[4] As a youth, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America on vacations financed by his father, Hans, the wealthy founder of a garden machinery production company.

Theatrically, these were only released in and nearby his native country, although Emmerich filmed them in English and went against conventional German styles in an attempt to appeal to a larger market.

Joey and Hollywood-Monster eventually also saw home video releases in the U.S. (as Making Contact and Ghost Chase, respectively) once Emmerich achieved more prominence in America.

Producer Mario Kassar invited Emmerich to come to the United States to direct a futuristic action film entitled Isobar.

[8] Emmerich subsequently refused the offer to direct after producers rejected Devlin's re-write of the script, and the Isobar project was eventually scrapped.

[16] Emmerich said that prior to getting involved with Godzilla he and Devlin had planned a disaster movie centered around an asteroid fall, which wound up cancelled after Armageddon went for a similar idea.

[18][19] After teaming up with new screenwriting partner Harald Kloser, Emmerich returned once again to directing a visual effects-laden adventure with 2004's blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, another disaster film about a rapidly oncoming ice age brought upon by the effects of global warming.

[20] He was slated to direct a remake of the 1966 science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage,[21] but he eventually left project, due to clashing with its producer James Cameron.

[22] In 2009, Emmerich directed 2012,[23] an apocalyptic disaster film based on the conspiracy theory that the ancient Mayans prophesied the world's ending on 21 December 2012.

Emmerich usually finishes production of a large-scale movie both in a time frame shorter and on a budget lower than what is typically requested by other directors.

[6][8] Emmerich's next film, Anonymous, released on 28 October 2011, is based on the premise that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford is the real author of the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare.

[1] In June 2023, Emmerich announced a franchise titled Space Nation which will consist of a MMORPG, a TV series, animated shorts and spinoff games.

[5][35][36][37][38] He likes to decorate his homes in a self-described "outlandish" manner,[38] adorning them with rare Hollywood memorabilia, murals and portraits of dictators and Communist figures, and World War II militaria.

[41] In 2007, on behalf of the LGBT community, he held a fundraiser at his Los Angeles home for Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

[43] Emmerich's extensive collection of artwork includes a painting of Jesus Christ wearing a Katharine Hamnett-styled T-shirt during his crucifixion,[38] prints of Alison Jackson's works of a Princess Diana lookalike making obscene gestures and engaging in sex acts,[36][44] a wax sculpture of Pope John Paul II laughing as he reads his own obituary,[36][44] and a Photoshopped image of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a homoerotic pose.

[44] Emmerich is in favor of the campaign for stunt performers to receive recognition at the Academy Awards, and has worked to raise awareness over the issue of global warming.

[49] In addition to film, Emmerich also co-created and produced the short-lived television series The Visitor, and, in 2001, directed a one-minute commercial titled "Infinite Possibilities" for DaimlerChrysler.

[46] Stating that he is "a filmmaker, not a scientist", he creates his own fiction based on actual science or history to make the messages he sends "more exciting".

He stated that his lack of interest in the previous Godzilla movies, the short time he promised it would take for him to complete the film, and the studio's refusal to screen it for test audiences were all factors that may have negatively affected the quality of the final product,[35] and cited the former reason as to why he turned down an offer to direct Spider-Man, as he was not interested in comic books or superhero-related fiction.