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Roland Emmerich

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112-421: Roland Emmerich ( German: [ˈʁoːlant ˈɛməʁɪç] ; born 10 November 1955) 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 $ 3 billion worldwide, including just over $ 1 billion in

224-612: A MMORPG , a TV series, animated shorts and spinoff games. 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 is gay and is a LGBT rights activist. He is married to Omar De Soto. He has stated that he witnessed overt racism when producers and studio executives were opposed to allowing him to cast Will Smith for

336-447: 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, 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

448-429: A pandemic . A subgenre of action films , these films usually feature some degree of build-up, the disaster itself, and sometimes the aftermath, usually from the point of view of specific individual characters or their families or portraying the survival tactics of different people. These films often feature large casts of actors and multiple plot lines, focusing on the characters' attempts to avert, escape or cope with

560-602: A Constellation Award in the category of Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008. The average viewership to Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis was around ten million a week worldwide. According to Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright , the show is popular in Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia, but with a steadily declining viewership in homeland Canada. About thirty million Stargate DVDs were sold worldwide by 2006. The DVD release of Stargate: The Ark of Truth in

672-406: A Special Achievement Award for visual effects. The film was directed by Mark Robson and starred Charlton Heston , Ava Gardner , Geneviève Bujold , George Kennedy and Lorne Greene . It was noted as the first film to utilize Sensurround , where massive subwoofer speakers were installed in theaters to recreate the vibrating sensation of an earthquake. Several made-for-TV movies also capitalized on

784-428: A U.S. citizen while keeping his German citizenship. He stated he did so because he "wanted to have a vote in the next US elections" and that he waited because he "didn’t want to become an American under Bush ." He is a collector of art. 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

896-627: A catastrophe at a coal mine in North-East England . Inspired by the end of World War II and the beginning of the Atomic Age , science fiction films of the 1950s, including When Worlds Collide (1951), The War of the Worlds (1953) and Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), routinely used world disasters as plot elements. This trend would continue with The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Day

1008-519: A different movie than the made-for-TV production of same title listed above), starring Jason Robards ; and City on Fire (1979), starring Barry Newman . The Airport series continued with Airport '77 (1977) and The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), with George Kennedy portraying the character Joe Patroni in each sequel, and The Poseidon Adventure was followed by Beyond the Poseidon Adventure in 1979. The genre began to burn out by

1120-488: A disaster movie centered around an asteroid fall, which wound up cancelled after Armageddon went for a similar idea. Taking a short break from science-fiction, Emmerich next directed the American Revolutionary War epic The Patriot (2000). One of only five films ( Universal Soldier , Anonymous , White House Down , and Midway being the others) Emmerich has directed in which he did not contribute to

1232-519: 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

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1344-603: A film on the Stonewall riots , Emmerich got interested in the idea. Stonewall was released in 2015. He followed it with a sequel to his most successful film in Independence Day: Resurgence , released twenty years after the original Independence Day on 24 June 2016. In November 2019, Emmerich directed the film Midway based on the battle of Midway during the Pacific Theater of World War II . In 2020, it

1456-443: A film released in the month of October. It became more commercially successful than most film industry insiders had anticipated, and spawned a highly popular media franchise . Emmerich then directed Independence Day , an alien invasion feature, released in 1996, that became the first film to gross $ 100 million in less than a week and went on to become one of the most financially successful films of all time, at one point having been

1568-457: A fourth Stargate series." This continued in September 2020, when it was reported that whilst not currently involved in writing, Mallozzi had spoken to Wright about the development, confirming it to be a fourth television series which would continue on from where SG-1 , Atlantis and Universe left off and include characters from those shows. On November 21, 2020, Brad Wright confirmed that he

1680-408: A gay couple, but when the film was released, Johnny Gayzmonic of Unicorn Booty criticized the film because the couple in question was two trivial characters lacking in believable chemistry who were utilized solely for comic relief, one of whom was needlessly killed off in a way that was not vital to the plot (the other having been depicted as strictly heterosexual in tie-in material to the first film),

1792-463: A giant wave triggered by an earthquake. The Poseidon Adventure was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Shelley Winters , and winning for Original Song and receiving a Special Achievement Award for visual effects . The trend reached its zenith in 1974 with the release of The Towering Inferno , Earthquake , and Airport 1975 (the first Airport sequel). The competing films enjoyed staggering success at

1904-466: A global doomsday scenario in the cases of The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 , respectively. Acknowledging what he characterized as flaws with Godzilla , Emmerich admitted he regretted having agreed to direct it. He stated that his lack of interest in the previous Godzilla movies , the short time he promised it would take for him to complete the film, and the studio's refusal to screen it for test audiences were all factors that may have negatively affected

