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Devlin &
Emmerich
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About Dean Devlin
& Roland
Emmerich
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Please e-mail me
if you have any
comments about
this web site:
comments@
eventmovies.com
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Got any Devlin/
Emmerich
scoops? Please
let me know of
any news or
rumors that you
think should be
posted here:
scoops@
eventmovies.com
"Quotes"
"We make
pop-
corn movies. We
love popcorn
movies. When
you have that
kind of passion
for the films you
make, there's a
chance that that
passion may
become
infectious."
-- Dean Devlin
"...Emmerich
and
producing partner
Dean Devlin --
two guys who
know how to
crank out an
event movie..."
-- Entertainment
Weekly magazine
"Very
difficult.
Very difficult.
Never comes out
of his trailer.
Also, like, where
do you park his
trailer? I love
that problem."
-- Roland
Emmerich on the
problems with
accomodating a
giant lizard on
a movie set.
"He does
have
the biggest
trailer. I was
pretty upset by
that. But, you
know, who's
gonna go tell
him?"
-- Hank Azaria on
the jealousy of
the other actors
towards Godzilla
on the movie set.
![](dvddisc.gif)
event
DVD's
![](dvdgodzillatransition1.jpg)
![](dvdgodzillatransition2.jpg)
![](dvdgodzillatransition3.jpg)
Check out cool
screen shots of
animated menus
from event movie
DVD's like the
above shots from
the Godzilla DVD.
You'll also find
reviews about
all of the extra
features that
can be found on
these discs.
Visit the Event
DVD's section
for more...
![](id4warinthedesert.gif)
expanded
universe
Check out the
Event Movies
expanded
universe section.
You'll find info
and reviews about
the original-story
ID4 and Stargate
novels that
expand upon the
movies that
inspired them
to be written.
Currently, ID4:
War In The Desert
by Stephen
Molstad and
Stargate:
Rebellion by Bill
McCay have been
reviewed.
VOTE!
Vote for your
favourite Devlin/
Emmerich event
movie and see
which of these
flicks is the most
popular with the
fans. You'll find
the voting booth
just below the
Recent News &
Rumors area on
the Event Movies
home page...
LINKS
![](centropolislogo.gif)
![](centropolislink.gif)
Devlin & Emmerich's
production company
![](darkhorizons.gif)
Sci-fi movie news
![](cinescape.gif)
Sci-fi movie news
from Cinescape
magazine
![](aicnlogo.gif)
Ain't It Cool News
![](godzillaheader.gif)
The official site
![](13thfloorlink.jpg)
The official site
![](patriotlogo.jpg)
The official site
![](dvdcanadalogo.gif)
A DVD message
forum for
Canadians
Film Force
Cool movie news
FAN
LINKS
Annie's Patriot
website
Sharon's Patriot
website
Sue's Patriot
website
Bob's Patriot
website
Outpost 247
(a Centropolis
fan website)
What's Next?
July, 2000:
Dean Devlin will be
making his debut as a
director for a movie
called "Cellular". The
plot centers around a
man who receives a
call on his cell phone
from a strange woman
who is being held
hostage. He has until
her phone battery runs
out to find her and
save her life. It's a
unique concept that
could translate into a
big box-office hit with
a relatively low budget.
April,
2000:
Cinescape Online
described this
"different" project that
Centropolis is going to
be involved in:
Centropolis
Entertainment is teaming
up with Village
Roadshow and Warner
Bros. for a giant
monster movie called
Arac Attack. The film,
which Centropolis had
been developing, will
have a budget of $30M.
According to Variety,
the eventual pic will tell
the story of a toxic waste spill that results
in the creation and
rampage of giant
spiders. Described as a
comedy thriller, the film
will be directed by Ellory
Elkayem (They Nest)
and will shoot on
location in Australia.
Production is scheduled
to start in September.
Dean Devlin and Roland
Emmerich will produce
the project. Centropolis
Effects will handle the
film's effects.
This
web site
is best
viewed using
![ie_animated.gif (8609 bytes)](ie_animated.gif)
800 x 600
This
web site was
created & is
managed with
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Please notify
the
webmaster if you
encounter any
broken links or
any other type
of problem with
this website:
webmaster@
eventmovies.com
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| |
the plot
Several giant alien spaceships
under the control of an even larger mother ship invade Earth for the sole purpose of
destroying mankind and stripping the planet of all of its resources. They start by wiping
out New York City, Los Angeles, Washington and other major cities around the world,
effectively scattering Earth's defences. As they continue the massacre, the American
President, played by Bill Pullman, gathers the troops for a counter-attack. With the help
of Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Randy Quaid, Earth strikes back in an all-out,
one-shot-only attack in order to preserve the existence of human kind.
