Das Spielbergle aus Sindelfingen (South German dialect for "Little Spielberg from Sindelfingen")
Trade mark :
Often features an object crashing into the camera. Often features a zoom-in shot of a villain's eyes widening when the villain meets his demise
Emme Trivia -
His movie Arche Noah Prinzip, Das (1984) is the most high budgeted film-school examination film (DEM 1,000,000) in Germany. [1984]
He lists The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974) and Earthquake (1974) (disaster movies) as his favourites.
Brother of Ute Emmerich
Frequently casts members of a particular group of actors in minor roles in his movies. This group includes 'John Storey' , 'David Pressman' , Erick Avari, Leon Rippy, Christopher John Fields, Derek Webster, Jack Moore and Steve Giannelli, among others. All of these actors appeared in at least three films directed by Emmerich, including Universal Soldier (1992), Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), and The Patriot (2000). All of these films were produced by Centropolis Entertainment, the company co-founded by Emmerich and business partner Dean Devlin.
Often uses extreme telephoto lenses with very deep focus in his shots so that all elements are in sharp focus.
President of jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2005