Just a week after the announcement that Roland Emmerich would be helming a low-key, found-footage movie in the tone of ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘Cloverfield,’ the project is already being scrapped. The ‘Independence Day’ director was planning on casting mainly unknown actors in an alien invasion film titled ‘The Zone.’ While specific plot details weren’t yet revealed, it was known that two of the main characters were going to be a haggard journalist in his 50’s and his 20-something cameraman.
The production team is reportedly confused over why ‘The Zone’ being shut down, as it was being produced for only $5 million. The found footage genre is still considered to be low risk, high reward, as audiences are continuously flocking to theaters to see such movies. Rumors are circulating that the shut down has something to do with the fact that Timur Bekmambetov is directing a similar movie titled ‘Apollo 18.’ That film is scheduled to be released into theaters around the same time as ‘The Zone’ would have been.
Written by: Karen Benardello