the good
Needless to say, the best
sequence in this movie was the kick-ass destruction of L.A., New York and Washington. This
carnage was nothing short of spectacular. The FX were of the highest quality with more
pyrotechnics than you can shake a fist at. Blowing up the White House was a joy to watch
(several sources reported audiences cheering at this sight while watching an ID4
trailer during the Super Bowl) as well as the top-to-bottom annihilation of the Empire
State Building. It was also great to see the return of the chaotic space battle where
hundreds of smaller attack fighters are engaged in massive dogfights. Not since Return Of
The Jedi has this been done on such a grand scale. I was also happy to see that Devlin and
Emmerich are continuing the trend that they revived with "Stargate" whereby the
film's climax takes place on more than one front. In "Independence Day", the
outcome is hanging on the events of two distinct sequences. One in which Will Smith and
Jeff Goldblum are attempting to infiltrate the mother ship and deliver the computer
virus and the other in which the remnants of the air force are engaged in a coordinated
attack on the alien ship that is approaching Area 51. Again, not since "Return Of The
Jedi" (which saw the climax of the entire Star Wars Trilogy occurring on three
fronts) and "Stargate" has the ending of a movie been done on such an epic
scale. The alien ships themselves were nothing to write home about with the exception of
their sheer size which was portrayed in impressive fashion by the FX crew. On the acting
front, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum were great together, providing many of the film's
comical moments. Other notables include Judd Hirsch as Jeff Goldblum's father, Brent
Spiner doing a hilarious take on the mad scientist stereotype, and Harry Connick Jr. whose
character made an unfortunately hasty exit. The eventual downfall of the aliens was quite
clever. Initially, when Jeff Goldblum was talking with his father in the Area 51 hangar, I
was deathly afraid that the aliens would be defeated by microbes a la "War Of The
Worlds", which would have been the rip-off of the century and ultimately would have
ruined the movie. But much to my relief, the virus that was being discussed during this
scene turned out to be a computer virus. This proved to be a fitting solution in
this age of high-tech, computer-driven society.
the bad
I've always said that
"Independence Day" is about as close to perfection as any previous sci-fi movie
has ever been. But all movies have their flaws. And I'm happy to say that there is very
little to complain about in this one. In fact, all of the following are minor nitpicks
that I am always reluctant to dwell upon. But hey, I had to put something under the
heading of "the bad". The two things that stood out for me as being very corny
were the overly-dramatic, slow-motion escape of the dog in the tunnel as the fireball
swept through it and the overly-zealous salute by the pilot immediately following Bill
Pullman's independence day speech. Another beef that I have is that the aliens themselves
weren't all that menacing-looking without their bio-mechanical suits. In fact, their faces
looked a little cartoonish. But we can all take some solace in the realization that no
alien design has ever, or ever will, come close to the wicked genius of H.R. Giger's
creatures in the "Alien" movies. And what's with the palm trees still
standing in L.A. after the alien attack? After all, that was a pretty big fireball!
memorable
moments
As is befitting of a movie that
is as close to perfection as "Independence Day" is, there are numerous memorable
moments to mention (try saying that ten times really fast!). As was previously
mentioned, the destruction of the White House and the Empire State Building (and I
shouldn't leave out the Capitol Building) left vivid, lasting images in my mind.
This, along with the brief scene showing the alien ship in the background powering down
its main weapon and the fallen Statue Of Liberty in the foreground created a powerful mood
of defeat and hopelessness. Another dark moment that enhanced this mood was the scene in
which the captured alien was controlling Brent Spiner in an attempt to escape from Area
51. Wishing to resolve things with peaceful negotiation, Bill Pullman asked the alien,
"What is it that you want us to do?" Using Spiner's voice to communicate, the
creature's eerie reply was simply, "Die" (well, it was more like,
"Diiiiiiiiiiiiie"). As with any movie that has as much dramatic intensity as
"Independence Day", there were many lighter moments to provide comic relief.
Some of these include Harry Connick Jr. on one knee holding up an engagement ring to Will
Smith as someone walks by and Smith complaining to no end as he is dragging the
unconscious alien across the Nevada desert. Brent Spiner was especially enjoyable to watch
in every one of his scenes, especially when he is showing the dead alien bodies to the
president and he says, "Some of us like to call it the freak show." He then
chuckles and says, "The fr--", but cuts himself off prematurely when he realizes
that he is the only one who is laughing. It was nice to see Spiner distance himself from
his Data role in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Other comedic moments
popped up in situations that portrayed how the public was reacting to the arrival of
the alien ships prior to them attacking. Most memorable were the woman who proclaimed,
"Oh, God, I hope that they bring back Elvis!" and the news reporter telling the
people of Los Angeles not to shoot at the alien ships. And finally, although Bill
Pullman's role as the president didn't provide him much of an opportunity to stretch his
acting skills, his fourth of July speech to the pilots prior to the counter-attack was
both powerful and moving, effectively stirring up feelings of patriotism. Of course, there
were many more memorable moments in this movie, but I've only got so much room...
|
![](id4hoveringship.jpg)
The invaders make a BIG entrance...
![](id4explodingbuildings.jpg)
The fireworks begin...
![](id4burningship.gif)
Payback's a bitch, isn't it?