2016-608: A high-ranking Nazi officer, Philip Alexander as Captain James Beal, British officer stationed in Egypt, and Shvan Aladdin as Wasif, a native Egyptian and a lieutenant in the British army. Stargate Infinity is an American animated science fiction television series created by Eric Lewald and Michael Maliani as a spin-off from its sister show , Stargate SG-1 . The story arc in Infinity

2128-438: A large-scale movie both in a time frame shorter and on a budget lower than what is typically requested by other directors. Emmerich's next film, Anonymous , released on 28 October 2011, is based on the premise that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford is the real author of the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare . According to Emmerich, "It's an historical thriller because it's about who will succeed Queen Elizabeth and

2240-527: A little bit from our original idea since so many years have passed.   ...We wanted to explore the idea of how the Stargates were built originally, and where else in the universe they exist, and why they exist – and where else they exist on Earth. We had really planned out, as a trilogy of films, to allow this mythology to grow bigger and bigger. However, Devlin told Empire in November 2016 that

2352-473: A mid-air collision; and The Doomsday Flight (1966), written by Rod Serling and starring Edmond O'Brien as a disgruntled aerospace engineer who plants a barometric pressure bomb on an airliner built by his former employer set to explode when the airliner descends for landing. The golden age of the disaster film began in 1970 with the release of Airport . A huge financial success, earning more than $ 100 million ($ 713 million in 2022-adjusted dollars) at

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2464-519: A political edge". Emmerich is in favor of the campaign for stunt performers to receive recognition at the Academy Awards , and has worked to raise awareness over the issue of global warming . He once was a chain-smoker who was known to smoke as many as four packs of cigarettes a day, Emmerich has often included in his films characters who are trying to quit smoking or warn against the dangers of tobacco use . Along with several other celebrities, he

2576-488: A position in the regular cast in Season 10. MGM put an average of $ 1,400,000 into each episode of the show, and regarded it as one of its most important franchises. SG-1 was taken off air in 2007; however, two direct-to-DVD movies entitled The Ark of Truth and Stargate Continuum were made to tie up loose ends. Stargate: The Ark of Truth is a direct-to-DVD movie written and directed by Robert C. Cooper . The film

2688-433: A purchase of MGM , its library, and assets, including Stargate . Around that time, writer and producer on Stargate SG-1 , Atlantis , and Universe Joseph Mallozzi teased Wright's pilot script for the new project on social media. However, in November 2022, Wright announced that his revival project was likely dead following Amazon's purchase. In December 2022, Amazon Studios and MGM were reported to be taking pitches on

2800-512: A remake of the 1966 science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage , but he eventually left project, due to clashing with its producer James Cameron . In 2009, Emmerich directed 2012 , an apocalyptic disaster film based on the conspiracy theory that the ancient Mayans prophesied the world's ending on 21 December 2012. Despite mixed reviews, the film went on to be his second-highest-grossing film to date (after Independence Day ) and received praise from audiences. Emmerich usually finishes production of

2912-556: A sci-fi epic about a man composed of nanomachines . Originally planned for a 2013 release, the project has since gone into development hell . Emmerich directed the action-thriller film White House Down , which involved a terrorist attack on the White House by a paramilitary group. The spec script was written by James Vanderbilt and was purchased by Sony Pictures for $ 3 million in March 2012. The Hollywood Reporter called it "one of

3024-503: A television series titled Stargate SG-1 as a sequel to the film. This show was joined by Stargate Atlantis in 2004, Stargate Universe in 2009, and a prequel web series, Stargate Origins , in 2018. Also consistent with the same story are a variety of books , video games and comic books , as well as the direct-to-DVD movies Stargate: Children of the Gods , Stargate: The Ark of Truth , and Stargate: Continuum , which concluded

3136-463: A third Stargate SG-1 direct-to- DVD special and released on July 21, 2009, by MGM Home Entertainment in 16:9 widescreen format. A few months before its release, executive producer Brad Wright announced it would be enhanced with brand new visual effects and scenes not previously included in the television version. The beginning was to be slightly altered, a new scene added, and the nudity scene taken out to make this episode suitable for children, with

3248-479: A version of the epic story of the Titanic . The film combined romance with intricate special effects and was a massive success, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time for twelve years with over $ 2.2 billion worldwide, and won 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director . Stargate Stargate (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on

3360-428: A villain to blame. The films usually feature a persevering hero or heroine ( Charlton Heston , Steve McQueen , etc.) called upon to lead the struggle against the threat; in many cases, the "evil" or "selfish" individuals are the first to succumb to the disaster. The genre experienced a renewal in the 1990s boosted by computer-generated imagery and larger studio budgets which allowed for greater spectacle, culminating in

3472-448: Is a direct-to-DVD movie written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood . Some scenes for this movie were already shot at the end of March 2007, but the original start date was set for May 22 at Vancouver's Bridge Studios. The production budget was $ 7   million. The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 29, 2008. The Region   4 DVD was released on August 6, 2008, with

