* ActorInspiredElement:
** Creator/RobertLoggia got to decide which branch of the military his character was in, since it was never established in the script. Loggia ultimately decided that General Grey should be in the Marine Corps.
** Creator/JuddHirsch suggested the name of his character be changed from Moishe to Julius.
* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: 20th Century Fox executives did not want Creator/WillSmith in the lead, under the rather racist pretense that movies with black leads do poorly overseas. Creator/RolandEmmerich was dead-set on Smith and threatened to take the project to Universal if Fox rejected the actor. Emmerich was rewarded for standing his ground, as Smith became one of the biggest stars in the world thanks in part to ''Independence Day.''
* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/MaryMcDonnell accepted her role immediately after her agent pitched the film by simply saying "It's about fifteen mile-wide spaceships".
* BackedByThePentagon: The producers ''tried'' to use this trope, but the Pentagon refused to back a movie whose plot involved {{Area 51}} (because it doesn't exist!). Tellingly, Emmerich noted in one interview (and in the DVD commentary) that the Pentagon bent over backwards to help him get the technical details right ''until'' they saw Area 51 mentioned, at which point they told him that he was on his own. This is because, despite the existence of the facility being an open secret thanks to the Air Force base being clearly visible from the perimeter fence (though what they do or don't there is still unknown), the U.S. government wouldn't publicly admit to its existence [[http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/16/212549163/there-it-is-area-51-revealed-in-declassified-cia-report until August 2013]].
* BannedInChina: It was banned in Lebanon due to pressure from Hesbolla. Specifically, what angered them was the "forces of the world unite" montage, which showed Israeli and Iraqi air force personnel coexisting and agreeing to work together against the Invaders.
* BeamMeUpScotty: Creator/WillSmith's line "Welcome to Earth!" somehow has been [[MemeticMutation memetically mutated]] into "Welcome to Earf!", even though he doesn't have an accent anywhere close to that thick.
* BillingDisplacement: Though Mary [=McDonnell=] is higher billed than the fellow female stars, Margaret Colin and Creator/VivicaAFox, her screen time is much less than both of them. The same goes for Will Smith getting top billing despite having ''far'' less screen time than both Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman.
* {{Blooper}}:
** Despite starting on what should be a sweltering July morning, Connie's USA Today has a weather map that would be more appropriate for mid-winter in the United States.
** The Black Knights' CO is wearing the insignia of a lieutenant colonel when he's giving the mission briefing, but later when the aliens attack El Toro, he is wearing a captain's insignia.
** After dropping its nuclear missile, the B-2 bomber banks left to get away from the DC City Destroyer. However, the display at Area 51 shows the plane having banked to the right.
** When David is drunkenly making a mess in the spaceship hangar, [[https://www.moviemistakes.com/images/mistakegrabs/4049.jpg one of the bins he knocks over is labeled "Art Dept."]]
** Whitmore's fighter is equipped with four missiles, but he fires five: two to test the shield, one with the big volley, one to take down an attacker, and one to try to destroy the main weapon.
** Similarly, when Jimmy tries to take down Steve's pursuer, he is shown having three missiles left when he has already fired two.
** When Grey, Mitchell, and the Secret Service open fire on the alien attacking Whitmore, Mitchell is seen using a Beretta [=92FS=] pistol. When there's a closeup on his hand when he shoots the alien several more times, the pistol has changed to a Beretta [=92SB=] due to the telltale round trigger guard (the [=92FS=] features a square trigger guard).
* CaliforniaDoubling: Actually UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Doubling; most of the movie after the first act was filmed on the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, Utah, only a few miles from the UsefulNotes/{{Nevada}} state line.
* DeletedRole: Diana Bellamy, Creator/JudithHoag, and Creator/JessicaTuck were all cast in large roles that were ultimately deemed extraneous and not included in the final script.
* DevelopmentHell: Two sequels to the film have been planned for several years. The [[Film/IndependenceDayResurgence first one]] would be released in 2016; due to it bombing and Disney taking over Fox, there are no plans for the second sequel to be made.
* DeletedScene:
** A deleted scene (included in the extended version) early in the movie had David explaining exactly how our satellites were being hijacked by the aliens, at the end of which Harvey Fierstein's character planted an (ad-libbed) kiss on David. Ironically, the StraightGay Roland Emmerich himself decided to cut the scene, lest he incur the wrath of the [[MoralGuardians MPAA]]. In reality, the kiss in question was at best a platonic kiss, so it wasn't even that close to potentially upsetting the MPAA, especially seeing how [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons another thing that Fierstein was in]] got away with a similar male-male kiss without it being censored.
** There was a scene in the film that would have explained how Levinson's [=PowerBook=] 5300 was compatible with an alien operation system, by showing that Levinson analyzed the computers on board the crashed alien fighter to build the virus. The scene was removed from the theatrical cut because Emmerich didn't think people would make that big a deal of it.