![](id4airbaseattack.gif)
El Toro is under attack...
![](id4statueofliberty.gif)
The aliens show their more artistic side as they set up props
to begin filming a remake
of "Planet of the Apes"...
![](id4deadaliens.jpg)
Just in case the Earth is destroyed, the Area 51 kitchen
staff marinates a few aliens...
![](id4willsmithjeffgoldblum.jpg)
Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum take time out
on the set to rehearse for their next movie
entitled "Scanners VII"...
![](id4billpullman.gif)
Bill Pullman during one of his many stately Presidential
speeches...
![](id4brentspiner.gif)
In a futile attempt to communicate with the
aliens, Brent Spiner spontaneously initiates a lively round of charades...
![](id4willsmithharryconnickjr.gif)
Preparing to whup E.T.'s ass...
![](id4willsmith.gif)
Will Smith loses a contact lens...
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expanded universe
Currently,
there are two novels written by Stephen Molstad that expand upon the premise introduced in
the Independence Day movie: War In The Desert and Silent Zone. Check out
the Event Movies expanded
universe section for reviews, info and excerpts for these and other novels related to
the Centropolis universe.
![](id4silentzone.gif)
id4 trailers
Trailer #1
id4 sounds
id4alienroar.wav (75k) - screaming alien
id4bbcue.wav
(46k) - "I coulda been at a barbecue!"
id4celebrate.wav (45k) - "Today, we celebrate our Independence Day."
id4freakshow.wav (252k) - "Now this is, this is the vault. Of course, some of us have
gotten to call it
the freak show."
id4radio.wav
(29k) - "It's the real thing, a radio signal
from another world."
id4shoot.wav
(101k) - "Once again, the LAPD is asking
LosAngelinos not to fire their guns at the
visitor's spacecraft. You may inadvertently trigger an interstellar war."
id4checkmate.wav (19k) - "Checkmate!"
id4countdown.wav (38k) - "They're using our own satellites against us. The clock is
ticking."
id4et.wav
(47k) - "No, sir. I'm just a little
anxious to get up there and whup E.T.'s ass, that's all."
id4fatlady1.wav (27k) - "I ain't heard no fat lady!"
id4fatlady.wav (104k) - "I ain't heard no fat lady!" "Forget the fat lady.
You're obsessed with the fat
lady. Drive us out of here!"
id4greenshit.wav (82k) - "Oh no, you did not shoot that green shit at me!"
id4kicktire.wav (27k) - "Let's kick the tires and light the fires, big daddy."
id4nothin.wav
(70k) - "You can't hit nothin'!"
id4othese.wav
(24k) - "I have got to get me one o'
these!"
id4aliensig.wav (31k) - alien radio signal
id4strike.wav
(47k) - "If we don't strike soon, there may not
be much of an America left to defend."
id4reverend.wav (387k) - "Or as the good reverend would say, why we're on this particular
mission,
we'll never know. But I do know, here today, that the Black Knights
will emerge victorious once again." "Amen, man." "Amen,
reverend."
id4wannadd.wav (29k) - "Something you wanna add to this briefing, Captain Hiller?"
id4welcome.wav (9k) - "Welcome to Earth."
id4up-yours.wav (593k) - "All right, you alien assholes! In the words of my generation,
up
yooooooouuuuuuurs!" "Dad! What's he doing?" "Hello,
boys. I'm
baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!"
Worldwide box-office receipts for
"Independence Day" totalled $810.4 million.
commentary
"Independence Day", to date, has been the crowning achievement
for Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. Not only was it their most successful film,
but it was also one of the most successful movies at the box-office of all time. Whereas
"Stargate" made the duo a force to be reckoned with in the world of science
fiction, "Independence Day" practically made them a household name, ranking them
not too far behind the likes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on the popularity scale.
And deservedly so, because "Independence Day" is everything that a big-budget
summer movie classic should be. Everything from the action, special effects, acting, music
and the premise itself were all done on a grand scale with careful attention to detail and
high quality. Devlin and Emmerich, upon completion of production, marvelled at what they
had created and were quoted as saying that they didn't think that they could ever make
anything as big in scope as "Stargate" was. Well, they were wrong.
"Independence Day" is about as grand as a movie can get, with spectacular
special effects that show the destruction of entire cities, large-scale dogfights, and a
classic good-versus-evil/aliens-versus-Earth premise that makes sci-fi enthusiasts
salivate like Pavlov's dog. With so many positives resulting from this movie, it's hard to
imagine that anything negative could emerge for the writer/director duo. But while
"Independence Day" has created a new-found notoriety for Devlin and Emmerich, it
has also created lofty expectations for any future projects that they are involved in. The
negativity of this revelation can be summed up in one word -- Godzilla. But that's another
story (see the commentary for "Godzilla"). So in the meantime, grab a copy of
"Independence Day" (preferably the letterboxed version) and revel in the
near-perfection that this movie achieves. It doesn't get any much better than this.
![id4ring.jpg (49765 bytes)](id4ring.jpg)
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