Bill Pullman recently revealed that his delivery of an iconic speech in the 1996 movie Independence Day helped secure that title, from a much worst option.
Pullman, 66, was promoting his new movie The High Note, which is currently available on digital platforms, when he opened up about the iconic disaster movie.
He revealed in an interview with CinemaBlend that the studio, 20th Century Fox, wanted the movie to be called Doomsday, but writer-director Roland Emmerich and his co-writer/producer Dean Devlin wanted Independence Day, and it came down to Pullman’s iconic speech.
Speech: Bill Pullman recently revealed that his delivery of an iconic speech in the 1996 movie Independence Day helped secure that title, from a much worst option
Speech: He revealed in an interview with CinemaBlend that the studio, 20th Century Fox, wanted the movie to be called Doomsday, but writer-director Roland Emmerich and his co-writer/producer Dean Devlin wanted Independence Day, and it came down to Pullman’s iconic speech
Pullman plays United States President Thomas J. Whitmore in the disaster movie, where an alien race attacks America and the world as a whole.
Towards the end of the film, before the final epic battle, Whitmore gathered all of the pilots to deliver a rousing speech that ends with, ‘Today, we celebrate our Independence Day.’
Pullman revealed that they actually pushed this shot earlier in the shooting schedule so Emmerich and Devlin could hopefully convince 20th Century Fox that Independence Day was the right title.
President Whitmore: Pullman plays United States President Thomas J. Whitmore in the disaster movie, where an alien race attacks America and the world as a whole
‘We shot that at night, of course, because it’s dark and not on a soundstage or anything. It was really late, and it got moved into the schedule early, because Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich were in contention right then with Fox about the title,’ Pullman began.
‘I think it was gonna be Doomsday. It’s what Fox wanted, and it was a title that was typical of the time [for a] disaster movie. They really wanted Doomsday, so we had to make the speech really good,’ Pullman added.
‘And then they cut it together, and a couple of nights later, Dean came to my trailer, and he said, “Do you wanna see it?”‘ Pullman said.
Night shoot: ‘We shot that at night, of course, because it’s dark and not on a soundstage or anything. It was really late, and it got moved into the schedule early, because Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich were in contention right then with Fox about the title,’ Pullman began
‘So he popped in the VHS, he showed me the cut of the speech, and I went ‘Holy Mother, they have to name this movie Independence Day. And they did,’ Pullman concluded.
Independence Day was the highest-grossing movie of 1996, earning $306.1 million domestic and $817.4 million worldwide.
It was also the second highest-grossing film ever, at that point in time, behind just 1993’s Jurassic Park, while solidifying Will Smith as a bona fide movie star.
Movie star: It was also the second highest-grossing film ever, at that point in time, behind just 1993’s Jurassic Park, while solidifying Will Smith as a bona fide movie star
Blockbuster: Independence Day was the highest-grossing movie of 1996, earning $306.1 million domestic and $817.4 million worldwide
Pullman returned 20 years later as Whitmore in the 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, though it didn’t make the same kind of splash at the box office as its predecessor.
Independence Day: Resurgence, which also brought back Vivica A. Fox and Jeff Goldblum, earned just $103.1 million domestic and $389.6 million worldwide, from a hefty $165 million budget.
Pullman can be seen in The High Note on digital formats, and in Season 3 of The Sinner, which debuted in February on the USA Network.
Return: Pullman returned 20 years later as Whitmore in the 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, though it didn’t make the same kind of splash at the box office as its predecessor