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3584-674: Is a producer of The 1 Second Film , a non-profit project intended to raise money for women's rights in the developing world . In addition to film, Emmerich also co-created and produced the short-lived television series The Visitor , and, in 2001, directed a one-minute commercial entitled "Infinite Possibilities" for DaimlerChrysler . Executive producer Producer Reviewers often criticize Emmerich's films for relying heavily on visual effects and suffering from clichéd dialogue, flimsy and formulaic narratives, numerous scientific and historical inaccuracies, illogical plot developments, and lack of character depth. Emmerich contends that he

3696-507: Is not discouraged by such criticism and that he aims to provide enjoyable "popcorn" entertainment to movie-going audiences. Stating that he is "a filmmaker, not a scientist", he creates his own fiction based on actual science or history to make the messages he sends "more exciting". In response to accusations of insensitivity for including scenes of New York City being destroyed in The Day After Tomorrow , less than three years after

3808-510: Is set 30 years into the future and follows Gus Bonner and his team. Bonner's team was created after he was framed for a crime he did not commit. He escaped from Stargate Command (SGC) after the hostile alien race Tlak'kahn attacked the SGC to find the chrysalis. Together with his team he escapes through the Stargate with the chrysalis. From that point forward they go from planet to planet until they find

3920-542: Is that he genuinely "like[s] making movies". In 2006, he pledged $ 150,000 to the Legacy Project, a campaign dedicated to gay and lesbian film preservation. Emmerich made the donation on behalf of Outfest , making it the largest gift in the festival's history. In 2007, on behalf of the LGBT community, he held a fundraiser at his Los Angeles home for Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton . In 2011, he became

4032-547: Is the conclusion of Stargate SG-1 's Ori arc, and picks up after the SG-1 series finale, but takes place before the fourth season of Stargate Atlantis . The Ark of Truth was released as a Region   1 DVD release on March 11, 2008. Sky One has broadcast the film on March 24, 2008, to be followed by the Region   2 DVD release on April 28, 2008, with the Region   4 DVD release on April 9, 2008. Stargate: Continuum

4144-508: The Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis television shows. A series of books written by Bill McCay , published from 1995 to 1999, were unofficial sequels to the film. From 1999 to 2001, ROC published four novels based in Stargate SG-1 written by Ashley McConnell . In 2004, UK-based Fandemonium Press started a new series of licensed tie-in novels based on Stargate SG-1 . Due to

4256-500: The LGBT community . His film Stonewall was criticized for being whitewashed and diminishing the contributions of transgender women of color to starting the Stonewall riots , and for being sex-negative . In response to these claims, Emmerich has said the Stonewall riots were "a white event". The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Similarly, Emmerich touted his 2016 film Independence Day: Resurgence as having

4368-515: The Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption in 79 AD. John Ford 's The Hurricane (1937) concluded with the striking sequence of a tropical cyclone ripping through a fictional South Pacific island. The drama San Francisco (1936) depicted the historic 1906 San Francisco earthquake , while In Old Chicago (1937) recreated The Great Chicago Fire which burned through the city in 1871. Carol Reed 's 1939 film, The Stars Look Down , examines

4480-521: The SG-1 characters of Daniel Jackson , Cameron Mitchell , Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill , with the hope that Michael Shanks , Ben Browder and Amanda Tapping all return in some capacity to their respective roles. Wright also expressed that if the series does go ahead, he would want Tapping to direct, with it being clarified by Tapping that the series was not in active production, but still being worked on by Wright. In March 2022, Amazon completed

4592-571: The Sci Fi Channel announced that it would not be renewing Stargate SG-1 for an eleventh season after a series of poor performances in the Nielsen ratings . Many fans were enraged at the news, even creating websites in reaction to exhibit their commitment to the series. Spokesmen for the production have said all options for the continuation of SG-1 are being considered, including complete digital broadcasting. Executive producer Robert C. Cooper told

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4704-456: The Sci-Fi Channel after its fifth season. It starred Richard Dean Anderson (as O'Neill ) and Michael Shanks (as Jackson ), alongside Amanda Tapping , Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis respectively playing the new characters Samantha Carter , Teal'c and George Hammond . The cast remained fairly regular for most of SG-1' s run, but experienced some changes. Michael Shanks left

4816-477: The September 11 attacks , Emmerich said that it was necessary to depict the event as a means to showcase the increased unity people now have when facing a disaster, because of the attacks. When accused of resorting too often to scenes of cities being subjected to epic disasters, Emmerich says that it is a justified way of increasing awareness about both global warming , and the lack of a government preparation plan for

4928-535: The epic film Titanic in 1943. The film was soon banned in Germany and its director, Selpin, was allegedly executed. The film was a staple for all Titanic films, and scenes became stock footage for the British version. Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck starred in the 1953 20th Century Fox production Titanic , followed by the highly regarded British film A Night to Remember in 1958. The British action-adventure film The Last Voyage (1960), while not about

