Director and co-screenwriter ROLAND EMMERICH most recently directed the Jean-Claude Van Damme / Dolph Lundgren hit "Universal Soldier," which has grossed over $100 million since its release.
Born in West Germany, Emmerich attended film school in Munich. His first feature film, "The Noah's Ark Principle," turned out to be the biggest, most expensive student production in the country. It was the official opening film of the 1981 Berlin Film Festival, became a smash hit at the German box office, and later was sold to more than 20 countries around the world.
On the heels of that success, Emmerich formed his own film company, Centropolis FIlm Productions, through which he produced his subsequent movies, including the international hit feature "Moon 44," starring Michael Pare, Lisa Eichhorn and Malcolm McDowell, "Making Contact" and "Ghost Chase," the latter two produced in Germany. In addition, he produced the feature "Eye of the Storm," starring Dennis Hopper.
For Emmerich, STARGATE brought to fruition the germ of an idea that he had been pondering for more than ten years. "When I was in film school," he explains, "there was a wave of theories about aliens visiting earth thousands of years ago and being responsible for the pyramids and such. It wasn't so much that I believed in the theories, but I always thought the idea could be the basis for a fantastic adventure movie."
JOB DESCRIPTION:
With Dean Devlin, Roland conceived the idea for the film and wrote the screenplay. The Director of the film is generally responsible for the form and content of the film as a work of art.
