Film maker Roland Emmerich, whose CV boasts Independence Day and White House Down is to direct a brand new historical drama of the Stonewall movement.
The Stonewall film will focus on a teenager, to be played by War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine, who moves to New York, and becomes politically awakened after the Stonewall riots, which happened as a bad lash against a police raid on the New York gay bar The Stonewall Inn, in June 1969.
The Stonewall riots became known as a series of spontaneous protests, by the gay community, which often ended in violence. They are widely considered to be the beginning of the modern gay right’s movement.
Raids on the Inn were very frequent and according to reports, house lights were turned on, customers were lined up and searched, and their ID cards checked. Those who did not have ID cards were arrested, so were men dressed in Drag.
According to Deadline the gay, German film maker has been working towards the making of Stonewall for over a decade. Emmerich is a campaigner for equal rights.
Emmerich is set to start production soon. Roland Emmerich is currently working on a sequel for Independence Day.
