Roland Emmerich may be best known for bringing ruin to major cities and famous monuments in film, but as a vocal campaigner for the LGBTQ community, there is perhaps no better director to helm upcoming real-life drama, Stonewall.
Charting the genesis of a gay rights movement that would go on to inspire a generation, Emmerich’s passion project centers around the 1969 riots and their ensuing police raid on the titular Inn at New York’s Greenwich Village. Toplined by War Horse‘s Jeremy Irvine, the Stonewall club became a dedicated safe haven for members of the LGBTQ community, who were constantly berated by the public and unjustly punished by the police force at the time. What followed was a series of explosive riots – riots and demonstrations that would go on to become a defining moment in America’s quest for equality.
Stepping into the shoes of Danny Winters, Irvine’s lead character packs up and moves to New York city after becoming aware of his sexuality, and it isn’t long before the protagonist locks horns with the police force as he bangs the drum for the gay rights movement. Rubbing shoulders with Irvine on the crusade for equal rights are Ron Perlman and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who are on board to play the volatile pub manager Ed Murphy and the ice-cool Trevor, respectively.
Joey King, Caleb Landry Jones, Matt Craven, Atticus Mitchell and Mark Camacho round out the impressive cast list. Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall will chart a key moment in history when the inspiring drama hits theaters on September 25.
STONEWALL is a drama about a fictional young man caught up during the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) is forced to leave behind friends and loved ones when he is kicked out of his parent’s home and flees to New York. Alone in Greenwich Village, homeless and destitute, he befriends a group of street kids who soon introduce him to the local watering hole The Stonewall Inn; however, this shady, mafia-run club is far from a safe-haven.
As Danny and his friends experience discrimination, endure atrocities and are repeatedly harassed by the police, we see a rage begin to build. This emotion runs through Danny and the entire community of young gays, lesbians and drag queens who populate the Stonewall Inn and erupts in a storm of anger. With the toss of a single brick, a riot ensues and a crusade for equality is born.