5040-498: The film directed by Roland Emmerich , which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin . The franchise is based on the idea of an alien wormhole (specifically an Einstein–Rosen bridge ) device (the Stargate ) that enables nearly instantaneous travel across the cosmos. The franchise began with the film Stargate , released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco , which grossed US$ 197   million worldwide. In 1997, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created

5152-515: The 12 years of mythology created by SG-1 and Atlantis if they are ever produced. On July 4, 2011, Dean Devlin spoke out again saying he had not given up on the idea of sequels to his 1994 feature film. He talked about the idea again in a new interview with Collider. Devlin actually wrote it as a trilogy of movies, but was never able to do parts two and three. His hope was, as the series started to wind down, that perhaps it would be time to actually get to do parts two and three: I think it'll change

5264-569: The Earth Caught Fire (1961) and Crack in the World (1965). Volcanic disasters would also feature in films such as The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961) starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra , and the 1969 epic Krakatoa, East of Java starring Maximilian Schell . As in the silent film era, the sinking of the Titanic would continue to be a popular disaster with filmmakers and audiences alike. Werner Klingler and Herbert Selpin released

5376-537: The Mighty (1954), starring John Wayne and Robert Stack as pilots of a crippled airplane attempting to cross the ocean; Zero Hour! (1957), written by Arthur Hailey (who also penned the 1968 novel Airport ) about an airplane crew that succumbs to food poisoning; Jet Storm and Jet Over the Atlantic , two 1959 films both featuring attempts to blow up an airplane in mid-flight; The Crowded Sky (1960) which depicts

5488-452: The Region   2 DVD released on August 18, 2008; followed by possible TV broadcasts. The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel to Stargate SG-1 , after Stargate: The Ark of Truth . Stargate: Children of the Gods is a direct-to-DVD movie written by Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright and directed by Mario Azzopardi . The Stargate SG-1 pilot episode was re-cut as

5600-464: The Titanic disaster but a predecessor to The Poseidon Adventure , starred Robert Stack as a man desperately attempting to save his wife ( Dorothy Malone ) and child trapped in a sinking ocean liner . The film, concluding with the dramatic sinking of the ship, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects . Additional precursors to the popular disaster films of the 1970s include The High and

5712-670: 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. Producer Mario Kassar invited Emmerich to come to the United States to direct a futuristic action film entitled Isobar . Dean Devlin , who appeared in Moon ;44 , soon joined Emmerich as his writing and producing partner, and served in this capacity until 2000. Emmerich subsequently refused

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5824-554: The US earned MGM/Fox $ 1.59   million in rentals in the first week after the release, and another $ 1.38   million in rentals in the second week. In its third week it earned US$ 1.19   million in rentals totaling $ 4.16   million. The DVD has also earned $ 9   million in sales. Stargate: Continuum would go on to gross over $ 8   million United States dollars in the United States. The film sparked mostly positive reviews with movie critics. A third Stargate SG-1 movie

5936-664: The United States, making him the 17th-highest-grossing Hollywood director of all time. 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 has also directed the films Universal Soldier (1992), Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996) and its sequel Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), Godzilla (1998), The Patriot (2000), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 10,000 BC (2008), 2012 (2009), White House Down (2013), Midway (2019), and Moonfall (2022). Emmerich

6048-630: The adventures of the "Atlantis expedition", an international combination of military forces and civilian scientists who travel to the Pegasus Galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis , built by the ancient race of beings who had built the Stargates. Throughout the five-year run the show mostly focused on the expedition fighting an alien species known as the Wraith, who are required to periodically feed on humans to survive and for thousands of years terrorised

6160-567: The alien calling itself Ra had belonged to, and their leaders known as the System Lords while liberating both the human populations they had enslaved throughout the galaxy as well as their enslaved armies of mutated humans known as the Jaffa . For the final two seasons the show moved to a new threat, the Ori, which were inspired by Arthurian legend. The series debuted on Showtime on July 27, 1997, and moved to

6272-664: The biggest spec sales in quite a while". The journal said the script was similar "tonally and thematically" to the films Die Hard , Air Force One and Olympus Has Fallen (2013). Emmerich began filming in July 2012 at the La Cité Du Cinéma in Montreal , Quebec, Canada. The film was released on 28 June 2013 in the United States. Whenever asked about making a personal project, Emmerich thought it would be "a gay film", and after friends during production of Anonymous asked if he could make

6384-520: The box office, the film was directed by George Seaton and starred Burt Lancaster , Dean Martin , George Kennedy , Jacqueline Bisset and Helen Hayes . While not exclusively focused on a disaster—in this case, an airplane crippled by the explosion of a bomb—the film established the blueprint of multiple plotlines acted out by an all-star cast. Airport was nominated for 10 Academy Awards , including Best Picture , winning Best Supporting Actress for Hayes. The 1972 release of The Poseidon Adventure

