Roland Emmerich to Direct 2012 Apocalypse Movie, Now Being Shopped to Studios

Posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson

“Michael Bay, go direct your 2012 movie over there.”

Update: Emmerich and Kloser’s script was purchased by Sony Pictures, it was announced Thursday. The budget for 2012 is said to be near $200 million.

Roland Emmerich, director of spectacle event films like Independence Day, Godzilla and the upcoming 10,000 B.C., is currently in search of a studio to park his latest film, 2012. Apparently this similarly big budget flick has nothing to do with Michael Bay’s project, 2012: The War For Souls, beyond using the Mayan calendar, which indicates bad things coming our way in four years, as inspiration. The script currently being pitched to studios was written by Emmerich and composer-writer Harald Kloser, and, save for a SGA strike, Variety says to expect the movie to hit theaters in 2009. Bay’s film, based on Whitley Strieber’s novel, is currently scheduled on IMDB for 2010.

If this is another Deep Impact vs. Armageddon showdown, it’s less intense, but if anyone’s contracted to blow up the world, it should be Bay in my estimation. Didn’t Emmerich already have his shot with 2004’s terrible The Day After Tomorrow, or was that his ice-apocalypse, while this one will be fire-related? Wikipedia says that dire Mayan-related predictions for 2012 range from super-volcanoes, earthquakes and cosmic rays to a dramatic shift in human consciousness. I predict a Black Eyed Peas reunion and Uwe Boll’s 2013. Random factoid: Some of you will recall that I Am Legend takes place in 2012.

Discuss: Bay vs. Emmerich. What’s the difference?

Comments

JFK

I prefer neither but Emmrich still has Stargate under his belt even though he might have strayed far from the kind of quality control he exhibited making that flick. If Bay could somehow ween himself off stereotypes but keep his monkeys churning out the epic effects his films could actually be lasting achievements instead of commercial fodder. But we all know thats asking too much.

Jim

bay knows what's awesome.

Canadian DJM

One makes REALLY terrible movies, and the other one... actually, on second thought, there's no difference.

Jojo

Roland is cooler than Michael Bay. Atleast Roland tries to make different kinds of movies.

Michael only knows how to blow cars up and do chase scenes. He is pathetic. Transformers saved his ass otherwise he was going to end up being a flop director.

Deko

Michael Bay isnt terrible at all, he is actually very good making films of pure action entertainment, wich is his job. Nothing more.

Emmerich's job is just mediocre.

By the way, the end of the mayan calendar is not about the end of the world or apocalypsis, its just the end of a cycle and the beginning of another, but what the hell..

Cinemaniac1979

Roland Emmerich needs to be stopped. GINO was a travesty and the Day After Tomorrow (which I believe is also a Whitley Streiber book) was so bad it actually gave me diarrhea. It'll be nice to see the movie nerds shred him for a while and give the tired Bay-bashing a much-needed break.

shora

C'mon... why so much hate for Michael Bay? He has pretty much the best scene composition in the shots in the whole Hollywood. Dunno why people hate him so much

Although the stories that he direct sometimes suck, but he still delivers and here is difference between him and Roland Emmerich. Emmerich just sets up for a big spectacle, and he always fails half way through (although usually the first half of most of his movies are visually pleasant.. hell, even the first half of Godzilla was OK)

kiko

Speaking about dramaturgy, Emmerich has more to give than Bay. Even though Emmerich's main contents are quite predictable, they give a moral commitment that can be understood and be more accepted by our subconscious feelings. Something that Gustav Freytag teaches as the basic column any kind of opera or theater piece.
In terms of which popcorn size I would buy for the SfX/VfX show, i must confess that Emmerich will lead me to buy a middle-size and Bay a Big-size one.

jerry seinfeld

it's pretty simple, shora.

i've never cared about a single character in a michael bay movie.

technically, he's astute, but as a story teller, he's about at the level of the average 7th grader.

does that help?

Ian

Ice-apocalypse -- so much for global warming!

mando

First of all Ian The global warming is warming the ice caps to a point were they will melt. If that occurs there will be so much water it will completely stop the warming effect of the planet thus creating an ice age... Second of all I think the movie would sell. These days you hear alot of 2012 a movie about the topic will only bring out the curiousity in people.

