‘Resurgence’ matches Emmerich’s vision – ‘Stargate’ lets us finish telling our story

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LOS ANGELES, June 18, (RTRS):  Twenty years have passed since Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day” blasted into the zeitgeist with the image of the White House being obliterated by an alien spaceship. June 24 will mark the release of the sequel, “Resurgence” — a first for the director — and a reunion with frequent collaborator Dean Devlin, who co-wrote and produced the original.

The duo previously tried to develop a follow-up to the 1996 action pic several times, and even wrote a script back in 2002. “We were paid for it, and then we gave the check back because we thought it was just not good enough,” Emmerich admits.

The project lay dormant until after Emmerich made “2012” and felt confident that the digital effects could match his imagination. He brought in two younger writers, Nicolas Wright and James A. Woods, to help transition between the returning characters and newcomers.

“It was interesting to explore a generation that grew up in the shadow of what we call ‘the Great War,’ that these were people who lost their families; who never knew a time when there wasn’t an alien threat possible,” Devlin says of the younger cast — including Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe and Jessie Usher.

“Resurgence” takes place 20 years after the first film, which saw half the Earth’s population wiped out. Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson, who helped save the day in the original, is now the director of the Earth Space Defense program, tasked with preventing another alien attack. “I work with the best and the smartest people to figure out who they were; if they’re coming back; what they’re up to; why really they were here and who we are in the whole tapestry of the universe,” he says of David’s new role.

Suffering

Meanwhile, Earth’s leader during the War of 1996, former president Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is a shell of his former self, suffering from “Alien Residual Condition” after his close encounters in the first film.

Pullman had some trepidation about returning to the role that gave him one of cinema’s most iconic presidential speeches. “I’m the kind of person who’s loyal, and the first movie was such a good experience that I was a little worried that I’d have to accept something that didn’t really excite me just out of loyalty,” he says. “But it genuinely felt like a part that was different than the first one given the set of circumstances … he starts as somewhat of a recluse.”

While both actors appreciated the plot, the real selling point was the chance to reunite with Emmerich.

“I love Roland so much and I love working with him,” Goldblum says. “He’s an eighth degree black belt master in storytelling. He’s terrifically prepared and wildly conscientious. … He loves actors and then he likes to collaborate with them and create an atmosphere of trust and playfulness and improvisation.”

Pullman agrees, “He has such amazing adrenaline that goes through his system. It’s almost like a waterfall. You stand next to it, you get charged up.”

One word that frequently pops up when discussing Roland Emmerich is “fun.” When discussing the director’s attitude on set, his colleagues are quick to praise his enthusiasm, attention to detail, and collaborative nature.

Jeff Goldblum — “He’s terrifically prepared and wildly conscientious. He’s a force of nature. He’s an amazing, freakishly powerful, creative force, but then he’s fun,” says Goldblum. “He loves actors and then he likes to collaborate with them and create an atmosphere of trust and playfulness and improvisation.”

Dean Devlin — Producer Devlin, Emmerich’s creative partner on “Stargate” and “Independence Day,” notes that Emmerich’s positivity has stayed consistent throughout their 27-year working relationship. “This is a business that becomes more of a business all the time, and many people believe that unpleasant experiences make for good movies, and Roland’s not one of those guys,” he says. “Working with Roland is fun, because his passion becomes infectious, and then everybody has it, and it’s a really unique experience.”

Two years before “Independence Day” blasted the doors off the box office, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were already exploring alien life with “Stargate.”

The film went on to gross almost $200 million worldwide and spawned three live-action spinoff series, which ran for a cumulative 354 episodes.

“At the time that we made it, every single studio in Hollywood had told me that science fiction was dead,” Devlin recalls. “And Roland and I really love science fiction, so I think that’s partly why it worked and resonated. It wasn’t a cynical attempt to try and make something that was crowd-pleasing.”

Despite “Resurgence” being Emmerich’s first official sequel, “Stargate” was initially conceived as part of a trilogy, Devlin says, “and because of what happened with the rights and changes at the studio and all kinds of strange things, we never got to do parts two and three.”

Now the duo are in active development on a reboot movie being produced by MGM and Warner Bros. The film is being penned by “Resurgence” writers James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright, and is intended to kickstart the franchise that Emmerich and Devlin always hoped to create.

“It’s not a story that can take place 20 years later. So the only way to really tell that trilogy is to go back from the beginning and start the story all over again,” Devlin says.

Following the original film, MGM retained the rights to the property, and the TV shows were produced without Emmerich and Devlin’s involvement. Now that the pair are back on board, the franchise will sidestep the continuity of the series, but not because of sour grapes, Devlin insists.

“It was taken away from us, and it’s tough to have your children raised by other parents, even if they do a very good job. … For us, it’s not putting down what has been done. It’s to let us finish telling our story.”Jonathan Glickman, president of MGM’s Motion Picture Group, recalls that when he ascended to the position in 2011, the property “had been dormant and, for lack of a better term, it had played itself out at that moment.”

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