6496-423: The box office, with The Towering Inferno earning $ 116 million ($ 697 million in 2022-adjusted dollars), Earthquake earning $ 79 million ($ 475 million in 2022-adjusted dollars), and Airport 1975 earning $ 47 million ($ 282 million in 2022-adjusted dollars) in theatrical rentals. Arguably the greatest of the 1970s disaster films, The Towering Inferno was a joint venture of 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. and

6608-401: The cancellation of Stargate Atlantis . Syfy announced on December 16, 2010, that they would not pick the show up for a third season. The final episode aired May 9, 2011. The shows focuses on an expedition being stranded several billion light years from Earth on board an Ancient ship called Destiny, which has been traveling through the universe uncrewed for millions of years. The show follows

6720-520: The character of Catherine Langford and is a prequel both to the television continuity and to the original feature film. The shooting began in August 2017 and series premiered online at the Stargate Command website on February 15, 2018. The cast includes Ellie Gall as the young Catherine Langford , Connor Trinneer as Catherine's father, Professor Paul Langford, Aylam Orian as Dr. Wilhelm Brücke,

6832-591: The characters only being revealed to have been a gay couple during the aforementioned death scene (with references to their relationship being cut from the Chinese version of the film), a fate that Gayzmonic observed befell many gay couples in film. Disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device . Such disasters may include natural disasters , accidents , military / terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as

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6944-461: The cinematic phenomenon that was James Cameron 's Titanic in 1997. Disaster themes are almost as old as the film medium itself. One of the earliest was Fire! (1901) made by James Williamson of England. The silent film portrayed a burning house and the firemen who arrive to quench the flames and rescue the inhabitants. Origins of the genre can also be found in In Nacht und Eis (1912), about

7056-457: The cliffhanger that ended the show. The predominant story arc thus ran for more than 15 years, including 18 seasons (364 episodes) of programming, and 22 comic book issues as of January 2020. However, a variety of other media either ignore this main continuity or reset it, while maintaining essential elements that define the franchise (mainly, the inclusion of a Stargate device). These include the 2002 animated series Stargate Infinity . In 2017,

7168-732: The conflict with ROC's license, these books were available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK, but not in the US. Fandemonium books became available in the US in 2006. The official Stargate Magazine , produced by Titan Publishing, began publishing short stories written by Fandemonium authors in their 8th issue. The stories alternate between SG-1 and Atlantis . A series of comic books , based on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis , began to be published by Avatar Press in 2003. Five have been published to date, with stories by James Anthony and artwork by Jorge Correa. In February 2008, it

7280-804: The craze, including Heatwave! (1974), The Day the Earth Moved (1974), Hurricane (1974), Flood! (1976) and Fire! (1977). The trend continued on a larger scale with The Hindenburg (1975), starring George C. Scott ; The Cassandra Crossing (1976), starring Burt Lancaster ; Two-Minute Warning (1976), starring Charlton Heston; Black Sunday (1977), starring Robert Shaw ; Rollercoaster in Sensurround (1977), starring George Segal ; Damnation Alley (1977), starring Jan-Michael Vincent ; Avalanche (1978), starring Rock Hudson ; Gray Lady Down (1978), also starring Charlton Heston; Hurricane (a 1979 remake of John Ford's 1937 film;

7392-404: The crew as they struggle to survive on board Destiny with no apparent way home. The show was intended to have a darker tone than its predecessors and delve more into the humanity of the characters and their relationships with each other. In July 2017, a web series called Stargate Origins was announced at a San Diego Comic-Con Panel celebrating the franchise's 20th anniversary. It focuses on

7504-482: The disaster and its aftermath. The genre came to particular prominence during the 1970s with the release of high-profile films such as Airport (1970), followed in quick succession by The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Earthquake (1974) and The Towering Inferno (1974). The casts are generally made up of familiar character actors . Once the disaster begins in the film, the characters are usually confronted with human weaknesses, perhaps falling in love or finding

7616-452: The effects of global warming . Soon afterward, he founded Reelmachine, another film production company based in Germany. In 2008, Emmerich directed 10,000 BC , a film about the journeys of a prehistoric tribe of mammoth hunters. It was a box office hit, but consistently regarded by professional critics as his worst film, as well as one of the worst films of the year. He was slated to direct

7728-536: The end of the third season, Higginson and McGillion were removed as regulars, both serving recurring roles in the 4th season. Season   4 brought in Amanda Tapping, reprising her role as Samantha Carter from SG-1, and Jewel Staite in a recurring role. Tapping left the show for Season   5 to concentrate on Sanctuary , and was replaced by Robert Picardo , who reprised his role as Richard Woolsey from both SG-1 and Atlantis . However, in late summer 2008 it

