Over the past two years or so, there’s been talk of not one but two sequels to Roland Emmerich’s awesome 1996 sci-fi blockbuster, Independence Day, all of which you can catch up on here.

Details about the plot specifics have been kept pretty tightly under wraps, but some interesting details about the project itself have now arisen.

Emmerich spoke to The Lantern this week and it sounds like things are moving forward with the project, and even that we could start to see some concrete traction being made sooner rather than later.

“I’d say hold tight… It’s happening soon.”

Emmerich and his old frequent writing collaborator, Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Godzilla, Stargate), have been working on the scripts and Emmerich is working on rounding up the original cast, which included Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum, all brilliant actors and brilliant in their roles in the first film.

In their report, Collider say that the scripts for both the second and third films in what will become the Independence Day trilogy have been written, but whether or not they’re entirely finished or just semi-fleshed skeletons is unclear in light of Emmerich’s interview earlier this week.

Interestingly, however, they note that Will Smith is asking for somewhere in the range of $50m. to star in both films, which is a pretty high asking price. However, given that the first film made north of $800m., and that was fifteen years ago, unadjusted for inflation, it wouldn’t be too hard a stretch to believe that the two films together would make over a billion dollars between them. And when you consider the plan is to shoot them back-to-back, thus bringing down the budget, Smith’s price tag is probably not an unreasonable percentage of the profits the films will likely go on to make, even if that initial $50m. figure does sound very high.

Though plot details are being kept hush hush, it is thought that despite being filmed back-to-back, the two films will work as standalone films in their own right, linked through a cliffhanger and an overarching plot between them. So whilst the details aren’t especially informative right now, it sounds like the project to bring a second and third film to the big screen is still very much alive.

I love the first film so much, and I’m hoping that if these two do get made, then by the time the third one rolls around, cinemas will offer a six-/seven-hour epic showing of all three films, start-to-finish. Until then, I’ll leave you with this inspirational speech from the first film by Bill Pullman. It’s one of my all-time favourite film speeches that just raises the hairs down my spine no matter how many times I hear it.

“We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We’re going to live on. We’re going to survive. Today, we celebrate our Independence Day.”

Cue ridiculously incredible triumphant film score. Enjoy. Be inspired.

Looks like the Torchwood team are calling on the services of a US President who once saved the world from potential genocide due to a powerful alien threat.

Deadline are reporting that Independence Day star Bill Pullman is joining the cast of the Dr. Who spin-off in the reoccurring role of one Oswald Jones, a clever convicted murderer who escapes his lifelong prison sentence on a technicality and quickly becomes a media sensation.

Pullman’s output has been relatively small in recent years (compared to his heyday in the 90’s) but he does seem like a sizable star for a modestly-budgeted show like Torchwood.

A co-production deal between the BBC and US company Starz would explain how he managed to get cast (alongside big(ish) name Mekhi Phifer) in the fourth season of this sci-fi adventure series

Adapted from the 1952 novel by Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me is the latest film from Michael Winterbottom and stars Casey Affleck as the despicable and twisted deputy sheriff Lou Ford who harbours dark secrets beneath the veneer of the quiet small town law-man. The film retains the 50s setting of the book and adopts a stylish noir look, in keeping with the tone of the source material. The music is also true to the period and many of the songs match the mood and tone of the film, despite their apparent jaunty and upbeat tempo.

The film rest heavily on Affleck’s performance and he is excellent in the role. On the surface Lou is mild mannered and a little naive and Affleck captures this brilliantly, aided by his youthful looks and constantly cracking voice. When Lou’s darker side is uncovered though Affleck also shines with a convincing and disturbing performance. Jessica Alba (Joyce) and Kate Hudson (Amy) are good in their respective roles, although their characters are somewhat one-dimensional and they have little dialogue or action. This is not actually a criticism of the film although it may sound like one; as I will discuss further this is important as they are how Lou sees them, to him they are one-dimensional and their apparent lack of depth is because Lou is unable to see their depth.

Early in the film Lou is sent to the home of prostitute Joyce to ‘deal with her’ in whatever way he sees fit, but instead he falls in love or what his idea of love is anyway. Torn between this ‘bad girl’ and the good girl, his fiancée Amy (Kate Hudson), and haunted by memories of his mother and his desires to live up to his image of his father, Lou begins a dark spiralling downward journey. His violent behaviour escalates and, despite the hints that he has always been troubled with violent appetites, his behaviour becomes more erratic and the cruelty and ugly urges he harbours within come spilling out.

