Bill Clinton Ran Out of ‘Independence Day’ Screening After White House Blew Up, Director Recalled

In 1996, Independence Day caused a stir with a Super Bowl spot that showed an alien ship blowing up the White House. Executives at 20th Century Fox were nervous and even told director Roland Emmerich that simply wasn’t something you could do in a national TV ad. But the spot ended up being a hit, helping build buzz that propelled the film to $817.4 million at the global box office, then the second highest grossing film of all time.

The image of an exploding White House takes on a new light today, with President Trump ordering the demolition of the East Wing, including the storied White House screening room that opened under Franklin D. Roosevelt and has hosted screenings of many memorable movies. (The plan is to rebuild the screening room down the road.)

As fate has it, Independence Day was among the films that screened at the White House. In…