7840-585: The end of the trend was marked by the 1980 comedy Airplane! , which fondly spoofed the clichés of the genre to surprising box-office success, producing a sequel of its own, Airplane II: The Sequel , in 1982. The resurgence of big-budget productions of the genre—aided by advancements in CGI technology during the 1990s—include such films as Twister , Independence Day , Daylight , Dante's Peak , Volcano , Hard Rain , Deep Impact and Armageddon . In 1997, James Cameron co-produced, wrote and directed

7952-480: The evidence to clear their names while learning about the unique cultures in the galaxy , so that they can one day return to Earth . The story arc was never resolved because of low viewership ratings and the show was cancelled in 2003. Stargate Infinity premiered in September 2002 as part of 4Kids Entertainment 's FOX BOX Saturday morning line-up on FOX and went off the air in June 2003. Due to its lack of popularity

8064-451: The fansite GateWorld exclusively that he was working to continue SG-1 . Currently, no network or company has ordered new episodes of SG-1 , so the show is on hold until a new buyer can be found. However, SciFi has attempted to block other networks from taking up the show, citing its original exclusive contract with MGM. Atlantis proved to be as successful as SG-1 , with Nielsen ratings and viewership. The Stargate franchise in 2009 won

8176-463: The film with the television series Stargate SG-1 without the input of Emmerich and Devlin. Stargate SG-1 has won the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated Television Series on numerous occasions, and its cast has won similar awards for acting. More recently, it received acclaim for its visual effects , which increased in quality and realism as the show gained a larger budget. On August 21, 2006,

8288-423: The final movie roughly seven minutes shorter than the original episode. Stargate Atlantis was a spin-off television series from Stargate SG-1 . A new feature film was originally intended to transition the two series after the sixth season of SG-1 . Later, SG-1 was renewed for a seventh season, and the feature film was then planned to transition that season. Finally, when SG-1 was renewed for an eighth season,

8400-474: The first television show after 10 seasons. In 2011, Stargate Universe , the last Stargate program on television ended its run. Brad Wright announced that there were no more plans to continue the same story in further productions. In 2016, comic publisher American Mythology acquired the rights to publish new Stargate Atlantis stories set within the established franchise canon. This was expanded in 2017 to include new Stargate Universe comics as well, resolving

8512-425: The franchise in some capacity. In January 2019, Wright elaborated that his conversations with MGM pertained to continuing the television franchise in a way that fully acknowledged the "several hundred hours of show that's already out there" and not simply honouring it. In July 2020, SG-1 , Atlantis and Universe writer-producer Joseph Mallozzi teased Wright's project, commenting that "we've never been closer to

8624-530: The franchise was briefly revived with the announcement of a new prequel web series, Stargate Origins . Episodes premiered on a central "fan hub" for the franchise called Stargate Command, with a single season of ten 10-minute episodes. The Stargate franchise is built around the in-universe titular device of the Stargate , a ring-shaped device built by an ancient intergalactic race of beings that allows almost instantaneous travel across vast distances via wormholes that can be "dialed" between any two Stargates on

8736-451: The franchise. The first film already tapped into Egyptian mythology; the second one would have moved into other mythologies; and the third would have then tied all the mythologies together. Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis producer Brad Wright said in 2002 that "Devlin can wish to do a sequel to Stargate all he wants. MGM owns the rights, and I doubt very much that they'll ask him to do it. He knows better." These sequels would bypass

8848-652: The humans of the galaxy, all while preventing their new foes from reaching the Milky Way. Atlantis debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 16, 2004, starring Joe Flanigan and Torri Higginson in the lead roles, with Rainbow Sun Francks , David Hewlett , and Rachel Luttrell alongside. Hewlett and Higginson's characters had previously appeared in SG-1 (though Higginson inherited the role from actress Jessica Steen ). In Atlantis' second season, Paul McGillion and Jason Momoa (replacing Francks) were added as regulars. At

8960-493: The initial "re-discovery" of the Stargate on Earth and the first expedition off-world. The film sees a team led by Colonel Jack O'Neil ( Kurt Russell ) and including Egyptologist Daniel Jackson ( James Spader ) venture through the Stargate to the planet of Abydos, finding a society of ancient Egyptian-speaking humans ruled by a space-faring alien posing in the role of the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra . The expedition eventually liberates

9072-455: The intended film instead became the two-part season finale episode " Lost City ", and the setting of Stargate Atlantis was moved to the Pegasus galaxy . This allowed the two shows to exist side-by-side within the same fictional universe , and later the two shows even become interconnected. Atlantis was developed by most of the same people and in the same studios as SG-1 . The series follows

9184-404: The late-1970s when the big-budget films The Swarm (1978), Meteor (1979), Hurricane (1979), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979) and When Time Ran Out ... (1980) performed poorly at the box office, signaling declining interest in the disaster film product. Although The Big Bus (1976), an earlier disaster film spoof, had failed to be a hit,

