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Shakespearean Actors Recreate 'Anonymous' Director Roland Emmerich's Films

Posted 10/28/11 12:04 pm EST by in Hot Stuff, Humor, Video


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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'Independence Day' Director Roland Emmerich Is In 'The Zone' For A New Alien-Invasion Flick

Posted 11/1/10 11:21 am EST by in News


Roland EmmerichIt's not "Independence Day 2" -- at least we don't think it is -- but director Roland Emmerich is heading back to the alien-invasion genre for the super-secret, small-budget flick "The Zone."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will cost a mere $5 million to make and employ the "found footage" approach first introduced by 1999's "The Blair Witch Project" and recently popularized by "Cloverfield" and the "Paranormal" activity flicks.

Plot details are scant at this point, and the movie will reportedly star unknown actors. In fact, word on the street is that the two leads -- a world-weary journalist in his 40s or 50s and a black cameraman in his early-to-mid-20s -- have just been cast, with an eye to begin filming in mid-November. Read More...

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'Independence Day' Sequels: Plot Details And Bill Pullman's 'Beautiful' Opinion

Posted 9/30/10 5:45 pm EST by in News, Video


Last fall, Ronald Emmerich kicked us news that not only did he still have plans for an "Independence Day" sequel, but that he had ideas for two sequels, and LOL-worthy titles for each: "ID4-ever: Part I" and "ID4-ever: Part II."

When we checked in with the director in February of this year as he was promoting the DVD for "2012," we asked for some "ID4-ever" plot details. And, much to our surprise, he delivered. Yet we haven't published Emmerich's thoughts until now. Sorry! First off, he describes the story — which would be set in the present day, over a decade after the alien invasion of the original film — as an "alternate reality" film.

"It's an alternate reality kind of movie," he said. "We pick up the story, what would have happened after this kind of attack? Naturally, the alien technology has changed everything." Read More...

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Hugh Hefner Saves Hollywood Sign, But Where Was He For These Five Fictional Catastrophes?

Posted 4/27/10 4:02 pm EST by in Commentary, Humor


Hugh Hefner is Hollywood's greatest hero. When the aging Playboy Enterprises founder sees a good cause, he fights for it. That's exactly what happened when Hefner donated the crucial $900,000 needed in order to save the legendary Hollywood sign from becoming the site for new luxury homes and hotels. What a champ.

Truthfully, Hefner's heroism in this situation makes me wonder about some of the other great Hollywood catastrophes he would have been able to fix if given the chance — the fictional ones, of course! After the jump, here are some Hollywood endings that Hefner could have fixed. Read More...

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EXCLUSIVE: 'Independence Day' Sequel To Be Two Movies, Possibly Called 'ID4-Ever'

Posted 11/12/09 3:00 pm EST by in News


More than thirteen years, Bill Pullman gave a goose-bump-inducing Fourth of July speech about freedom, willpower and how a few ugly aliens needed a good beatdown – and honestly I'm still pumped up.

On the strength of that patriotic presidential speech alone, "Independence Day" deserves a sequel, and talk about one has cropped up here and there since the film's blockbuster release in '96. Could it actually happen? And what would it look like all these years later? Director Roland Emmerich gave MTV News a couple clues. Read More...

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'2012' Director Roland Emmerich Wants A Sequel To 'Independence Day'

Posted 10/12/09 5:30 pm EST by in News


"Independence Day." Classic blockbuster. It wasn't "2012" director Roland Emmerich's big screen debut, but it's an epic-scale disaster flick that pulled no punches when it came to trashing the planet Earth. Nothing was safe when those aliens descended in their gigantic, city-spanning UFOs. Who can forget the iconic scene of the White House being blown to smithereens?

Released on July 3, 1996 and starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, it's a bit of a surprise that the popular sci-fi flick has never seen a sequel. According to Emmerich, it's not for lack of desire. To hear him tell it, in an interview with Latino Review, there's a "very really good great story, a very cool one." Read More...

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July 4th Holiday Movies To Celebrate Your Independence With

Posted 7/4/09 9:00 am EST by in News


RamboAah, the Fourth of July. It’s the perfect weekend for barbecuing, enjoying your family… and watching Rambo rip a man’s Adam’s Apple out with his bare hands?

We have tons of Christmas movies, Halloween movies; hell, there’s even a “Groundhog’s Day” film. But what do we watch when we gather around the TV on Independence Day? To help solve the problem, here are the top 10 films we’d recommend as must-see holiday viewing. Read More...

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View Before Viewing: Oliver Stone's 'W'

Posted 10/17/08 12:27 pm EST by in DVD


Josh Brolin as George W. Bush in 'W'Hail to the chief, he’s the chief and he needs hailing…

Right now it’s hard to escape political coverage of the election at hand. It's consumed "Saturday Night Live" and it’s almost the sole topic of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." And now this weekend we can’t get away from it in the movie theaters either, with the release of Oliver Stone’s "W," the film starring Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush that tells the story of how Dubya became our nation's commander in chief.

Now, after eight years of Bush, some people might not want to watch another two hours about him. To avoid overload, I dug up some other presidential choices for you. Maybe they wouldn’t have made for the best president to lead the free world, but they are damn entertaining to watch. Try and not be engrossed by their ability to hold down the White House. Read More...

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