** Yet another deleted scene (according to an interview with Judd Hirsch) would have explained that Julius Levinson was a Rabbi who lost his faith after his wife died. This is why David is so shocked by his revelation that he hadn't "spoken to God" since then. It's also why he takes it upon himself to lead the prayer circle in the FinalBattle.
** When Whitmore calls Marilyn to tell her to get out of LA, you can see Grey and Nimzicki entering the doorway as though they're about to tell the President something. The script featured a short scene in which they both recommend a nuclear first strike, which Whitmore declines in order to not provoke the aliens, before Grey says that they're working on a means to visually communicate with the DC ship. This scene is featured in the novelization.
** After finding Marilyn, a scene was filmed in which Jasmine fends off a group of survivalists.
** Several scenes were included in the Extended Edition that delve deeper into the relationship between Russell and his children. When Miguel starts driving the RV, with the intent of ditching Russell, it's revealed that Miguel resents him for being an embarrassing stepfather, and that Troy's condition is actually more serious than car sickness shown in the scene following the city destroyers' first attack. As the convoy gets ready to move on following the disastrous counterattacks over the world, Russell is implied to be overprotective of Alicia. When they arrive at Area 51, Miguel realizes just how much Russell cares for his family when he sees him attacking a scientist who was ignoring his pleas to help Troy in favor of looking at the invader Hiller captured.
** During the destruction scenes, there was a shot filmed where a bus flies through a billboard for ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', Emmerich and Devlin's previous film. Another shot featured a movie theater with the marquee "Coming Soon: ''Independence Day''." Neither made it into the finished film.
* DuelingMovies: Against ''Film/MarsAttacks''. In the end, ''Independence Day'' proved to be a box office success and won an Oscar.
* EnforcedMethodActing: Will Smith's rant about a god-awful smell was because of the set they were at. See: ThrowItIn
* FollowTheLeader: The success of ''Independence Day'' led to a resurgence of the DisasterMovie genre, with films like ''Film/DantesPeak'', ''Film/{{Volcano}}'', ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', ''Film/DeepImpact'', and ''Film/{{Armageddon|1998}}'' getting released within two years.
* InspirationForTheWork: Creator/RolandEmmerich and Dean Devlin got the idea for the film while fielding a question about the existence of alien life during promotion for ''Film/{{Stargate}}''. A reporter asked Emmerich why he made a film with content like that if he did not believe in aliens. Emmerich stated he was still fascinated by the idea of an alien arrival, and further explained his response by asking the reporter to imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning and discover fifteen mile-wide spaceships were hovering over the world's largest cities. Emmerich then turned to Devlin and said, "I think I have an idea for our next film."
* MeaningfulReleaseDate: It was originally scheduled for release on July 3; public anticipation did lead to some showings on the 2nd, however.
* MethodActing: Creator/BillPullman used the memory of a decayed tooth which was pulled from his mouth in order to come up with a terrified expression when speaking with the alien invaders.
* OrphanedReference:
** When David arrives at the office, Marty asks him why his beeper was turned off, to which David says it was on but he was ignoring him. In the script, Julius points out that David's pager is going off, sarcastically asking if he's "ready to get a real job."
** The explanation of the alien signal became this in the theatrical cut, which removed the scene in which David explains that he found a signal to Marty and would be able to block it.
* TheOtherMarty: Richard Riehle and Sam Anderson were set to portray David's boss Marty and the Secretary of Defense, respectively, but both roles were re-cast. As compensation, Dean Devlin and Creator/RolandEmmerich promised them all roles in ''Series/TheVisitor1997''.
* PermanentPlaceholder: The RousingSpeech Whitmore gives to the pilots before the climax was not intended as the final version of the speech. Emmerich and Devlin got caught up in filming they forgot to keep working on it up until Pullman was doing rehearsals on set. But Pullman was just so bombastic that the extras and ''crew'' were applauding, and they left the speech alone.
* RecycledSet:
** Certain White House scenes were filmed on sets from ''Film/{{Dave}}''.
** The attack on El Toro scene took place on the "Russian Airfield in Afghanistan" used in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. Ironically, unlike said film, the USMC did use the OV-10 Bronco displayed on the ramp.
** The USS ''Georgia'' set was recycled from ''Film/CrimsonTide''.
* TheRedStapler: In the film, Jasmine wears dolphin earrings and Steve got her a dolphin engagement ring. There was an increased demand for dolphin-themed jewelry after the film was released.
* SimilarlyNamedWorks: There is another film called ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv7EoY9nrz8 Independence Day]]'', about a woman who wants to be a photographer, and whose sister has an [[TakingYouWithMe explosive revenge for]] DomesticAbuse.
* StarMakingRole: Up to eleven for Creator/WillSmith. His work as [[Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince The Fresh Prince]] put him on the map as a musician. ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' and ''Film/BadBoys1995'' made him a household name as an actor. ''Film/IndependenceDay'' made him one of the biggest movie stars ''of all time''.