9296-482: The lead in Independence Day , and reluctant to allow him to portray an interracial couple in The Day After Tomorrow . He has also stated that he has encountered homophobia from the same groups, and is vocal in his opposition to such behavior. He has stated that sometimes he does "[not like working in] the movie business", describing it as a sometimes "very cold, brutal business", but his motivation to keep directing

9408-569: The main characters Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill (which was re-spelled to include an extra "L"). The setting was transferred from a fictional military facility located in Creek Mountain, to Stargate Command which was based in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex . The show for the first eight seasons initially focused on efforts by Stargate Command to combat the Goa'uld, the race of beings to whom

9520-403: The network. The shows themselves are typically set contemporaneous to when they were made, featuring real-world or "realistic" technologies in an otherwise science-fiction setting. Most incarnations of the franchise follow a similar structure, following the exploits of the lead expeditionary team of the show's setting on various one-off or season-arc continuing episodes, with major differences being

9632-454: The offer to direct after producers rejected Devlin's re-write of the script, and the Isobar project was eventually scrapped. Instead, Emmerich was hired to replace director Andrew Davis for the action movie Universal Soldier . The film was released in 1992. Emmerich next helmed the 1994 science-fiction film Stargate . At the time, it set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for

9744-402: The plans to make a reboot of a potential new series were stalled. In September 2018, it was reported that SG-1 , Atlantis and Universe showrunner Brad Wright had been approached by MGM about continuing the franchise. The following year, SG-1 stars Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson further confirmed that they'd spoken to Wright and expressed their own interest in returning to

9856-482: The principal setting and main villains faced. Due to multiple developers working separately and independently on the franchise over the years, the various Stargate productions are not entirely consistent with each other; and while no set of works forms an official canon , the largest following exists for the three live-action series. The titular 1994 film Stargate , directed by Roland Emmerich and co-written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin , focuses on

9968-487: The production teams nor the fans of Stargate consider Infinity to be an official part of the Stargate universe. According to Stargate SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright , the animated series should not be considered official Stargate canon . Commenting on it, he stated, "I don't have a problem with it. I'm just not involved." Stargate took in $ 16.7   million on its opening weekend and $ 196.6   million overall, and received mixed reactions from critics; while it

10080-444: The quality of the final product, and cited the former reason as to why he turned down an offer to direct Spider-Man , as he was not interested in comic books or superhero -related fiction. However, Emmerich still defends Godzilla , noting that the film was highly profitable and claiming that, of all his movies, people tell him Godzilla is the one they and their kids watch the most repeatedly. Emmerich has also faced criticism from

10192-454: The release of Moonfall , Emmerich said he has been working on a TV series based on T. E. Lawrence for around a decade, and stated he has three projects he would like to make, a mistaken identity period piece set in 1919 about a young writer having to take control of a film set, another about a conquistador , and a third about the death of Marilyn Monroe . In June 2023, Emmerich announced a franchise titled Space Nation which will consist of

10304-425: The rights to the show and released the entire series to DVD on May 13, 2008, in Region   1. As of 2009 , there is yet to come a release of Stargate Infinity package in Region   4, namely Oceania and Latin America. The writers and producers of Stargate SG-1 , Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe and the main canon of the Stargate franchise were not involved with Infinity , and neither MGM,

10416-514: 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,

10528-400: The screenplay, the film received a generally favorable critical and commercial response, and is Emmerich's best-reviewed film to date. After teaming up with new screenwriting partner Harald Kloser , Emmerich returned once again to directing a visual effects-laden adventure with 2004's blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow , another disaster film about a rapidly oncoming ice age brought upon by

10640-465: The second-highest-grossing film in terms of worldwide box office. Emmerich and Devlin then created the television series The Visitor , which aired on the Fox Network during 1997–1998 before being cancelled after one season. His next film, Godzilla , opened in 1998. An extensive advertising and marketing campaign generated significant hype during the months leading up to the film's release. The film

10752-562: The show at the end of Season   5 and was replaced by Corin Nemec as Jonas Quinn . Shanks returned at the beginning of Season   7 and Nemec was written out. At the end of Season   7 Davis left the show and Anderson filled the gap he left in the story. Season   9 saw the departure of Anderson , but added new regulars Beau Bridges and Ben Browder . After a debut episode in Season 8, followed by appearances in eight episodes of Season 9, Claudia Black 's popular reception earned her

10864-459: The show is almost completely unrecognized. The series was cancelled before any of its story arcs could be resolved. The show was of low budget , which was constantly noted by the media. DIC Entertainment released a 4-episode DVD on October 7, 2003, in Region   1. MGM Home Entertainment released a five disc season box set on August 13, 2007, in Region   2. Shout! Factory , a company known for releasing cult animated series, acquired

