Roland Emmerich Biography
Roland Emmerich (born November 10, 1955) 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 Film Productions in 1985 with his sister. He is a collector of art and an active campaigner for the lesbian and gay community, with Emmerich himself being openly gay. He is also a campaigner for an awareness of global warming and equal rights.
Early life and career
Emmerich was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and grew up in the nearby town of Sindelfingen. As a youth, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America on vacations financed by his father, Hans, the wealthy founder of a garden machinery production company. In 1977, he began attending University of Television and Film Munich with the intention of studying to become a production designer. Required to create a short film as his final thesis in 1981, he wrote and directed the full-length feature
The Noah's Ark Principle, which was eventually screened as the opening film of the 34th Berlin International Film Festival in 1984.
In 1985, he founded Centropolis Film Productions (now Centropolis Entertainment) in partnership with his sister, producer Ute Emmerich, and directed his major film debut, a fantasy feature named
Joey. He subsequently directed the 1987 comedy
Hollywood-Monster and the 1990 science-fiction film
Moon 44. Theatrically, these were only released in and nearby his native country, although Emmerich filmed them in English and went against conventional German styles in an attempt to appeal to a larger market. This subsequently resulted in
Moon 44 being released direct-to-video in the U.S. in early 1991.
Joey and
Hollywood-Monster eventually also saw home video releases in the U.S. (as
Making Contact and
Ghost Chase, respectively) once Emmerich achieved more prominence in America.
Hollywood director
1990s
Producer Mario Kassar invited Emmerich to come to the United States to direct a futuristic action film entitled
Isobar. Dean Devlin, who appeared in
Moon 44, soon joined Emmerich as his writing and producing partner, and served in this capacity until 2000. Emmerich subsequently refused the offer to direct after producers rejected Devlin's re-write of the script, and the
Isobar project was eventually scrapped. Instead, Emmerich was hired to replace director Andrew Davis for the action movie
Universal Soldier. The film was released in 1992, and has since been followed by two direct-to-video sequels, a theatrical sequel, and another sequel released in 2010.
Emmerich next helmed the 1994 science-fiction film
Stargate. At the time, it set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film released in the month of October. It became more commercially successful than most film industry insiders had anticipated, and spawned a highly popular media franchise.
Emmerich then directed
Independence Day, an alien invasion feature, released in 1996, that became the first film to gross $100 million in less than a week and went on to become one of the most financially successful films of all time, at one point having been the second-highest grossing film in terms of worldwide box office. Emmerich and Devlin then created the television series
The Visitor, which aired on the Fox Network during 1997–1998 before being cancelled after one season.
His next film,
Godzilla, opened in 1998. An extensive advertising and marketing campaign generated significant hype during the months leading up to the film's release. The film was a box office success but was met with mostly negative reviews from critics and negative reactions from fans.
2000s
Taking a short break from science-fiction, Emmerich next directed the American Revolutionary War epic
The Patriot. Only the second film (
Universal Soldier being the other) Emmerich has directed in which he did not contribute to the screenplay, the film received generally favorable critical and commercial response, and is Emmerich's best-reviewed film to date. After teaming up with new screenwriting partner Harald Kloser, Emmerich returned once again to directing a visual effects-laden adventure with 2004's blockbuster
The Day After Tomorrow, another disaster film about a rapidly oncoming Ice Age brought upon by the effects of global warming. Soon afterward, he founded Reelmachine, another film production company based in Germany.
In 2008, Emmerich directed
10,000 BC, a film about the journeys of a prehistoric tribe of mammoth hunters. It was a box office hit, but consistently regarded by professional critics as one of the worst movies of the year. He was slated to direct a remake of the 1966 science-fiction film
Fantastic Voyage, but the project slipped back into development hell. His most recent film is
2012, an apocalyptic disaster film inspired by the theory that the ancient Mayans prophesied the world's ending on December 21, 2012. Emmerich usually finishes production of a large-scale movie both in a time frame shorter and on a budget lower than what is typically requested by other directors.
His next film,
Anonymous, scheduled to be released in 2011, is based on the premise that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford is the real author of the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare. According to Emmerich, "It’s an historical thriller because it’s about who will succeed Queen Elizabeth and the struggle of the people who want to have a hand in it. It’s the Tudors on one side and the Cecils on the other, and in between [the two] is the Queen. Through that story we tell how the plays written by the Earl of Oxford ended up labelled 'William Shakespeare.'"
Criticism
Reviewers often criticize that Emmerich's films rely too heavily on visual effects, and suffer from cliché dialogue, flimsy and formulaic narrative, scientific and historical inaccuracies, illogical plot development, and lack of character depth. Emmerich contends that he is not discouraged by such negative criticism, and that he aims to provide enjoyable "popcorn" entertainment to movie-going audiences.
In response to accusations of insensitivity for including scenes of New York City being destroyed in
The Day After Tomorrow, less than three years after the September 11th attacks, Emmerich claims that it was necessary to depict the event as a means to showcase the increased unity people now have when facing a disaster, because of 9/11.
Acknowledging what he was told were flaws with
Godzilla, Emmerich admitted he regretted having agreed to direct it. He stated that his lack of interest in the previous Godzilla movies, the short time he promised it would take for him to complete the film, and the studio's refusal to screen it for test audiences were all factors that may have negatively affected the quality of the final product, However, Emmerich still defends
Godzilla, noting that the film was highly profitable and claiming that, of all his movies, people tell him
Godzilla is the one they and their kids watch the most repeatedly.
Personal life and advocacy
Emmerich owns homes in Los Angeles, Manhattan, London and Stuttgart. Emmerich likes to decorate his homes in a self-described "outlandish" manner, adorning them with rare Hollywood memorabilia, murals and portraits of dictators and Communist figures, and World War II-Militaria.
Emmerich's extensive collection of artwork includes a painting of Jesus Christ wearing a Katharine Hamnett-styled t-shirt during his crucifixion, states that the decorations and pieces aren't declarations of any beliefs,
Emmerich has claimed that he witnessed overt racism when producers and studio executives were opposed to allowing him to cast Will Smith for the lead in
. He has also claimed that he has encountered homophobia from the same groups, and is vocal in his opposition of such behavior. He has stated that sometimes he does "[not like working in] the movie business", describing it as a sometimes "very cold, brutal business", but his motivation to keep directing is that he genuinely "like[s] making movies".
In 2006, he pledged $150,000 to the Legacy Project, a campaign dedicated to gay and lesbian film preservation. Emmerich made the donation on behalf of Outfest, making it the largest gift in the festival's history. In 2007, on behalf of the LGBT community, he held a fundraiser at his Los Angeles home for Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Emmerich is in favor of the campaign for stunt performers to receive recognition at the Academy Awards, and has worked to raise awareness over the issue of global warming. A chain-smoker who has been known to smoke as many as four packs of cigarettes a day, Emmerich has often included in his films characters who are trying to quit smoking, and/or warn against the dangers of tobacco use. Along with several other celebrities, he is a producer of
, a non-profit project intended to raise money for women's rights in the developing world.