The film is a first person narrative about a brutal misogynistic killer and unsurprisingly, because of this, it has been contentious and controversial. Polarising  festival audiences, The Killer Inside Me has drawn criticism for its brutal violence and alleged misogynism. Although a discussion of just the controversy is somewhat reductive I will refer to the reaction as it actually gives an interesting insight into the themes in the film and how they work with an audience.

The Killer Inside Me is unflinching in its portrayal of violence against women and although it was not quite as bad or constant as I had expected given the hyperbolic statements from the film’s accusers, the two main scenes of violence are appalling to watch and it is hard not to look away. This is not a negative criticism of the film though, I am sure this is the intention of Winterbottom and of Thompson’s novel, and this intention is not a callous misogynistic one. The film attempts to explore this character but this exploration needs to be uncompromising and therefore deeply uncomfortable. Lou Ford is a despicable human being and the kind of person I hope I never have to meet. He is therefore not the kind of person anyone would like to associate themselves with and they certainly wouldn’t want to sympathise with him, empathise with him or worse still be him.

This though is the crux of what I liked so much about the film and why I think it is so successful. Lou Ford is the protagonist of the film and we as audiences have been trained over years of cinema going to follow the protagonist and feel what they are feeling, seeing the film world through their eyes. There are obviously exceptions to this but the way the film crafts Lou as a protagonist helps this association and the voiceover and moments where Affleck actually subtly looks at the camera help include you in his twisted life.

It is not just through the voiceover that Lou narrates the film, there is a sense that the events unfolding are filtered through his twisted view. There is a moment early on, for instance, where Joyce very quickly shifts in the way she is reacting to Lou from disgust to desire and what at first could be read as an odd character moment or sloppiness on the part of the screenwriter is actually something much more fascinating. Is this just how Lou sees the situation? Is Lou an unreliable narrator and is what we are seeing, and experiencing, actually what it is like to be Lou Ford?

I do not think these questions have simple answers and I do not think the film makes a definite statement as to whether what we see is the truth or Lou’s perception of it, but the questions are raised. This concept could be considered a ‘cop out’ in a lesser film, something akin to “it was all in his head after all”, but The Killer Inside Me is smarter than that. What this conceit actually achieves is a strong character bond as we not only see Lou telling his life story but we get to experience living his life. This is, unsurprisingly, not a pleasant experience but if you are willing, it is a rewarding and fascinating one.

I feel that most accusations of misogyny and casual violence against The Killer Inside Me are born out of this horribly uncomfortable feeling of inhabiting a disgusting human being and not liking the way that makes you feel. The Killer Inside Me offers a glimpse inside the mind of a cruel misogynist and brutal murderer and if you believe it, feel it and don’t like it then the film has succeeded not failed.

The Killer Inside Me is currently showing in UK cinemas.

You can hear me discussing the film further (and the Q&A I attended with Michael Winterbottom) on the Mouth Off Podcast which you can find here.

In November last year we wrote up the story that Destroyer of Worlds Roland Emmerich was talking up two sequels to his 1996 alien face off movie Independence Day.

Now the good guys at IESB are reporting the rumour that Will Smith has signed on to star in the two films, and that the two films could shoot back to back as early as 2011.

Getting Smith back on board would guarantee that Fox would greenlight ID4 Parts 2 and 3, and in the fifteen or so years since the original film the CGI technology has improved so much that we are certain to see a whole lot more of Emmerich’s epic destruction as shown in 2012.

There will surely be alien homeworlds, and enormous motherships descending once again, and I’d personally like to see Emmerich return to the scarred world of ID4 fifteen years after, and give us a proper post-apocalyptic tale (with plucky dogs).

I enjoyed Emmerich’s recent 2012 for all its CG bombast and silliness, and the news last night that Godzilla is about to roar back onto our screens now seems the perfect time for Emmerich and Dean Devlin to return to the film which made their names.

What do you think? Are you keen to see another Independence Day?

Fresh from destroying the world in 2012 it seems Roland Emmerich can’t keep away from finding new ways to put the world in peril.

Almost exactly a month ago we reported on Emmerich’s desire to make a sequel to his 1996 Earth vs. Aliens epic Independence Day, a film that was all about the boom and didn’t suffer from an appalling Bill Pullman presidential rallying cry or that bit with the dog – you know what I mean.

Now MTV movies blog have caught up with Emmerich and a few more details have emerged about The Day After Independence Day (a sure title, right?), chiefly the news that the director is planning two sequels based years after the aliens were defeated with a Mac and a Nuclear weapon.

Click here to read the article and marvel at Emmerich’s determination to find new and exciting ways to kill us all.

Two more Independence Day films? If it turns out that the Mayans were right maybe 2012 won’t be so bad after all…