truth and lies

Zebras and Missiles: Inside Roland Emmerich’s Awesome House

Photo: Getty Images


Pop quiz! Which of the following items are actually features of Independence Day director Roland Emmerich’s 1830 London townhouse, as shown and described in today’s can’t-miss New York Times slideshow, and which are crazy things we made up?

a) A diorama of torture at Abu Ghraib.

b) At least three stuffed zebras.

c) A throw pillow embroidered with the profile of Josef Stalin.

d) A large ball made of glued-together nude Barbie dolls

e) A desk made from the wing of a World War II airplane.

f) A diorama of Hugh Grant’s encounter with Divine Brown.

g) A life-size waxwork statue of Pope John Paul reading his own obituary.

h) A coffee table made of an Iraqi missile.

i) An Iraq-vs.-America chess set featuring pieces carved in the shape of a suicide bomber and the exploding World Trade Center towers.

j) A silver-painted replica of a door in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow.

k) A framed photo of Princess Diana giving the cameraman the finger.

l) A diorama of the Kennedy assassination.

m) Dolls of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in a fireplace.

n) A headboard made from the wing of jet plane.

o) A guest room with a flight-suited George W. Bush doll sitting attentively on the bed.

p) A framed photograph of a bare-chested Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

q) A chair made out of Shell oil cans by children in Ghana.

r) Stone benches laser-cut with the words “insurgents” and “infidels.”

s) An enormous white birdcage in the shape of the White House.

t) A statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Thinker pose.

u) Chalkboard walls covered in terrible ideas for movies.

Solution

Real items in Roland Emmerich’s house: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t.

False items: u. The movie ideas are awesome!!

A London Home to Shock the Neighbors [NYT]

Zebras and Missiles: Inside Roland Emmerich’s Awesome House