M+E Daily
‘Independence Day’ Director Makes a Tough Cut
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WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Famed sci-fi director Roland Emmerich (“Stargate,” “Universal Soldier”) may have made his toughest cutting-room-floor decision ever with his latest film.
For his most-beloved work, the 1996 sci-fi hit “Independence Day,” the visual effects were about as practical as you could get: $3 toy car models being blown off a tiny bridge; a truck backing up against a scale-model version of the Statue of Liberty, to simulate the shadow of a giant alien ship approaching New York; and that explosion of a miniature White House is the definition of iconic. But those simple effects helped bring home an Oscar, and that last example may have been why.
Twenty years later, for the long-awaited follow-up “Independence Day: Resurgence,” as the editing process was wrapping up, one last scene was left out of the film.
“’Will the white house be destroyed?’” Emmerich joked Oct. 13 during press event for the home entertainment release of “Independence Day: Resurgence,” That was the question those involved with the film got more than any other, and the answer is yes. You just have to get the Blu-ray to see it. “It’s a nearly finished shot, and it was the last thing we cut out,” Emmerich said. “It was a little too … funny, in a way.”
For the second “Independence Day” film, practical effects were unnecessary: a full 70% of the film was done with blue screen, which allowed Emmerich and visual effects supervisor Volker Engel to do pretty much whatever they wanted. But Emmerich misses the days of simplicity in a way.
“I sometimes miss it, that you had to use ingenuity to create something,” he said. “On the other hand it was very limiting. Today you can do pretty much anything.”
Engel said that the advances in special effects didn’t mean the crew was dismissive of the legacy of the original film. Everything from Area 51 to the alien designs was kept true to the 1996 film. “Why change it too much?” he asked.
On Oct. 18, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment releases “Independence Day: Resurgence” on every format you can think of: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, and the bonus features are extensive: deleted scenes, a gag reel, audio commentary, a making-of documentary, the featurette “The War of 1996,” and a morning show parody “It’s Early, ABQ.”
“It’s always dangerous to watch these making-of pieces,” Engel laughed. “It makes it look so simple.”
