Director Roland Emmerich recently talked to Vulture about the difficulties of getting his passion project, Stonewall, about the 1969 riots that sparked a turning point in America’s LGBTQ rights movement, off the ground. It took budget cuts that involved a location change from New York City (the riots’ original location) to Montreal and hiring lesser-known actors like War Horse’s Jeremy Irvine to make the film possible. But its first trailer stays faithful to the movement’s unwillingness to compromise: It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a leader within the gay liberation movement at the historic Stonewall Inn. Alongside Irvine and Penny Dreadful’s Jonny Beauchamp, they tell the story of one of the most famous acts of police brutality against New York’s gay community. The film opens September 25.
Stonewall Trailer: Jonathan Rhys Meyers Fights for Gay Rights in Roland Emmerich’s Passion Project
