INDEPENDENCE DAY : DIRECTED BY ROLAND EMMERICH (1996)

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Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer who works mostly in the disaster and action genres. His films have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director.

His films have grossed just over $1 billion in the United States, making him the country's 14th-highest grossing director of all time. He began his work in the film industry by directing the film The Noah's Ark Principle as part of his university thesis and also co-founded Centropolis Entertainment in 1985 with his sister.

He is a collector of art and an active campaigner for the lesbian and gay community, himself being openly gay. He is also a campaigner for an awareness of global warming and equal rights.

• Courtesy - http://Roland_Emmerich

Discover now more information about Independence Day with the following numeric report made by Movie Maker on WEB 2.0 - Carpe diem passengers - GEO 66

Independence Day (film)

Independence Day (also known by its promotional abbreviation ID4) is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same date as the Independence Day holiday in the United States. It was directed by Roland Emmerich, who co-wrote the script with producer Dean Devlin.

While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich came up with the idea for the film when fielding a question about his own belief in the existence of alien life. He and Devlin decided to incorporate a large-scale attack when noticing that aliens in most invasion films travel long distances in outer space only to remain hidden when reaching Earth. Principal photography for the film began in July 1995 in New York City, and the film was officially completed on June 20, 1996.

The film was scheduled for release on July 3, 1996, but due to the high level of anticipation for the movie, many theaters began showing it on the evening of July 2, 1996, the same day the film begins. The film's combined domestic and international box office gross is $816,969,268, which at one point was the second-highest worldwide gross of all-time. It holds the 27th highest worldwide gross of a movie all-time, and was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and science fiction resurgences of the mid-to-late-1990s. It also won the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Cast

• Will Smith as Captain Steven Hiller, an assured United States Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot. Devlin and Emmerich had always envisioned an African-American for the role, and specifically wanted Smith after seeing his performance in Six Degrees of Separation.

• Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson: An MIT-educated computer expert, chess enthusiast and environmentalist, working as a satellite technician in New York City.

• Bill Pullman as President Thomas J. Whitmore: A former Persian Gulf War fighter pilot and current President of the United States.

• Margaret Colin as Constance Spano: The White House Communications Director and David's ex-wife.

• Robert Loggia as General William Grey: A United States Marine Corps general who is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and one of President Whitmore's most trusted advisors.

• Randy Quaid as Russell Casse: A widowed, alcoholic crop duster and veteran Vietnam War pilot who claims to have been an alien abductee ten years prior to the events of the film.

• James Duval as Miguel Casse, Russell's eldest son.

• Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson: David Levinson's father. The character was based on one of Devlin's uncles.

• Mary McDonnell as Marilyn Whitmore: President Whitmore's wife - the First Lady.

• Vivica A. Fox as Jasmine Dubrow: A single mother, Hiller's girlfriend and exotic dancer.

• James Rebhorn as Albert Nimzicki: The Secretary of Defense and former director of the CIA.

• Harvey Fierstein as Marty Gilbert: David's boss, who is killed when the aliens destroy New York.

• Adam Baldwin as Major Mitchell: A United States Air Force officer and the commanding officer at Area 51.

• Brent Spiner as Dr. Brackish Okun: The unkempt and highly excitable scientist in charge of research at Area 51.

• Harry Connick, Jr. as Captain Jimmy Wilder: Steve's best friend and fellow pilot.

• Kiersten Warren as Tiffany: Jasmine's exotic dancer friend.

• Mae Whitman as Patricia, the President's daughter. She is called 'Munchkin' by her parents.

Plot

On July 2, an enormous alien mothership enters orbit around Earth and deploys 36 saucer-shaped destroyers, each of which is at least 15 miles wide, over major cities around the globe. In New York City, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) discovers transmissions that he believes the aliens are using as a countdown to coordinate an attack.

David and his father Julius (Judd Hirsch) travel to the White House and warn U.S. President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) of the attack. The President, portions of his Cabinet and the Levinsons narrowly escape aboard Air Force One as the aliens destroy Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and other major cities around the world with energy-based weapons.

Meanwhile, USMC Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) is called to take part in a counterattack against the aliens. His girlfriend Jasmine, her son, and dog survive the attack by hiding in a workmen's shed in a Los Angeles freeway tunnel. The next day, on July 3, Jasmine finds the injured First Lady (Mary McDonnell), who had been in Los Angeles and whose helicopter was brought down by the alien attack.

On the same day, as part of a U.S. counterattack, Captain Hiller leads a squadron of F/A-18 Hornets on a mission to engage with a destroyer near the remains of Los Angeles. The destroyers are revealed to be guarded by force fields, which repel projectiles and nuclear detonations, and it releases scores of smaller "attacker" ships armed with similar shields and weaponry.

After a one-sided dogfight ensues, Hiller survives by luring an attacker to the Grand Canyon, where he causes it to crash and then subdues the alien pilot. Hiller is picked up in the desert by a refugee group that includes Russell Casse (Randy Quaid), an alcoholic crop-duster who has claimed for years that he was abducted by aliens in his youth. They take the captured alien to Area 51, where Air Force One has already landed. Area 51 conceals a top secret facility housing a repaired attacker and three alien bodies recovered from Roswell in 1947.

• Read more on http://IndependenceDayfilm

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