Bill Pullman Changed The Name Of His Greatest Movie
Bill Pullman's rousing speech in Independence Day was so effective, it prompted the studio to change the name of the movie.
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Bill Pullman’s amazing Presidential speech in Independence Day was so great, it convinced the studios to change the title. Apparently, Fox wanted to name the film Doomsday, but Pullman’s inspirational call to action before the world fought back against the invading aliens was enough to convince them otherwise. Pullman explained the story to The Guardian saying, “Dean and Roland said: we’ve got to move up the filming of the rousing speech scene because in that you understand why the movie is called Independence Day.”
Bill Pullman’s speech as President Whitmore is chill-inducing in all the right ways, as he announces that the fourth of July would no longer be an American holiday, but would be humanity’s Independence Day instead. Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum also brought their A-game to the film, making it one of director Roland Emmerich’s finest efforts. While Emmerich brought Pullman and Goldblum back for a sequel in 2016, it never lived up to the lofty highs of the original.
Bill Pullman has given us many great performances over the years and Independence Day might just be one of his best, or at least his most iconic. Independence Day ended up becoming a smash hit at the box office, pulling in $817.4 million at the box office. The film was loved by critics and audiences, while also helping to launch the blockbuster career of Will Smith, who was previously only known for his sitcom roles like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Michael Bay’s first hit feature Bad Boys.
Unfortunately, we weren’t blessed with any Bill Pullman performances in 2022, with his most recent roles both occurring in 2021. We most recently saw him as the lead in the Netflix series The Sinner, which wrapped up its fourth and final season in 2021. The critically acclaimed series followed Pullman as a police detective who took on a new case with a new cast of characters each season.
Unfortunately for fans of The Sinner, we won’t be getting any more seasons beyond the fourth. If you want to catch Bill Pullman’s other 2021 performance, you can see him in the Netflix miniseries Halston, which starred Ewan McGregor. Pullman had a recurring role in the series that also starred Rebecca Dayan, David Pittu, Krysta Rodriguez, Gian Franco Rodriguez, Sietzka Rose, Megan Danielle Gerald, Molly Jobe, Maxim Swinton, Deya Danielle Drake, and more.
Bill Pullman didn’t miss out on acting altogether in 2022, but not many people got to see his performance. Pullman returned to the stage in the Theresa Rebeck play Mad House at the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End. The play saw a man named Michael (David Harbour) taking care of his tyrannical dying father, Daniel (Pullman).
Alongside David Harbour and Bill Pullman, Mad House also starred Akiya Henry as Lillian, Hanako Footman as Devon, Sinead Matthews as Pam, Charlie Oscar as Skylar, and Stephen Wight as Nedward. The play was met with glowing reviews, especially for the performances of Pullman and Harbour. The play ran from late June to early September.
At this time, Bill Pullman doesn’t have any announced projects lined up for TV or film. Hopefully, we’ll hear about something soon. Until then, you can always give Independence Day a rewatch.
