After years spent behind the camera filming action-packed blockbusters such as The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day which depicted the possible 
end of civilization, director Roland Emmerich now plans to make a smaller movie about the dawn of the modern LGBT equal rights movement — the Stonewall riots of 1969.
“I may want to do a little movie about the Stonewall riots in New York,” Emmerich said to Empire magazine. “It’s about these crazy kids in New York, and a country bumpkin who gets into their gang, and at the end they start this riot and change the world.”
Emmerich has enlisted John Robin Bates, whose queer-themed work includes Broadway’s The Paris Letter and TV’s Brothers and Sisters, to write the screenplay. The director reveals that Bates’ take on the subject will follow a homeless gay teen who gravitates towards the Stonewall Inn and eventually gets caught up in the riots.
Emmerich, who is gay and whose new film White House Down will be released in June, explains why telling the story is important to him.
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“It’s one of these civil rights moments, like Rosa Parks,” he said. “And very little is known about it. Even gay people don’t know much about it. There are only two books written about it.”
Caleb in SC
I can just see it now. The drag queens are going to shoot lasers from their eyes while NYC tumbles down around them yet no one gets killed until a giant wave of water comes crashing in on the city, which then turns to ice.
gaymaniac
F**K! Please, make him and his trash-movies go away!
2eo
@Caleb in SC: WRONG.
We all know when the water freezes, aliens were hidden in the water, but the alien unzips his own head and out steps the previous exiled earth race from the ancient Stonewall riots and they’ve come to lend a hand.
Also some kind of tornado made out of snow leopards, because why the hell not.
andy_d
The plot sounds a lot like one of the subplots in “Hit the Wall.” An absolutely well written, well acted and well directed play that just closed at the Barrow Street Theater in the West Village in NYC. I am in no way associated with this production, but have seen it and have highly recommended it. This work deserves any and all awards for which it may be qualified.
Caleb in SC
@2eo: “Tornado made of snow leopards?” I have tears running down my face because I laughed so hard. That was comedic poetry.
edfu
Queerty, your lack of copy editing and fact-checking (and just complete ignorance) is still appalling.
The name of the well-known (except to you) gay playwright in question is “Jon Robin Baitz,” NOT “John Robin Bates.”
Shame!
mullo64
Loved the 1996 movie Stonewall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMEpZadOOo0
Be great to see another one with some big bucks behind it. This story needs to be told again.