Aliens vs. robots short 'R'Ha' headed for Hollywood

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

The Hollywood Reporter has it that afeature-length expansion of the recent sci-fi short R’Ha is being developed by producers Rick McCallum (the Star Wars prequels) and Steve Tzirlin (Star Wars: The Clone Wars). The screenplay will be provided by Life on Mars creator Matthew Graham.

The feature film will follow an alien species, the R'Ha, and their quest to defend their race from an invading force. In its original six-minute form (below), R'Hacalls to mind Ancient Astronaut theory – its alien protagonist bearing more than a passing resemblance to depictions of the Egyptian sun god, Ra. The short film took its 22-year-old director Kaleb Lechowski seven months to create. Lechowski will also direct the feature adaptation.

 

 

 

'Independence Day' director to tackle aliens again in 'Emergence'

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

Roland Emmerich’s Centropolis Entertainment has bought the rights to what Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr describes as “an alien invasion storycontaining hot-button science elements.” Titled Emergence, Centropolis will bring the story to the big screen as “a large scale contemporary science fiction film,” and Emmerich himself will direct. 

The pitch for Emergence was written by Nic Kelman, best known for his 2003 bestselling novel, Girls. Deadline points out that Kelman holds a Bachelor of Science from MIT and speculates that the writer’s scientific background will notably inform the plot for Emmerich’s film. “This [Emergence] falls into the latest trend encompassing films like the Christopher Nolan-directed Interstellar, which melds narrative storytelling with grounded science theory.”

Quite what scientific angle Emergence will explore in relation to alien invasion is unclear at this point, though it may be notable that, while at MIT, Kelman majored in Brain and Cognitive Science. Does this mean we might see an alien movie finally getting to grips with the strong psychic aspects of alien encounters commonly reported by UFO witnesses? Time will tell, but not for a while yet as no release date has been announced. Expect 2015 at the earliest. In the meantime, Emmerich has two Independence Day sequels to deliver.

‘The Fourth Kind’ director will tackle aliens again in ‘Eden’

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

The writer/director of the controversial alien abduction horror The Fourth Kind, Olatunde Osunsanmi (pictured), is set to tackle aliens once again in Eden, his original sci-fi tale for Gold Circle Productions.

According to Comingsoon.net, “the storyline takes place in a world where aliens have enslaved humanity. Survivors follow an Underground Railroad-like path called "The Rail" in the hopes of winning their freedom.”

Paul Brooks will produce, with Guy Danella and Scott Niemeyer serving as executive producers.  

No release date has been set.

‘Independence Day’ sequels confirmed, story details revealed

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

ID Forever Part I and ID Forever Part II will see aliens from original movie return for second invasion.

Humanity will fight back using anti-gravity technology recovered from the aliens.

Bill Pullman to reprise his role as President Whitmore. Will Smith not returning.

Director Roland Emmerich has confirmed that not one, but two sequels to his iconic 1996 alien invasion movie Independence Day are now in active development. ID Forever Part I and ID Forever Part II willtake place roughly 20 years after the original, when a distress call sent by the first wave of aliens finally brings reinforcements to Earth.

“The humans knew that one day the aliens would come back,” Emmerich tells Entertainment Weekly, “and they know that the only way you can really travel in space is through wormholes. So for the aliens, it could take two or three weeks, but for us that’s 20 or 25 years.”

Apparently, Emmerich has been busy working with an art department on the look of his new IDworld. “It’s a changed world,” he says. “It’s like parallel history. [Humans] have harnessed all this alien technology. We don’t know how to duplicate it because it’s organically-grown technology, but we know how to take an antigravity device and put it in a human airplane.”

Fans of the original movie may be disappointed to learn that Will Smith will not be returning as Captain Steven Hiller for either of the sequels, although Bill Pullman has already confirmed that he will reprise his role as President Whitmore.

Emmerich tells EW that his new ID films will revolve around a younger cast of characters, which will include Captain Hiller’s (Smith’s) stepson, Dylan (originally played by Ross Bagley). The director also says that his first sequel will end on a cliffhanger: “The first one ends on a little success, but only enough to give the humans hope. And then in the second one they free themselves again [from the aliens].”

The scripts for both sequels are being written by James Vanderbilt of the famous Vanderbilt family – the seventh richest family in history. James’ grandfather was Donald C. Platten, the former Chairman and Chief Executive of Chemical Bank – once the third largest bank in the United States.

No release dates have yet been set for the Independence Day sequels, though 2015 and 2016 seem likely.