Bicael May

Look, Godzilla was the greatest piece of motion picture history to be thrust upon our (or any) generation. If you can't accept that then there is no hope for our world.

neoriah

all this end of the year bullshit is really annoying and has people going crazy.And now theyre making a movie about it,that'll help

william

Where will "2012 be filmed? Blue Ridge Motion Pictures in Aseville, NC has a great studio to film in. William

jady

10,000 bc was the biggest letdown ever...I don't even know if it can constitute as entertainment, didn't even make it through the entire thing.

Bud Sutton JR

It sounds like it might be a box office smash
Good job picking john cusack he's a good actor

one other thing is there going to a apocalypse in the movie?

Bud Sutton JR

It sounds like it might be a box office smash
Good job picking john cusack he's a good actor

one other thing is there going to be a apocalypse in the movie?

jadephantom101

sweet! know I have Avatar the Last Airbender and 2012 to look foward to! can't wait! :)

I'm pretty sure this movie will be at least moderately sucsessful, I mean, there's tons of people intot he whole 2012 hype so yea.

Scorpio

micheal bay is great at blowing things up but the best idea would be if they got to do a romantic plot and follow a few people as they try to save the world!

In my opinion both of them are great but i would prefer a more transformers like setting where you get to know the people before the end of the world scenario!

Oh and i would like to say thankyou for stealing my idea hollywood!

I had just finished writting a storyline for 2012 which involved a few groups of people trying to find there way through the disasters and then you steal my idea!

At least do a sort of FLOOD like film where the CG is kinda lame but has great charecter subplots!

Dalraj Singh

The world is not ending on 21st December 2012. It's going to end when God decides

gina h.

no one knows the day or time of when armageddon will happen.... only god knows that, it will come when we least expect it. When we are busy with our everyday lives and take no notice of the warning signs around us that is when it will come. Armegeddon is the end of wicked people of this earth, not of everything living thing on this earth. It will be selective. Our earth will stay, but the evil people of this earth will be gone.....

Scorpio

-The world is not ending on 21st December 2012. It's going to end when God decides-
What if he decides to end it on 21st december 2012? Something will happen on that date either everyone will be renewed with a greater understanding and go together to stop all world problems or we all die. Either way does anyone really care that much. Is life really worth living when we have so much death and destruction in the world?

mel

everyone confuses that fact that the world is going to end on dec 21 2012, and that's not the concept of it, its just predicted that that will be a mass change in the world from that date on. Whether its global warming, war etc. Mostly to do with weather which may be an affect of the galactic alighnment that will happen on this exact day. Which is something we as the human race have never been here to witness so we dont know what affect this alighnment will have on the world atmosphere.

papa rocks

wtf is up with all this 2012 crap and now thers going to be a movie off of it. this just gose to show how desperet the media is to get profits I mean come on to feed of peoples fears for the futere and to make this its just pathetic.

Panayotis

Bay vs Emmerich....????NO WAY!!!C`mon,everyone,Bay`s"Armaggedon"was so fake....!!!!!Do you even remember how quickly the scenes were shot.....????Maybe it was a similarity of the warning of NASA at that time,that small pieces of a meteor whould fall down to the Earth,but.....HEY.....the whole thing was a real crap!Bay should stay and remain to action movies like"Rock"and stuff.He`s much-much better in those things.Emmerich was GREAT and much more realistic in"The Day After Tomorrow",and he`s preparing something awesome with"2012",for sure....!He`s the man!!!!

Panayotis

As for what"Scorpio"commented about a month ago,lemme tell ya this:who told you that God will deside whether or not he`s going to end this World?Do you even know what God looks like,or you`ve just become a believer`cause your religion says that He Exists....?Same thing here,in my home-country,Greece!Wake up people!God has left you since the day you cruisifide His Son,did you forget that....?You all deserved it,and you`re still sitting there and praying for His mercyness....???No way.You`re on your own.Take your time and destroy your World the way you wanted from the beginning.The worst thing is,that I`m gonna pay your foolishness too,because I`m living in it.

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