ROLAND EMMERICH - EMMERICH RELIEVED BY 9/11 ATTACKS

Movie director ROLAND EMMERICH was relieved when the 9/11 tragedy hit America (11SEP01) - because it saved him from the prospect of making a sequel to his 1996 blockbuster INDEPENDENCE DAY.

The 48-year-old filmmaker - whose latest effort is THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - shocked fans by revealing the horrific terrorist attacks put an end to film bosses nagging him to make a follow-up to the disaster movie.

Emmerich explains, "I'm not a fan of sequels in general. After the success of Independence Day, the studio kept asking us for a sequel and I was always sceptical. I was like, 'So what happens? The aliens come again?'

"Then 9/11 happened and it put an end to the talk of a sequel. No one really wanted to see THE WHITE HOUSE blow up again."