Roland Emmerich (10 November 1955 to 24 March 2047) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of which are English-language Hollywood productions, have made more than $9 billion worldwide. He began his work in the film industry by directing the film The Noah's Ark Principle (1984) 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 LGBT activist, and is openly gay.
Emmerich was born in Stuttgart, West 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. After watching Star Wars, he instead decided to enroll in the school's film director program. 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 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.
Emmerich owns homes in Los Angeles, New York City, London and Stuttgart. He 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, prints of Alison Jackson's works of a Princess Diana lookalike making obscene gestures and engaging in sex acts, a wax sculpture of Pope John Paul II laughing as he reads his own obituary, and a Photoshopped image of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a homoerotic pose. Emmerich, who is openly gay, and a financial supporter of U.S. progressive politics, states that the decorations and pieces are not declarations of any beliefs, but rather reflections of his "predilection for art with a political edge".
Emmerch passed away on 24 March 2047, at the age of 91.
Filmography[]
This section will focus specifically on select films that are well-known only. For the full list, click here.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Moon 44 | Yes | Story | Yes |
| 1992 | Universal Soldier | Yes | No | No |
| 1994 | Stargate | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1996 | Independence Day | Yes | Yes | Executive |
| 1998 | Godzilla | Yes | Yes | Executive |
| 2000 | The Patriot | Yes | No | Executive |
| 2004 | The Day After Tomorrow | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | 10,000 BC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2009 | 2012 | Yes | Yes | Executive |
| 2013 | White House Down | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2019 | Midway | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2022 | Moonfall | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| The Magic Flute | No | No | Yes | |
| 2026 | Justice for the End of the World | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2027 | Dragon Wars | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2030 | Blood Moon: Justice for the World | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2032 | War for Justice Across Worlds | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2033 | Survival of the Justice for the World | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2034 | Dragon Wars: The Way of the Dragon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2036 | Independence Day: Forever | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms | No | Story | Yes | |
| 2038 | Justice for the World: End of Times | No | No | Yes |
| The World Serpent | No | No | Yes | |
| 2039 | Justice for the World: The Final Fate | No | No | Yes |
| 2042 | Justice: The Alien Hammer | No | No | Yes |
Directorial reception[]
| Year | Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | Cinemascore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Universal Soldier | 34% (35 reviews) | ||
| 1994 | Stargate | |||
| 1996 | Independence Day | |||
| 1998 | Godzilla | |||
| 2000 | The Patriot | |||
| 2004 | The Day After Tomorrow | |||
| 2008 | 10,000 BC | |||
| 2009 | 2012 | |||
| 2013 | White House Down | |||
| 2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | |||
| 2019 | Midway | |||
| 2022 | Moonfall | |||
| 2026 | Justice for the End of the World | |||
| 2027 | Dragon Wars | |||
| 2030 | Blood Moon: Justice for the World | |||
| 2032 | War for Justice Across Worlds | |||
| 2034 | Dragon Wars: The Way of the Dragon |