Ron Perlman and Jonathan Rhys Meyers join Roland Emmerich’s drama Stonewall

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Roland Emmerich‘s directorial career has spanned all sorts of genre entertainment from historical epics like THE PATRIOT and 10,000 BC to scifi blockbusters INDEPENDENCE DAY, 2012, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, and GODZILLA. But through his three decade career, he has made one lone drama film. 2011’s ANONYMOUS was a period film about conspiracy theories surrounding who wrote the plays of William Shakespeare. Now, Emmerich is preparing to make the sequel to INDEPENDENCE DAY but not before trying his hand at another historical drama film.

Production began today on the film STONEWALL. The drama focuses on the 1969 Stonewall Riots, an important event in not just American history but in the struggle for gay rights. The film had already cast WAR HORSE’s Jeremy Irvine in the lead and today came news that Ron Perlman, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and Joey King have joined the film as well.

Here is the synopsis for STONEWALL:

Kicked out of his own home, young Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) flees to NY, leaving behind his beloved sister (Joey King). Homeless and destitute, he befriends a group of street kids who soon introduce him to the watering hole of the local drag queens, gays, lesbians, and everything in between: The Stonewall Inn. However, this shady, mafia-run club is far from a safe-haven. At the bar, Danny meets the suave Trevor (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) before catching the eye of Ed Murphy (Ron Perlman), Stonewall’s repulsive manager who colludes with corrupt police, exploits homeless youth for financial gain, and is even suspected to have had a hand in some of their “disappearances.” It spirals out of control when the police unexpectedly raid Stonewall. In a storm of anger and with the toss of a single brick, a riot ensues and a crusade for equality is born.

I enjoyed ANONYMOUS for what it was and it proved that Roland Emmerich‘s visuals are still quite breathtaking even without massive special effects setpieces. STONEWALL sounds like it will be a brutal film to watch but also an important story to tell on the big screen. The film will also feature Jonny Beauchamp, Caleb Landry Jones, Karl Glusman, Vlademir Alexis, and Alexandre Nachi.

There is no release date for STONEWALL, but I would expect it not to have too complicated a post-production compared to most Emmerich films. We could see it as early as this Fall or maybe in early 2015.