20 Years Later, This Blockbuster Roland Emmerich Disaster Flick is Still Ahead of its Time

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As a child of the 90s, I vividly remember the thrill and anticipation that came with watching Roland Emmerich‘s blockbuster movies – from the grandeur of Independence Day to the sheer destruction of Godzilla. So when I stumbled upon this fascinating account of the making of The Day After Tomorrow, I felt like a kid in a candy store all over again.

As a die-hard movie enthusiast, by the early 2000s, Roland Emmerich had cemented his status as the disaster maestro of Tinseltown. With his gripping portrayal of malevolent aliens in Independence Day and the fearsome mutated lizards in Godzilla, this filmmaker aimed higher with a more pressing concern: climate change. The outcome was 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow (now available on Peacock), a cautionary tale about the catastrophe lurking at the end of environmental ruin… all while delivering an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster bursting with jaw-dropping visual effects.

As I chat over Zoom with SYFY WIRE, I confess that the movie’s predictions turned out to be surprisingly on-point. We crafted it for fun and a touch of warning, never imagining our weather and climate disasters would be this close to reality. It seems we underestimated the wildness when we first released the film, but alas, the events depicted have proven to be less extraordinary than people initially thought.

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The origin of Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow

Drawing inspiration from the 1999 book “The Coming Global Superstorm” penned by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, the blockbuster disaster movie, now two decades old, revolves around the idea of sudden climate change: witness colossal hailstones as large as cinderblocks falling in Japan, towering tornadoes flattening downtown Los Angeles, a tsunami submerging Manhattan, and an immense storm ushering in a new ice age across the northern hemisphere.

During the development of the screenplay, Nachmanoff visited Washington D.C. to discuss with scientists from NOAA and the National Weather Service. He shares that the title, not spoken in the movie, wasn’t profound but rather a nod to how swiftly our lives can change due to weather changes. “We were hinting at something imminent, something that was going to unfold.

20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios, under Disney) wished to emphasize the film as a sci-fi thriller rather than any controversial themes during its promotion. As recalled by Nachmanoff, the initial marketing meeting went: “We’re thrilled to be working on this movie, but just to clarify, we prefer not to use ‘global warming’ when discussing it.” This statement left him nearly choking on his complimentary bottle of Evian water.

The funny part is that the movie’s central point of conflict revolves around a lone scientist — Jack Hall (played by Dennis Quaid) — trying to warn an obstinate government, whose vice president (Kenneth Welsh) looks a heck of a lot like Dick Cheney.

In response, Nachmanoff clarified that many individuals had brought up the issue and some even accused them of being biased towards Dick Cheney. However, he emphasized that he himself didn’t compose certain lines; instead, he merely repeated phrases that Mr. Cheney had spoken in his speeches. Essentially, they had set themselves up for criticism because the arguments were straightforward and repetitive over time. Fortunately, the conversation has evolved significantly. Now, it centers around recognizing problems and discussing viable political solutions that people can accept, rather than debating whether or not action should be taken at all.

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A politically charged scene depicts anxious U.S. residents from the southern states illegally entering Mexico to escape the cold assault. This was met with applause in Mexico, when it was screened there – we attended a premiere in Mexico City – as people cheered at the sight of Americans crossing the border unlawfully, which seems ironic given today’s narrative.

Similar to Roland Emmerich’s blockbusters from the 1990s, such as The Day After Tomorrow, was designed to be a visually stunning portrayal of worldwide chaos, featuring destruction of iconic landmarks, survival of a few humans hanging by a thread. As cinematographer Ueli Steiger recalls with amusement, “It was like working on every Roland Emmerich film, I’d often find myself thinking, ‘How on earth are we going to pull this off?’

The main aim, as stated by the Director of Photography, was to achieve a “realistic” appearance, balancing the extraordinary aspects of the narrative. In simpler terms, he wanted everything to seem as ordinary as possible, which is quite challenging. Additionally, there was the challenge of illuminating the actors in such a way that viewers wouldn’t suspect they were perspiring profusely under hot studio lights while wearing heavy winter clothing.

Creating the Effects for The Day After Tomorrow

Karen Goulekas, the VFX Supervisor, expressed her initial thoughts when she encountered a challenging task: “Wow, I can’t believe we’re going to pull this off! When I first read about a ship descending Fifth Avenue, I was taken aback. It sounded impossible. But I felt energized by the challenge, and my first thought was, ‘Uh-oh.’

In the time when CGI technology was still developing following the release of Jurassic Park about a decade ago, Goulekas and her team faced challenges in making moving water and frozen landscapes appear as realistic as photographs. “There were no easy tasks involved,” she confesses. For the shots featuring New York City buildings, the team worked for three months within the city itself, scanning various structures from multiple heights.

