Independence Day

Independence Day is a 1996 American epic science fiction disaster film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Vivica A. Fox, and Harry Connick, Jr.The film focuses on a disparate group of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a destructive alien attack and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4, the same date as the Independence Day holiday in the United States. The screenplay was written by Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin.

While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich came up with the idea for the film when fielding a question about his own belief in the existence of alien life. He and Devlin decided to incorporate a large-scale attack when noticing that aliens in most invasion films travel long distances in outer space only to remain hidden when reaching Earth. Shooting began in July 1995 in New York City, and the film was officially completed on June 20, 1996.

The film was scheduled for release on July 3, 1996, but due to its high level of anticipation, many theaters began showing it on the evening of July 2, 1996, the same day the story of the film begins. The film grossed over $817.4 million worldwide, becoming 1996's highest-grossing film and the second highest-grossing film of all time at that point. It is currently the 51st-highest-grossing film of all time and was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and science fiction resurgences of the mid-to-late-1990s. The film received positive reviews upon its release, with critics mainly praising its groundbreaking special effects, musical score, and acting (particularly the performances of Smith and Goldblum), though some criticized its storyline and character development. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, while it was nominated for Best Sound Mixing.

The film will have both its twentieth anniversary and premiere at a special live-orchestral screening performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 22 September 2016. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the original orchestrator Nicholas Dodd, will perform the score live as the film is projected and the film's composer, David Arnold, will give a pre-film talk at the event about his work in scoring for film and television. A sequel,Independence Day: Resurgence, is released on June 24, 2016.