WHO’S IN IT?
Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading), Joey King (Oz The Great and Powerful), James Woods (Once Upon A Time In America), Michael Murphy (Batman Returns), Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), director, co-producer; James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), writer, co-producer; Brad Fischer (Black Swan), Harald Kloser (10,000 B.C.), Larry Franco (2012) and Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar), producers; Harald Kloser (The Day After Tomorrow) and Thomas Wander (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), composers; Anna Foerster (Anonymous), cinematographer; Adam Wolfe (Criminal Minds), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
After being denied the chance to join the Secret Service to protect President James Sawyer (Foxx), US Capitol Police Officer John Cale (Tatum) lightens the mood with his daughter Emily (King) by taking her on a tour of the White House. Bad timing, because the building is suddenly taken over by a heavily armed paramilitary group with the President and Emily among the hostages, and John is called into action to stop whoever’s responsible before it’s too late…
WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
The White House is not having a good year in Film Land. It’s already been taken over and somewhat blown to pieces by North Korea while Gerard Butler was sent in to stop the siege in Olympus Has Fallen; now it’s about to get the full-on Emmerich treatment. Anyone who knows the work of the German action filmmaker will know that he appears to have a certain disdain for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, having it being blown up by aliens in Independence Day and destroyed by natural apocalyptic causes in 2012. So just imagine what he could do from the inside…
It all comes from a spec script by writer/co-producer James Vanderbilt, which was sold to distributor Sony Pictures for a hefty, rare sum of $3 million. Vanderbilt, also known for his script work on The Amazing Spider-Man, Zodiac and next year’s reboot of Robocop (yes, that is actually happening – “haters gonna hate” is the right phrase apparently, thank you KnowYourMeme.com), had crafted a logline which basically read as “Die Hard in the Oval Office” which Emmerich must have taken to heart given his past history with the residence and set out to make the most White House-iest film he’s ever made.
There was only one problem, and those who read the first paragraph may have already sussed it: someone else had the exact same idea. Thus began an unofficial War of the White Houses in Hollywood. In direct competition with Millenium Films’ production of Olympus Has Fallen to get their much bigger film shot and released, Sony Pictures pulled out all the stops to promote their film as much as possible, once again unintentionally continuing the trend of the promotional material (i.e. trailers, viral marketing etc) being much more impressive than the film itself (although we can’t say for certain, but stay tuned for Film Feeder’s official review soon after its release date). With an all-star cast, a successful action director behind it all, and that all-important American release date of the July 4th weekend, it looked like White House Down would be a US box office bonanza.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to the White House. The film tanked at the box office, garnered mixed reviews, and paved the way for Olympus Has Fallen to make almost $100 million. But while that film may have been more hands-on and more for adults, White House Down seeks to be a more enjoyable film with moments of pure Emmerich buffoonery and a healthy comedic chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. It’s destined to be one for lovers of insane action all the way.