To access the first floor, middle floor, and even the rooftop, we required clearance. The location scout managed arranging our team to these heights. She also mentioned it was cold there. She had attended a couple of those rooftop shoots and commented that they were tough. However, the team members were resilient. They braved the elements daily and collected hundreds of thousands of textures.

The ship appearing to move along Fifth Avenue was actually created using advanced computer imagery. According to Goulekas, this method offers greater freedom as it eliminates the need for precise camera movement tracking. However, achieving a realistic appearance can prove challenging.

Although much of the film was digitally created, there were parts that weren’t just computer-generated. For instance, when several characters found shelter in the New York Public Library as Manhattan flooded, this scene wasn’t shot on location but instead was filmed “on a stage with a tank,” according to the VFX supervisor. The foreground area, which included practical cars and people, along with a few building facades, was crucial because it provided real elements for characters to interact with, especially the water and cars.

Steiger notes that there were almost 200 extras involved, making it a massive production. Maintaining heated, clean water and ensuring the rain was also clean added to the complexity. In essence, it was a colossal undertaking with people using oil barrels to create waves, mimicking a real storm and chaos… And behind the scenes, crew members were operating wind machines, which adds to the intrigue of filmmaking.

Claude Paré, the Supervising Art Director, compiled a $26 million budget encompassing everything from carpentry, painting, greenery, vehicles, props, set decoration, and special effects for the Montreal production. Upon seeing this substantial amount, the studio reportedly questioned: “Is there enough talent in Montreal to justify such a large expenditure?

The task was so massive that several crew members were even brought in from the UK specifically for set building, as Pare explains. “It required all our available labor,” he says. “The project was incredibly intricate… The Day After Tomorrow’s success boosted Montreal’s reputation as a city capable of handling large-scale film production.

Prior to relocating to the northern regions, the team captured footage on-site in Los Angeles for the scene where enormous storms demolish the Hollywood Sign and Capitol Records Building. After all, a movie by Roland Emmerich isn’t finished without the deliberate devastation of well-known U.S. landmarks. As Steiger remembers, “We had heavy Sikorsky helicopters filled with sand to their maximum capacity, flying overhead to simulate wind. It was quite an experience.” “It was like a thrilling expedition, and with these helicopters, you can’t hear a thing.

How to freeze an entire city

During an ice age-like storm, the characters are forced to struggle against the brutal elements, especially when the cold becomes so intense that anything – from aircraft fuel to human bodies – instantly freezes on contact. Emmerich aimed to emphasize the fear induced by extreme weather conditions as a primary antagonist in the movie.

According to Nachmanoff, Roland wisely suggested that they should make the danger seem like a menacing creature, as there were no actual asteroids or aliens present. He explained this by saying, ‘We need something that gives us the same feeling.’ The manner in which he filmed it also contributes to this sensation, with the camera often appearing to chase the characters through narrow corridors, creating an eerie atmosphere akin to being pursued by a monster.

Although the concept of super-freezing air may initially seem like something straight out of a science fiction movie, a researcher from NOAA has proposed a plausible situation where this could potentially occur.

The concept revolves around the possibility that a volcanic eruption, releasing minimal particulate matter that goes unnoticed by sensors due to its occurrence at specific altitudes, could accumulate in the upper troposphere where we don’t typically monitor. This accumulation might cause the air to grow progressively colder and eventually fracture, resulting in a plunge of cold air that would freeze anything it touches. I found myself wishing I hadn’t been informed of this potential scenario, but it was fascinating to observe how these scientists could brainstorm imaginative possibilities. Many may consider such ideas far-fetched or amusing, but when you talk to enough experts, it seems almost anything is possible.

The most striking scene in the movie, which is also featured on its poster, is a depiction of the Statue of Liberty submerged under several stories of snow, floating in a frozen Hudson River. As mentioned by Nachmanoff, this was a purposeful reference to the surprising finale of Planet of the Apes. He elaborates that the original movie effectively shatters the audience’s preconceived notions about the world through the iconic scene where Charlton Heston sees the Statue of Liberty. By replicating this concept in Day After Tomorrow, we aimed to create an image, ‘Imagine that!’, that would once again captivate viewers and evoke a sense of wonder.

The scale is indeed grand, aligning with Emmerich’s character. It leaves you with the impression that everything global is intertwined. A prevalent theme in today’s environmental discourse is ‘One Earth, One Home.’ This notion echoes the sentiment, ‘There’s no backup for our planet,’ a phrase often seen on t-shirts. Though it may seem simplistic or overused, it undeniably rings true.

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2024-11-08 20:33