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The Best Line In Independence Day Was Written To Save The Movie’s Title

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

The 1996 summer blockbuster Independence Day is full of iconic moments that absolutely thrilled audiences. This includes the sight of alien vessels blowing up the White House and thrilling dogfights between American fighter jets and smaller extraterrestrial ships. Arguably, though, the most iconic thing in the entire film is Bill Pullman’s rousing “Today, we celebrate our Independence Day” speech. Onscreen, his powerful words rallied the entire world together in defiance of an alien invasion; offscreen, those words cemented Independence Day as the most patriotic movie of the ‘90s. Long story short? It’s impossible to think of this movie without remembering this amazing line.

Because of this, you may be shocked to discover that the movie’s script did not originally have this legendary line. Instead, it was added at the last minute to convince 20th Century Fox that the movie should be named Independence Day; Warner Bros. owned the rights to this title, and Fox wanted to name the movie Doomsday in order to avoid paying a rival studio. Fortunately, two weeks after Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich snuck the line into the film’s dailies, Fox approved using the title Independence Day.

Sneaking In The Perfect Line

independence day

When Independence Day premiered in 1996, many fans thought it was the first film with this title. However, they were wrong: in 1984, Warner Bros. released a movie of the same name. That earlier film didn’t feature invading aliens. Instead, it focused on a small-town artist (played by Kathleen Quinlan) trying to make her dreams come true. It got mixed reviews, and very few people saw the movie because it was only available on VHS until 2015. However, its success (or lack thereof) didn’t matter. Because WB already had a movie with this title, 20th Century Fox wouldn’t be able to name their own blockbuster Independence Day without paying for the rights.  

As you might imagine, Fox didn’t want to pay if they didn’t have to. Therefore, they used ID4 as a working title during production; for the theatrical release, they wanted to name the movie Doomsday to match the disaster vibe of other ‘90s films. However, writer Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich really, really wanted to name this movie Independence Day, so they hatched a plan. He knew that Fox executives were regularly viewing dailies from the film to ensure that their money (it had a $75 million budget) was well spent. Because of this, he teamed up with Bill Pullman to secretly convince those execs of the need for a name change.

The original script for Independence Day did have the big Bill Pullman speech, which his character used to rally the nations of the world together against the alien threat. However, it didn’t have the iconic “Today, we celebrate our Independence Day” line. Devlin and Emmerich conspired with Pullman, pulling him aside to add this new line. Their goal was simple: they wanted the Fox executives watching the dailies to be so moved by the end of the speech that they approved naming the movie Independence Day. Incredibly, the strategy worked: two weeks after execs viewed the dailies, 20th Century Fox negotiated a deal with Warner Bros. for the rights to the name.

All of this adds a wonderfully meta dimension to the ‘90s biggest blockbuster film. In the context of Independence Day, the end of the speech is used to rally the world together in the name of a righteous cause. In the real world,  the end of the speech was used to rally studio executives into making the smartest name change in Hollywood history. It was a great call, really; like, can you imagine if this crowdpleasing movie had a name as generic as Doomsday? Fortunately, two men making a movie about out-of-this-world invaders were able to do the impossible and bring a bunch of stubborn studio executives back down to Earth. 


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Taylor Swifts wedding details: Everything revealed so far, including Adam Sandler conducting ceremony

Last night, right before the United States celebrates 250 years of independence, its undisputed queen of pop music, Taylor Swift, finally tied the knot to long-term beau, NFL tight end Travis Kelce, in what was surely the most anticipated and hyped up wedding of the century. 

And while the world’s most-watched couple have been notoriously tight-lipped about wedding details, and have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep their nuptials private, including forcing their guests to sign “ironclad” non-disclosure agreements and firing workers who took photos of the wedding sets, details are beginning to emerge about last night’s affairs

The fairytale ceremony

Ordinary couples have to pick a wedding venue, and the typical locations are a combination of personal meaning, romance, and spirituality. The list includes religious venues, seaside locations, large barns, and ballrooms. But if you’re the world’s number-one power couple, there’s really only one city and probably only one place that can accommodate both your guest lists while still delivering privacy from the paparazzi and your millions of fans: Madison Square Garden.  

