Battle: Los Angeles Review Thread (Spoilers)

[GreenScar]

Updated July 31

They just added another cast member (and of course Aaron Eckhart)

It’s a really slow news day (how can you follow Ridley Scott going back to Alien?) so here are a few small casting notes to chew on. First, appropriately, is the news that Billy Crudup has joined the adaptation of best-selling memoir Eat, Pray Love. Variety notes that he’ll work alongside Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and Richard Jenkins under the direction of Ryan Murphy. Crudup will play husband to Roberts’ protagonist, who leaves him behind to undertake a global journey of self-discovery. The film goes before cameras next week.

Meanwhile, three actors have been added to the science fiction action flick Battle: Los Angeles, and they’re all after the jump.

We’ve known for a while that Aaron Eckhart will topline Battle as the central Marine, but now we’ve got new names to fill out the roster alongside him: THR reports that Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena and Bridget Moynahan are all on board. This is one of those movies we’d love to see succeed: an original sci-fi action spec script seemingly inspired by stories of UFOs over LA during the early days of US involvement in WWII. But the Chris Bertolini script has been slammed online (reports suggest at least one rewrite has cleaned it up) and the resume of director Jonathan Liebesman (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Darkness Falls) has raised doubts. But what the hell, he’s said he wants to make something like “Independence Day meets Black Hawk Down,” so I’ll wait and see what happens here.

Rodriguez will be a key player, as radio battalion Crpl. Adriana Santos. Moynahan plays a veterinarian and Pena plays the father of a boy found by Eckhart’s marines. Liebesman is shooting the film in the fall; the plan has been to film in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which should make an interesting double for LA.

Updated July 30

We have some casting news for Battle: Los Angeles

The cast of Jonathan Liebesman's new sci-fi action film Battle: Los Angeles is finally starting to come together. It was already announced late last year that Aaron Eckhart would star as a Marine staff sergeant. THR announces today that Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena and Bridget Moynahan have also joined the cast. Battle: Los Angeles is about a Marine platoon that faces off against an alien invasion in Los Angeles. Its been described as a Black Hawk Down-like energetic action movie. Rodriguez will play Crpl. Adriana Santos, a member of a radio battalion; Moynahan will play a veterinarian. Shooting starts this fall.

Battle: Los Angeles is a movie I've been looking forward to quite a bit. Something about it just sounds like it'll be pretty frickin' awesome, and I've heard that there was a rewrite of Chris Bertolini's script (that was initially reviewed poorly online). This is an interesting casting announcement because I'd expect to hear more male names involved in this (as they've got to fill up an entire Marine platoon) but at the same time, both Rodriguez and Moynahan are great actresses and I'm happy to see them involved. Though I am a bit worried about what kind of alien invasion action story we'll see that involves a veterinarian? Stay tuned!

I bet Michelle Rodriguez gets shot

This movie has been described as Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day. I'll believe it when I see it. It would be great to get a fresh epic Alien invasion pic. I'm just wondering if it's possible.

Battle: Los Angeles will be directed by Jonathan Liebesman of Darkness Falls and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. The story follows one Marine platoon's encounter in the battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles. It will be distributed by Sony.

I hope they make a good movie.