Emmerich prepping super secret alien-invasion film

The stealth project joins the swelling ranks of the “found footage” genre,which purport to be genuine reels,tapes or files found after the person operating the camera expires. The alien-invasion flick Cloverfield revived the trend in 2008,and the hugely successful Paranormal Activity movies have kept it alive.

No plot details are known but sources say The Zone revolves around an alien invasion. In fact,word is that two leads were just cast,one playing a haggard journalist in his 40s or 50s,the other a black man in his early to mid 20’s,the cameraman.

Emmerich,who hasn’t worked on movie with budgets of less than $100 million since 1994’s Stargate,will be operating with only $5 million in the bank,less than what the upcoming alien-invasion movie Skyline had to work with.

Shooting will begin in a few weeks. Sources say Sony will distribute the movie; the studio,a frequent home for Emmerich,had no comment. The Zone may signal that the disaster-film maestro is embracing moviemaking with more modest budgets. He is in post-production on Anonymous,a political thriller set in the time of Queen Elizabeth.