(SAN DIEGO) – December 13, 2015 – Everyone has a few movies they can’t pass up when channel surfing (assuming people still channel surf in the days of Netflix and Amazon). They tend to be action-packed, adrenaline rush type films. One of them is the alien-invasion themed 1996 “Independence Day” starring Will Smith. It’s always good for at least 15 minutes of my time.
Director Roland Emmerich and co-writer Dean Devlin started thinking about a sequel after the events of 9/11. According to interviews, they vowed they wouldn’t go forward unless they could come up with an original idea, at least as good as the first “Aliens” sequel was to the original. They moved forward on their idea last year, and announced the title would be “Independence Day: Resurgence.” The new movie will be out 20 years to the day from the original in June 2016.
The trailer debuted today with zero advance notice leaking during the Chicago-Washington football game on Fox (makes sense since the movie is a 20th Century Fox production). With all the “Star Wars” hype underway, it was a smart move to pull a fast one; the surprise factor only added to the excited reaction from fans, who are spinning the counter numbers watching the trailer and parsing every second for clues on YouTube. Feel free to add one more and take a look. If your heart isn’t pounding after this two minutes plus, something is wrong with you.
Most of the original cast is back, including Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, and Bill Pullman playing President Thomas L. Whitmore. with Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Judd Hirsch, Sela Ward and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Not returning is Will Smith, who played U.S. Marine Corps Captain Steve Hiller in the original film. Captain Hiller may be dead in the new script, due to Smith’s demands for more salary than Fox wanted to pay him. Hemsworth has come along to fill his shoes as well as Jessie Usher playing Hiller’s stepson Dylan. Not having the crutch of Smith’s character to lean on seems to be a blessing as the production was forced to find new, more creative focal points in the script.
20th Century Fox staged a live panel discussion and posted it online with the cast in June when it revealed the name of the film. You can get into the behind the scenes details here.
In brief, here’s the plot: the same 20 years has passed on screen as in the real world. Earth recovered from the original invasions. Several nations have worked together on a new Earth Special Defense System, based on the alien technology salvaged after the original conflict. Now a new, much larger and much more deadly alien force is descending on Earth to get its revenge.
Where is Dr. Okun when you need him? Note actor Brent Spiner is a member of the panel discussion. His character might not be as dead as he seemed in 1996.
The film production took place between April and August this year, using the same New Mexico studios as “Breaking Bad.” The budget was $200 million, $125 million more than the original which is a whole lot more than simple inflation. From the trailer, it looks like money well spent.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Media Migraine in Communities Digital News. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego. Gayle can be reached via Google +
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