The home of the Knicks, played host to the Swift-Kelce wedding, and between the night itself and the two days of setup, the location fee alone is reported to be in excess of $3 million

And of course, it isn’t enough just to rent the venue; you also have to secure it. Ahead of the affairs, the NYPD listed the street closures necessary to guarantee security for the couple, and it was comparable or even greater than the list released during the NBA Finals:

And what about the clothing? In a testament to how well security was managed, we still don’t have a photo of Swift in her wedding dress, but her publicist has revealed that both the bride and groom were garbed by Christian Dior Haute Couture, with famed Irish fashion designer Jonathan Anderson personally handling the designs — in close collaboration with the couple, naturally. The footwear for both the bride and groom was custom-made by Christian Louboutin, with even the sneakers selling for more than $1,000, while Cartier supplied her jewelry, according to PEOPLE

As for the flowers, another staple of weddings, details are still sparse, but Page Six did manage to snap photos of large peach flower arrangements being carted into the venue. 

The food and drink offerings largely still remain a mystery, but we have had some tantalizing glimpses into what was on offer, from luxury cake designer Julie Deffense teasing a video of the Swift wedding cake that “traveled over 1200 miles” before quickly deleting the video off her Instagram to TMZ slyly snapping pictures of the food being wheeled into the Garden, which included everything from lobster to fried chicken, onion rings and even a Krispy Kreme truck.

Some loyal Swiftians who waited outside the venue were even blessed with leftover desserts by one of the catering companies. 

The attendees

Let’s face it: a wedding isn’t the venue, the food, or even the dress. A good wedding begins and ends with the guest list, with the friends and family you choose to celebrate your romance with, and the 1,000-strong list of the Swift-Kelce affair was a mix of A-list celebrities known the world over and friends, family, and even neighbors known only to the couple. 

While every guest was no doubt honored to receive the invite, three people in particular were most important to the couple: Austin Swift, Taylor Swift’s brother; Jason Kelce, Travis’s brother, and…Adam Sandler. According to the hosts of Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, and Michael Strahan, all of whom were in attendance and spent their morning show gabbing about the wedding, the bride and groom eschewed the usual list of groomsmen and bridesmaids in favor of a Man of Honor for Taylor and a Best Man for Travis, and unsurprisingly they both chose their brothers to fill these important roles. But the officiating was done by none other than Adam Sandler, who has reportedly been a friend to the families of both Travis and Taylor over the years, which required the famous actor-comedian to get a one-day license as a marriage officiant in New York.

Celebrity guests included a mix of athletes, entertainers, and models, from Swift’s close friends Gigi Hadid, Selena Gomez, and Zoë Kravitz to A-list actors like Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper, and Julianne Moore, according to The Independent, who also reported that Beatles legend Paul McCartney delivered one of the night’s many performances.  

A few centuries ago, only the weddings of kings and queens elicited such fanfare, but given that Taylor Swift is pop culture royalty, it’s no surprise that her wedding has been the most extravagant and publicized affair of 2026. We wish the happy couple the best of luck as they embark on their three-month honeymoon, the details of which are every bit as under wraps as those of their wedding.


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Netflix Streaming Hit Is Every Man's Worst Nightmare

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated

It’s 12 years old, it’s been off and on different streaming services over the years, and yet, David Fincher’s 2014 hit Gone Girl is again in the Netflix Top Ten. There’s something about the story of a missing wife that tickles the true crime center of the brain. That’s before the first twist, and then the second one, and then a few more on top of that. By the time the credits roll, you’ll be horrified and impressed in equal measure. 

Every Man’s Worst Nightmare

Gone Girl starts with the disappearance of Amy (Rosamund Pike). Her husband, Nick (Ben Affleck) is immediately considered the prime suspect. It doesn’t help that there’s signs of a struggle in their kitchen, the small fact that he really was having an affair with one of his students played by Emily Ratajkowski, and the complete breakdown of their relationship has left him feeling, at best, completely numb inside. At worst, he thinks Amy has set him up. 

No one’s listening to anything Nick says or does in his own defense. What he says is less important than how he says it. His inability to get with the program and be the grieving, distraught husband every major news network wants to interview is more damning than all of the circumstantial evidence the police dig up. It’s everyone’s nightmare to be accused of a crime that isn’t being taken seriously. 

It’s also why Gone Girl works as well as it does. Everyone involved in the disappearance of Amy is a horrible person, with the lone exception of Nick’s sister, Margo (Carrie Coon), including Nick and Amy herself. No one’s listening to Nick’s defense, and no one listened to Amy. 

