The filmmaker well-known for large-scale destruction takes a stab at a grounded, personal story and it… doesn’t look bad?
For decades now, Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) has been known for making fairly mediocre, big, destructive blockbusters – a few have been awful (Godzilla), a few have been just the right amount fun (White House Down), but it appears this year he’s taking a break from the action-sci-fi to address a topic very near and dear to his heart: gay rights.
Emmerich has been an long-time activist in the LGBTQ community, publicly fighting homophobia and racism in the film industry, and donating to charities and programs designed to help further the community so it’s no secret that Stonewall – his biopic chronicling 1969 Stonewall riots, which saw the gay community in New York fight back against oppression through a series of violent demonstrations that would eventually lay the groundwork for the LGBTQ civil movement as we know it – is a very personal story for him that he’s tried to get off the ground for many, many years. Well now the trailer for the film, following the announcement that it’s headed to the Toronto International Film Festival, has been released online. Check it out:
Stonewall comes out on September 25th.