* SuperBowlSpecial: The film released a trailer for Super Bowl XXX, which featured the White House being blown up along with the tagline "Enjoy the Super Bowl. It may be your last." The following year, {{Summer Blockbuster}}s began releasing their trailers during the Super Bowl.
* ThrowItIn
** Production designer Creator/PatrickTatopoulos came up with two completely different designs for the aliens. Roland Emmerich loved both sketches and asked to use them both, leading to the distinct "small alien in an exoskeleton" look.
** It was Robert Loggia's idea for General Grey to be a Marine, as his branch was not established in the script.
** As usual, most of Creator/JeffGoldblum's dialogue was improv.
** And Harvey Fierstein's "Oh, my God. I gotta call my brother, my housekeeper, my lawyer. Nah, forget my lawyer..." was ad-libbed, although it was original "nah, fuck my lawyer," and then dubbed over (rather obviously).
** Similarly, Fierstein's character's planted kiss on Goldblum's character was ad-libbed by Fierstein. Of course, it ended up cut in the theatrical cut, but restored in the Special Edition.
** The line "Today we celebrate our Independence Day!" was ad-libbed.
** During Creator/WillSmith's rant about having to drag an unconscious alien through the desert in his parachute when he could have had a day off for the Fourth of July, he yells "AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL?!" That line was not in the original script: the desert setting that they were filming in was actually the salt flats near Great Salt Lake in Utah. Great Salt Lake is home to brine shrimp. When they die, the bodies sink to the bottom of the lake (which isn't very deep) and decompose. When the wind kicks up just right, the bottom mud is disturbed and the smell of millions of decaying brine shrimp can be very, very bad. Apparently, [[EnforcedMethodActing nobody warned Will]]. (Creator/RolandEmmerich also said that he would have loved to let Smith improvise as much as he could, given how hilarious the scene turned out).
** Will Smith also ad-libbed his reply of "Just tell them I hit you." to the burly soldier.
** Dean Devlin and second unit came up with [[spoiler: Russell Casse's]] heroic last words "Hello, boys! I'm back!" After the ending was changed, they kept the line.
** The scene in which Major Mitchell coldly fires three shots to finish off the alien prisoner was added after a test audience felt that the aliens "weren't suffering enough."
* TranslationCorrection: In the film, a British pilot mentions there may be reinforcements hiding in the "Golan Strait." The Golan ''Heights'' is actually a hilly region between Israel and Syria. The German dub corrects the location.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** The original ending involved Casse being disallowed to fly alongside the others, and so [[spoiler:he straps an explosive to his biplane and performs the HeroicSacrifice by flying it into the superlaser]] as per the ending that found its way into the film. It was determined to be a little bit too comical seeing a biplane match the speed of the fighter jets, and the reshot version allows us to see [[spoiler:Russ make his decision for a HeroicSacrifice as opposed to a suicide mission from the outset]][[note]]The movie's novelization contains this alternate ending.[[/note]]. This was homaged/parodied in one of the later ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' games as a cutscene once the BigBad ship starts to fire its big beam. An antique plane flies into the beam and...
** President Whitmore was originally intended to be a UsefulNotes/RichardNixon-like figure. The role was originally written for Creator/KevinSpacey, Dean Devlin's friend from high school. An executive at Fox refused to cast Spacey, insisting he didn't have the potential to be a big star. The part was re-written and Creator/BillPullman was then cast in the role.
** Creator/MatthewPerry was originally offered the role of Captain Jimmy "Raven" Wilder but pulled out at the last minute. His father John Bennett Perry plays a Secret Service Agent in the movie.
** Creator/WillSmith's then-girlfriend, Creator/JadaPinkett, was reportedly offered the role of Jasmine, but had already accepted a role in ''Film/TheNuttyProfessor1996''.
** Creator/RolandEmmerich wanted Creator/MartinLandau for the role of Julius Levinson, but he was busy with ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio''.
** Creator/EddieMurphy was the first choice for the part of Steven Hiller. Creator/EthanHawke was offered the role, but thought the script was terrible and turned it down. Creator/TomCruise, Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/KeanuReeves, and Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme were also considered for the part.
** Creator/MatthewBroderick was considered for David Levinson, but was unavailable.
** The song playing at the SETI station was originally "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Music/TearsForFears. At least one TV spot still used this.
* WorkingTitle: The film's title was almost ''Doomsday''. ''Invasion'', ''Sky on Fire'', and ''The End of the World'' were also considered. Part of the reason they kept in "Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!" was to ensure that Fox would approve the title.
* WriteWhoYouKnow:
** Dr. Okun was based on Jeffrey A. Okun, digital effects supervisor on ''Film/{{Stargate}}''. It is an almost perfect representation of Okun, right down to the hair and mannerisms.
** According to DVDCommentary, Julius Levinson was based off of one of Dean Devlin's uncles.
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