Van Damme Takes on Aliens in 'UFO'

Action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme is going to be a very busy man next year. He already will be kicking much booty in films like "The Expendables 2," "Six Bullets," and "Universal Soldier: A New Dimension." Now he is going to help take on an alien invasion in the upcoming UK sci-fi thriller "UFO."

The story of "UFO" revolves around "Five friends -- [who] are awoken in the dead of night by what seems like a violent earthquake, strange lights are spotted shining down from high above outside, something is flying over the house, not just the house, the entire neighborhood, something huge -- A city size UFO -- What now? Are they going to attack? Have they already attacked? Are the power cuts an accidental side effect the UFO is not aware of? How quickly will society deteriorate and turn into survival of the fittest? What would you do to survive, to ensure the survival of those you love? Whatever happens... Try to remain calm."

Director Dominic Burns is describing "UFO" as "'Independence Day" meets "Monsters," told from the point of view of "Signs.'" It sounds to me like he's saying it is going to be an action-packed yet smart alien invasion film. That sounds like a concept that could work quite well. Burns has his work cut out for him, as it is pretty hard to really come up with anything new to do when it comes to the humans vs. aliens scenario.

Burns got incredibly lucky and showed he has a lot of initiative. The director emailed Van Damme's wife to see if the actor, by some miracle, would be interested in being in "UFO." Obviously he did not get the answer he was expecting: The Muscles from Brussels agreed to do it!

Van Damme has shown he is open to challenges in the sci-fi arena in the past. He has starred in several "Universal Soldier" films as well as others like "Replicant," "Cyborg," and "Timecop." It seems like the actor is a fan of the genre.

Burns has a couple notable movies already. His latest film, "Airborne," stars Mar Hamill ("Star Wars") and Julian Glover. His first film was "Cut," which starred Zach Galligan ("Gremlins"). "UFO" is his fourth feature film.

Van Damme will be portraying a military adviser who has retired. He is brought back into action to undoubtedly drop kick aliens in "UFO." Sean Brosnan (son of Pierce) is also starring in the film. The rest of the cast is made up of newcomer Bianca Bree, Simon Phillips, Jazz Lintott, and Maya Grant.

Filming on "UFO" starts in a week in Derby, England. The movie is scheduled to come out sometime in 2012.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

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