Battle: Los Angeles - I've Lost All Hope

Columbia Pictures has signed Jonathan Liebesman to direct Battle: Los Angeles. For those who don't know, the spec screenplay by Chris Bertolini tells the story of a Marine platoon battle against an alien invasion in downtown Los Angeles. Sounds cool right? Yeah... but the more and more I hear about the project, the less and less faith I have for it.

The concept sounds cool, originally pitched as a West Coast Cloverfield. Even Liebsman's pitch of Independence Day meets Black Hawk Down sounds appealing. But Liebesman's career so far has been extremely unimpressive. Some would call him a hack. His filmography includes Darkness Falls and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. So how did he get this job? According to THR, the filmmaker supposedly created a "whiz-bang presentation that showed his specific vision and passion for the project." Liebesman shot test sequences in Santa Monica and downtown LA, and added in computer generated aliens.

And what about the script? LatinoReview called the film "dull and boring and infuriating at times", and admitted that there was little to nothing to like about the film's story or characters. I would love for this to be cool. Hell, what happened to all the cool sci fi films? But the hiring of a second rate horror director has destroyed my remaining interest in this project.