Independence Day - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Independence Day or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Independence Day

[mathew]

When the film was released on the big screen in New Zealand, it was given the M mature rating. But, when it was released on VHS, the rating was changed to PG.

[dustin]

Sets for the latter Area 51 included corridors containing windows that were covered with blue material. The filmmakers originally intended to use the chroma key technique to make it appear as if activity was happening on the other side of the glass; but the composited images were not added to the final print because production designers decided the blue panels gave the sets a "clinical look".

[lena]

David Arnold's Grammy-winning score was performed by an orchestra of ninety and a forty-person choir.

[ronnie]

(at around 48 mins) On the DVD commentary, visual effects supervisor Volker Engel reveals that the fire engine seen tumbling through the air was simply a model purchased at a toy store.

[duane]

Will Smith's squadron were stationed at MCAS El Toro. This is the same name as the air base from which the Flying Wing Bomber flew out of to drop the A-bomb on the Martians in the movie The War of the Worlds (1953). MCAS El Toro was a real air base in Orange County, California, from 1943 until its decommissioning in 1999.

[kristen]

Vivica A. Fox had previously appeared in Born on the Fourth of July (1989). She also appeared opposite Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: It Had to Be You (1991). Ross Bagley who plays Dylan, also appeared as Will's cousin Nicky.

[christina]

When Ally Walker suddenly became unavailable at the last minute, there was a rush to find a new actress to portray Connie. When then 37-year-old Margaret Colin jokingly told an inexperienced casting assistant that she was only 22, the man assumed she was too young and called the producers to tell them she was unavailable. When the confusion was cleared up, Colin landed the role, and began filming scenes in Utah less than 24 hours after she was cast.

[leo]

Filming at the Los Angeles International Airport was delayed several days due to a threat from Ted Kaczynski (Unabomber).

[jim]

(at around 57 mins) The names of the pilots on the status screen aboard Air Force One during the first retaliation attack are the last names of several of the film's associate producers and video unit team.

[toni]

Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich had always envisioned an African-American for the role of Steven Hiller and specifically wanted Will Smith after seeing his performance in Six Degrees of Separation (1993). Up until then, Smith was mostly known for doing comedy series on TV, most prominently The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990). Emmerich later mentioned that the decision met with some initial resistance and even racism from some studio executives, but he stood his ground. The role launched Smith's movie career and practically made him a bankable superstar overnight.

[scarlett]

The huge hype that the film began generating in early 1996 caused Warner Bros. to postpone the release of Mars Attacks! (1996) from summer to Christmas, and Steven Spielberg (temporarily) cancelled his plans to direct War of the Worlds (2005).

[beth]

On the Bonneville Salt Flats, cast and crew wearing long pants still managed to get sunburns on their legs; the white salty surface reflected the sunlight up their pant legs.

[jim]

Adam Baldwin and Judd Hirsch previously appeared in Ordinary People (1980).

[steve]

Dean Devlin, who served as the second unit director, and directed the close-up shots of actors in F-18 cockpits, let Harry Connick Jr. improvise several takes while doing impressions of various celebrities. His impression of Reverend Jesse Jackson is included in the film.

[violet]

A month after the film's release, jewelry designers and marketing consultants reported an increased interest in dolphin-themed jewelry, since the character of Jasmine in the film wears dolphin earrings, and is presented with a wedding ring featuring a gold dolphin.

[alyssa]

Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin wrote the screenplay when they took a month-long vacation in Mexico. It was greenlit by 20th Century Fox the day after they sent the studio the script.

[bryan]

(at around 46 mins) The man in the Los Angeles office building that is destroyed in the initial attack is played by Volker Engel, the movie's visual effects supervisor. The building also contains his initials on the exterior.

[terry]

Most of the cast and crew, including Will Smith, were unpleasantly surprised to suffer severe sunburn on their legs during the filming in Utah of the Grand Canyon duel/crash scenes.

[kristen]

Dean Devlin: (at around 2h) Producer and co-Writer is the voice of the fighter pilot alongside the President's plane who says, "I'm on it," targeting the alien ray only to be blasted out of the sky a moment later.