10976-577: The sinking of the Titanic ; Atlantis (1913), also about the Titanic ; the Danish The End of the World (1916), (about a comet ); Noah's Ark (1928), the Biblical story from Genesis about the great flood; Deluge (1933), about tidal waves devastating New York City ; King Kong (1933), with a gigantic gorilla rampaging through New York City; and The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), dealing with

11088-409: The society from the control of the alien, killing it in the process, before the survivors (bar Daniel, who had ingrained himself with the locals) return to Earth. In 1997, Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright co-developed Stargate SG-1 , a television series intended to continue the story laid down by the original film. Although new actors were cast, several roles from the film were reprised, including

11200-618: The struggle of the people who want to have a hand in it. It's the Tudors on one side and the Cecils on the other, and in between [the two] is the Queen. Through that story we tell how the plays written by the Earl of Oxford ended up labelled 'William Shakespeare.'" The film's box-office failures signaled a decline of Emmerich's career. In 2011, Sony Pictures had purchased a pitch for Emmerich's project Singularity ,

11312-478: The success of the Stargate television series, in 2006, Dean Devlin said: "He has struck a production deal with MGM and is developing the long-delayed sequel feature films that will pick up the story from the 1994 original." According to Devlin, two movie sequels would have picked up the story from the 1994 original, but not the mythology of the SG-1 and Atlantis series, with the original stars Kurt Russell and James Spader. Devlin regretted giving MGM control over

11424-440: The world and firefighters' attempts at rescuing occupants trapped on the top floor. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning for Best Cinematography , Best Film Editing and Best Original Song . Earthquake was also honored with four Academy Award nominations for its impressive special effects of a massive earthquake leveling the city of Los Angeles , winning for Best Sound and receiving

11536-545: Was a box office success but was met with negative reviews from critics and fans. It garnered a Saturn Award for Best Special Effects, a BMI Film Music Award, and the Audience Award for Best Director at the European Film Awards while also receiving a Razzie Award for Worst Remake or Sequel. It has only a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes . Emmerich said that prior to getting involved with Godzilla he and Devlin had planned

11648-433: Was announced that Big Finish Productions would release officially licensed audiobooks featuring members of the cast reading new stories. The first two stories, available on CD and digital download, are Gift of the Gods read by Michael Shanks and A Necessary Evil read by Torri Higginson . After Bill McCay had written a series of five novels continuing the story the original creators had envisioned, and despite

11760-456: Was announced that Emmerich's next film project would be entitled Moonfall , released in 2022 by Lionsgate . The project is a space disaster film about a mysterious force knocking the moon from its orbit around Earth, sending it on a collision course with the planet. In response, a ragtag team launches a last-ditch mission to land on the lunar surface and save Earth from annihilation. with the production budget standing at $ 150 million. Following

11872-490: Was announced that SciFi would not renew Atlantis . The final episode aired on January 9, 2009. Stargate Universe is the third live-action Stargate series, and premiered on October 2, 2009. The series was pitched to the Sci Fi Channel in the fall of 2007, just before the writer's strike – which put a hold on the project. "The pitch was received very well," according to Stargate Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright. Sci Fi Channel ordered Universe after announcing

11984-464: Was another huge financial success, notching an impressive $ 84 million in US/Canada gross rental theatrical rentals ($ 592 Million in 2022-adjusted dollars); the disaster film officially became a movie-going craze. Directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gene Hackman , Ernest Borgnine , Shelley Winters and Red Buttons , the film detailed survivors' attempts at escaping a sinking ocean liner overturned by

12096-515: 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

12208-399: Was developing a television series of Stargate with MGM and that it would be a continuation, not a reboot. He also confirmed that whilst things were progressing, the industry shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic was slowing aspects of the development. In a series of podcasts in March and May 2021, Wright continued to offer small updates on the project, including that his script features

12320-432: Was panned by some critics such as Roger Ebert , several positive reviews counterbalanced this leading to a score of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes . Although the film was originally intended as the first of a trilogy, Emmerich and Devlin ultimately moved on to produce Independence Day , and it was not until 2006 that Devlin showed renewed interest in developing sequels. In the intervening time, copyright-holder MGM succeeded

12432-415: Was planned to follow Continuum , but the third movie was put on hold with any other future Stargate movies; the film would have centered around the character of Jack O'Neill . In 2010 Stargate was estimated to have injected $ 1 billion in to the economy of British Columbia . There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise, one based on the original Stargate film and two based in

12544-451: Was produced by Irwin Allen (eventually known as "The Master of Disaster", as he had previously helmed The Poseidon Adventure and later produced The Swarm , Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and When Time Ran Out ... ). Directed by John Guillermin and starring Paul Newman , Steve McQueen , William Holden and Faye Dunaway , the film depicts a huge fire engulfing the tallest building in

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