Every Woman’s Worst Nightmare

David Fincher was working off very strong source material when putting together one of the darkest, bleakest thrillers about a marriage falling apart. Author Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay to her own blockbuster 2012 novel herself. It’s a testament to the skill and craft of everyone involved that in an era when adult thrillers were fading, the film pulled in $370 million at the box office. 

It’s Rosamund Pike’s best movie, arguably Ben Affleck’s best performance, and in the last 12 years, nothing’s come close. A wave of similar hit thriller novels came to the big screen including The Girl on the Train, but nothing hit the sweet spot of edge of your seat “what is going on here” with wild twists and characters you’ll love to hate. Or love to love. Gone Girl is a rorschach test of a film and you’ll end up seeing what you want to see. 

The success that the film has had on streaming isn’t up for debate. On every streaming service it’s been a part of Gone Girl has been a hit. True crime podcasts rising in popularity over the last decade has helped the film remain on the top of the most-watched lists. Those haven’t dipped in popularity as sadly, every year brings fresh material for the legions of podcasters out there to pour over. Gone Girl will always be relevant. 

Gone Girl is currently streaming on Netflix.


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Stargate SG-1 Showed How Evil Its Villains Were In An Episode Where The Good Guys Lose

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated

Stargate SG-1 had a lot of work to do in its first season to go beyond the setting of the 1993 film. By the time Episode 11, “Bloodlines,” hit the air on Showtime it was clear to the new and ever-growing fanbase that this was a different type of sci-fi series. Teal’c (Christopher Judge) was already being compared to Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Worf, and the introduction of his family on Chulak didn’t help the comparisons. Once “Bloodlines” came ot an end it was clear that Teal’c would be different and the Goa’uld were going to be the worst villains in any 90s sci-fi series. 

Teal’c Would Do Anything For His Family

Teal’c, Rya’c, And Drey’auc

The episode opens with Teal’c undergoing treatment to remove his Goa’uld symbiote. It fails. By now, his body relies on the parasitic evil alien to function. That’s enough to get him to open up to Stargate Command about his family back home on Chulak. His son, Rya’c, is going to be implanted with a Goa’uld larvae and Teal’c wants to stop it. General Hammond (Don S. Davis) pushes back and stops the team though he folds at the flimsiest pretense to undertake the mission. 

Teal’c and the rest of SG-1, O’Neil (Richard Dean Anderson), Jackson (Michael Shanks), and Carter (Amanda Tapping) sneak onto Chulak and while behind enemy lines learn a word that fans of the show will get very used to hearing: Shol’va. Traitor. Teal’c was branded as Shol’va for betraying Aphosis. That brought down his family’s standing, something Drey’auc, his wife (played by future Eureka star Salli Richardson) makes sure to let him know. 

The usual full-speed ahead, gung-ho nature of SG-1 hits a snag when it turns out Rya’c is sick and needs a Goa’uld to be implanted in order to survive. After fighting to spare his son this exact fate, Teal’c is the one to implant his son. It’s a tragic moment made all the worse with the knowledge of how the Jaffa have suffered under the Goa’uld for generations. It’s a success and Rya’c lives but at an enormous cost. When “Bloodlines” ends, it’s not clear if this was a victory, or a loss, for SG-1. 

Bloodlines Set The Table For The Jaffa Revolution

Teal’c And Bra’tac

Teal’c kept his family a secret from Stargate Command because knew his family, deep behind enemy lines, was a weak point for him that could be exploited by the Goa’uld, and how could anyone trust him with his family in danger? What he left out was the presence of Bra’tac (Tony Amendola). At 103 years old, the legendary Jaffa warrior is still a brutal fighter capable of taking down a unit of palace guards without breaking a sweat. Like Teal’c, he’s a former First Prime to Apophis, and also like Teal’c, he becomes a close ally of SG-1. 

Future scenes between Bra’tac and Hammond are among the best in the entire series. Bra’tac’s eventual defection is one of the many unintended consequences of the team’s actions during “Bloodlines.” Daniel blowing away a Goa’uld spawning tank, Rya’c and Drey’auc, humans entering Chulak so easily, all of it comes back in later seasons. 

Teal’c may be the Worf of Stargate SG-1 but he’s his own, tragic character, trying to carve a new path forward for his warrior people in the face of centuries of tradition and honor. It’s completely different. At least Teal’c doesn’t get his butt kicked by every new threat.


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