Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman Join Roland Emmerich's 'Stonewall'

Jeremy Irvine stars in the gay-rights film, which is set during the riots of June 1969.

Roland Emmerich's gay-rights film Stonewall has added Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman and Joey King to the cast ahead of the start of production.

The film, which will star Jeremy Irvine, tells the story of the riots of June 1969 after police raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Emmerich's film will focus on one man's political awakening sparked by the riots, which became a galvanizing event for the gay rights movement. Newcomer Jonny Beauchamp and Caleb Landry Jones also star in the project.

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Irvine plays Danny Winters who flees to New York, leaving behind his beloved sister (King). Homeless and destitute, he befriends a group of street kids who soon introduce him to the watering hole of the local drag queens, gays, lesbians, and everything in between: the Stonewall Inn. At the bar, Danny meets the suave Trevor (Rhys Meyers) before catching the eye of Ed Murphy (Perlman), Stonewall's repulsive manager who colludes with corrupt police, exploits homeless youth for financial gain, and is even suspected to have had a hand in some of their "disappearances." It all spirals out of control when the police unexpectedly raid Stonewall. In a storm of anger and with the toss of a single brick, a riot ensues and a crusade for equality is born.

Emmerich, the helmer of White House Down and Independence Day, will direct from a script by Jon Robin Baitz. Emmerich, Michael Fossat and Marc Frydman are producing while Kirstin Winkler and Adam Press are executive producing.

Rhys Meyers, who starred in The Tudors and NBC's TV series Dracula and was most recently seen in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, is represented by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Perlman, who starred in Sons of Anarchy and voices a role in Book of Life, is repped by the Gersh Agency and Kritzer Levine.

King, who recently appeared in Wish I Was Here and The Conjuring, is repped by Coast to Coast Talent Group and Industry Entertainment.

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