Roland Emmerich (; born November 10, 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films, most of which are English-language
Hollywood productions, have made more than $3 billion worldwide, including just over $1 billion in the United States, making him the country's 14th-highest grossing director of all time. He began his work in the film industry by directing the film
The Noah's Ark Principle (1984) as part of his university thesis and also co-founded
Centropolis Entertainment in 1985 with his sister. He is a collector of art and an active campaigner for the
LGBT community, and is
openly gay. He is also a campaigner for awareness of
global warming and
equal rights.