Most recently, Roland Emmerich brought a war film to the cinemas in 2019 with “Midway – For Freedom”. Now the creators of “Independence Day” are returning to the disaster genre.
Director Roland Emmerich (66) has shot many expensive blockbusters, but “Moonfall” was created under difficult circumstances. In the middle of the corona pandemic, the German Hollywood director completed the sci-fi spectacle.
He raised almost $140 million for the independent film without a major Hollywood studio.
Interview with Roland Emmerich
Question: The moon landing in July 1969 during the “Apollo 11” mission plays a role in your film “Moonfall”. You were 13 years old then. Is the film the fulfillment of a childhood dream?
Answer: No, not really. My father woke us all back then because it was crazy late or early, and we watched it, a great historical moment. But my interest came from the book Who Built the Moon, written by two Englishmen who insist that the moon is an artificial object. I thought, that’s an interesting idea. That was nine or ten years ago and then I thought of a story.
Question: One of the main characters in «Moonfall» is a supporter of conspiracy theories. They’re pretty common at the moment. What attracted you to it?
Answer: I’ve always been drawn to theories that are a bit fringe. In «Independence Day» I mainly made a film about Area 51 [Anmerkung: Area 51 ist eine militärische Sperrzone im US-Staat Nevada, um die sich seit Jahrzehnten Gerüchte über Aliens, abgestürzte Ufos und militärische Geheimprojekte ranken.] I think audiences are more and more interested when it comes to conspiracy theories. (…) The moon is already strange in itself. It is almost spherical and has very specific properties that do not actually indicate a natural origin.
«Moonfall» is the fourth film in a series
Question: Is «Moonfall» a ‘Typical Emmerich’ disaster film in the style of «Independence Day» or «The Day After Tomorrow», or is it something else?
Answer: This is a series. “Independence Day was the first, the second was The Day After Tomorrow, then came 2012 and this is the fourth part. But all the films are totally different and have a totally different look. This time I’m much more interested in what’s happening to the moon than what’s happening to Earth. (…) It’s more science fiction than anything I’ve ever done, apart from my first film that was set entirely in space. [Anmerkung: «Das Arche Noah Prinzip» war 1984 Emmerichs Abschlussfilm an der Münchner Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film.]
Question: Do you think viewers want to see a disaster film during the Corona crisis?
Answer: Time will tell. I started the film before Covid. I think it’s a fun and entertaining film so it’s likely to work, but we don’t know that yet.
PERSONAL: Roland Emmerich (66) is considered the most successful German director in Hollywood – and is sometimes called “Master of Disaster” because of his disaster films. Emmerich comes from Stuttgart and has lived in the USA for many years.
Source: Stern
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
