MTV Movies Blog › 2012

Anyone familiar with director Roland Emmerich's body of work should be able to pick up on a few common threads, namely explosions, disasters, big speeches and general epicness. After directing such large-scale thrillers like "The Day After Tomorrow," "Godzilla" and "2012," Emmerich's decision to direct a film about Shakespeare as he does in "Anonymous" is a surprising choice.

Yes, Bill Pullman's "Our Independence Day" soliloquy before the dog fight against the invading aliens could be described as Shakespearan, but we're still missing the connection between the Bard and the man who froze all of New York City and populated it with ravenous wolves. There must be something we're missing, right?

To make the connection between Roland Emmerich films and William Shakespeare a little clearer, we here at MTV News have combined the two to help the transition to "Anonymous" easier to swallow. With some help from the Prithee Players, we have recreated some of the most memorable moments from Emmerich's film and given them a Shakespearean makeover. Watch scenes from "Universal Soldier," "Stargate," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "ID4" with some thee's and thou's added for extra class and refinement. Maybe now we can see that the Shakespearean influence has been there all along!

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Tags 2012, Anonymous, independence day, roland emmerich, stargate, The Day After Tomorrow, universal soldier, William Shakespeare

Is it crazy to say "2012" — a film about the fire- and tsunami-strewn obliteration of planet Earth as we know it — was one of the most fun theatrical experiences of the year? The audience at the screening I caught in mid-February was hooting and hollering at each successive catastrophe, gleefully ignoring the cataclysmic loss of life because the whole thing was just so darn fun. Was it kinda silly? Sure. But chuck away any sense of realism and it was an amazing big screen spectacle that had to make you smile.

The rest of the world certainly agreed. Director Roland Emmerich's disaster-film-to-end-all-disaster-films grossed almost $770 million worldwide. With the "2012" DVD arriving in stores on Tuesday (March 2), Emmerich gave MTV News a call to chat about the challenges of CGI filmmaking, an alternate ending he almost inserted in the final cut and the kooky conspiracy theorists he met while promoting the film. Read more...

Tags 2012, roland emmerich

Late last year, after "2012" hit theaters, director Roland Emmerich had much to say about a spin-off TV series. The idea was to set it after the planet-demolishing events of the film, picking up as the human race worked to rebuild what was lost. The director even went as far as comparing the idea favorably with "Lost."

In a recent interview with MTV's Eric Ditzian, the filmmaker gave us the latest update on the status of his planned TV series. Things are not looking good, friends. As Emmerich himself said, "It's not gonna happen." Read more...

Tags 2012, roland emmerich

In the future, all movies will be apparently be retrofitted and re-released in 3-D. For now, though, we're only hearing rumors of all kinds of old favorites being considered for a format upgrade. "Star Wars" trilogy, "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Titanic," and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" have all been talked about for theatrical 3-D reissues. We have no definite confirmation on anything yet. Only speculation and heresy in the wake of "Avatar" changing the game for Hollywood.

Sony has at least now made a statement that they will definitely be converting many films from their library to 3-D for home entertainment releases, if not theatrical engagements. Bloomberg reports that the company, which helped develop and promote the Blu-ray format and which is now invested in 3-D Blu-ray players, 3-D Playstation games, 3-D television sets and a 3-D cable network, will begin releasing 3-D versions of old films as early as this April. Read more...

Tags 2012, avatar, james cameron, Michael Jackson's This Is It

1. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($42.5 million)
2. "The Blind Side" ($40.1 million)
3. "2012" ($18 million)
4. "Old Dogs" ($16.8 million)
5. "A Christmas Carol" ($16 million)

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend proved a favorable occasion for vampire enthusiasts and family drama lovers alike as "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" and "The Blind Side" emerged in the top two seats at the box office by Sunday's conclusion. Read more...

Tags 2012, a christmas carol, New Moon, Ninja Assassin, Old Dogs, The Blind Side, The Road

1. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($17.9 million)
2. "The Blind Side" ($16.2 million)
3. "2012" ($7.1 million)
4. "Old Dogs" ($6.9 million)
5. "Ninja Assassin" ($5.7 million)

It was always my understanding that ninja were so fearsome that no foe or monster — vampires included — could withstand their stealthy skills, but my preconceived notions have been dashed by the box office debut of "Ninja Assassin," the WB's latest action epic produced by the Wachowski siblings. Read more...

Tags 2012, New Moon, Ninja Assassin, Old Dogs, The Blind Side

1. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($140.7 million)
2. "The Blind Side" ($34.5 million)
3. "2012" ($26.5 million)
4. "Planet 51" ($12.6 million)
5. "A Christmas Carol" ($12.2 million)

The only thing a vampire craves more than blood is box office gold, as proven by the decisive success of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" in theaters this weekend. The second installment of the "Twilight" series exceeded expectations by opening to record-smashing numbers, easily paving the way for a first place finish of $140.7 million domestically, $118.1 million from international markets and a worldwide total of $258.8 million. Read more...

Tags 2012, a christmas carol, New Moon, Planet 51, The Blind Side

1. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($72.7 million)
2. "The Blind Side" ($10.9 million)
3. "2012" ($8.1 million)
4. "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" ($3.6 million)
5. "Planet 51" ($3.2 million)

You don't have to be a mind-reading vampire with diamond-encrusted flesh to know who this weekend's box office champion will be. With "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" in over 4,000 theaters nationwide, there was virtually no chance that the continued romance of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan would fall anywhere short of first place — but perhaps no one could have predicted just how far ahead of the competition "New Moon" would end up. Read more...

Tags 2012, New Moon, Planet 51, Precious, The Blind Side

FROM MTV.COM: Let's say you weren't one of the millions of people who showed up to see the end-of-times demolition-fest "2012" over the weekend, contributing to its $225 million global box-office haul. First of all, what's wrong with you? That flick is kind of amazing! Second, you should stop reading now because everything that follows explodes with SPOILERS.

"2012" ends with John Cusack, his family and a couple hundred thousand other survivors on a series of high-tech floating arks they've boarded to avoid the earthquakes and tsunamis that consume the planet. As the weather settles down and the clouds begin to clear, the arks set sail for the only remaining land mass still above water, the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. What will happen when they arrive?

Continue reading '2012' TV Show Would Be 'A Little Bit Like 'Lost,' ' Director Says

Tags 2012, roland emmerich, Video

1. "2012" ($65 million)
2. "A Christmas Carol" ($22.3 million)
3. "The Men Who Stare At Goats" ($6.2 million)
4. "Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire" ($6.1 million)
5. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" ($5.1 million)

The world may have ended in "2012," but Roland Emmerich's disaster epic is just getting started at the box office. The John Cusack-starring film finished its opening weekend in theaters in first place with a walloping $65 million domestic intake. But moviegoers beyond American borders came out in full force for the end-of-days flick, giving "2012" a massive $225 million total worldwide. Read more...

Tags 2012, a christmas carol, Michael Jackson's This Is It, Precious, The Men Who Stare At Goats