Pacific Rim 2' Really A Good Idea?


Guillermo Del Toro King Kong Roland Emmerich

With a slew of epic monster movies hitting cinema screens in recent years it seems there is a genuine renaissance in the sub-genre of disaster movie that bestowed upon the world the likes of Godzilla and King Kong. Pacific Rim, drawn from the imagination of Guillermo Del Toro, is a thoroughly contemporary take on the monster movie blueprint- awash with a myriad of spectacular CGI that resembled nothing short of a visual banquet.

Pacific RimDel Toro's Pacific Rim was a huge international hit but underperformed in the US.

The epic nature of the film posited a grand departure for Del Toro, who made his name through taut and often fantastical horror flicks including the Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth. Del Toro has recently revealed that a second film was being developed even before the release of the first, yet it has still to be officially given the go ahead by the film’s developers, Legendary Pictures. As such, it seems that Pacific Rim is heading in the direction of most blockbuster films that have hit the cinema as of late and being dragged out into a franchise.

Continue reading: Is 'Pacific Rim 2' Really A Good Idea?

Will Smith Won't Star In 'Independence Day 2': A Possible Contender For The Sci-Fi Role Emerges


Will Smith Roland Emmerich Jeff Goldblum Bill Pullman

As an actor, Will Smith has come a long way since 1996's alien disaster movie Independence Day. So it's not really surprising that the star of the original movie has apparently turned down an offer to star in Roland Emmerich's upcoming sequel...but we kind of wish he hadn't.

Will Smith
Will Smith Won't Be Coming Back As Steven Hiller In 'Independence Day 2.'

Though Deadline reports an indecisive "back and forth," Smith has reportedly told Fox that he will not be accepting a reprisal of the big movie role that helped turn him into a fully-fledged film star. It has been suggested that one of the reasons for the back and forth was that Smith was "too expensive," as Emmerich himself has explained.

Continue reading: Will Smith Won't Star In 'Independence Day 2': A Possible Contender For The Sci-Fi Role Emerges

White House Down: The Critics' Low-Down


Channing Tatum Jamie Foxx Maggie Gyllenhaal Roland Emmerich

After premiering on the 25th of June, Roland Emmerich's new movie White House Down is set for cinema release. The film stars Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) in a high-paced topical thriller. The director who brought you the White House's alien destruction in Independence Day is back to blow up the president's house once again - but this time it's terrorists.

Channing Tatum
White House Down: [L] Channing Tatum, [Middle] Maggie Gyllenhaal, [R] Jamie Foxx.

The film is led by Channing Tatum who plays divorced father and USCP officer John Cale who after being rejected from the secret service, tries to make it up to his idolizing young daughter by joining her on a tour of the White House. They picked the wrong day for sightseeing however, as terrorists begin to bomb the White House causing some serious devastation. It's now up to Cale to protect his daughter and President Sawyer (Foxx) as they try to escape.

Continue reading: White House Down: The Critics' Low-Down

'Independence Day' Sequel Will Go Ahead Without 'Expensive' Will Smith


Will Smith Roland Emmerich Channing Tatum Dean Devlin James Vanderbilt

Two Independence Day sequels have been scheduled to be released in July 2015 probably without the star of the first film, Will Smith. In an interview with the director of the upcoming film, Roland Emmerich (who directed Channing Tatum in White House Down), said Will Smith is "too expensive". He also said it was because Smith is "too much of a marquee name".

Roland Emmerich
Director Roland Emmerich at the 10,000BC Premiere, L.A. in 2008

Emmerich directed the first Independence Day, in 1996. However, after 17 years Emmerich is aware he is not only catering for an audience who remember the first film but for those who "are new" to the concept. Hence if Smith were to appear in the upcoming sequel, comparisons will be too easily made. In many respects this could alienate (excuse the terrible pun) the new audience. 

Continue reading: 'Independence Day' Sequel Will Go Ahead Without 'Expensive' Will Smith

White House Down Trailer


When USCP officer John Cale is turned down as he applies for a highly coveted role in the Secret Service, he is devastated but cannot find it in himself to disappoint his young daughter Emily who idolises him and his job. In a bid to give Emily an experience to remember, he takes her on a tour of the White House, but what started out as the most normal of days (if a little extra exciting for Emily) quickly becomes a situation of life and death when terrorist groups launch a series of bombs that hit the White House causing a shocking scene of devastation. John now finds himself with the responsibility of keeping his daughter safe from harm as well as protecting President James Sawyer along with the rest of his country. He may have lost out on becoming an official protector of the President, but he now faces a true test of his abilities that is unlikely to go unnoticed.

Continue: White House Down Trailer

Roland Emmerich Thursday 20th October 2011 'Anonymous' screening at the The Museum of Modern Art New York City, USA

Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film Footage Quotes RSS

Occupation

Filmmaker


Advertisement
Advertisement

Roland Emmerich Movies

Independence Day: Resurgence Movie Review

Independence Day: Resurgence Movie Review

Two decades is a long time to wait for a sequel, especially one starring much...

Independence Day: Resurgence - Teaser Trailer

Independence Day: Resurgence - Teaser Trailer

Everyone knows the tale of David Levinson and Captain Steven Hiller, the two men at...

Advertisement
Stonewall Trailer

Stonewall Trailer

Danny Winters is a young man in 1969, who becomes disenfranchised from the marginalisation and...

White House Down Movie Review

White House Down Movie Review

This may look exactly like Gerard Butler's over-serious Olympus Has Fallen, but it's actually that...

White House Down Trailer

White House Down Trailer

When USCP officer John Cale is turned down as he applies for a highly coveted...

Anonymous Trailer

Anonymous Trailer

Edward de Vere is the illegitimate child of Queen Elizabeth I, as well as the...

10,000 B.C. Movie Review

10,000 B.C. Movie Review

You'd think that with mammoths, saber-tooth tigers, and large, screeching birds you wouldn't need much...

Godzilla (1998) Movie Review

Godzilla (1998) Movie Review

The sad thing about the cast of the new Gozilla is this: you can't put...

Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews