Everything I've heard and read about "Battle: Los Angeles" makes me think of the summer hit, "District 9." It's set in a different place of course and the story puts human and alien in more direct, open conflict, but the angle of a small, personal tale -- as I understand it -- carries through both movies.

One of the more surprising bits of casting for "Battle: LA" is Ne-Yo, the popular R&B singer-songwriter who starred in "Stomp the Yard." He'll next appear in the George Lucas-conceived Tuskegee airmen biopic "Red Tails" and then in "Battle: LA" in 2011. It's a very calculated move on the singer's part, as Ne-Yo harbors dreams of being an actor. "Stomp the Yard" wasn't much of a stretch, as he describes in the video below, but he's hoping the coming roles will be key in helping him branch out.

Head over to MTV.com for more from Ne-Yo on "Battle: Los Angeles."

Happy “Battle: Los Angeles” week, folks! We’ve been eagerly tracking this so-out-there-it’s-gotta-be-awesome project for awhile around these parts, and with Ne-Yo joining the cast it’s gotten even more interesting. Aliens, scandal-plagued rappers, Harvey Dent kicking ass -– as cameras begin rolling on the February 2011 flick, what more do you need?

One of the more interesting aspects of the film emerged earlier this year, when we interviewed filmmaker Jonathan Liebesman, who oversaw “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” and this year’s impressive Sundance thriller “The Killing Room.” At the time, the only actor who had come on board the aliens-invade-Los Angeles film was Aaron Eckhart, and Liebesman said that the star was planning to channel Dirty Harry. Read more...

Aaron Eckhart is leading the charge against an army of vicious space invaders in "Battle: Los Angeles," and luckily, he's not alone.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that a bevy of actors are joining the cast of the Jonathan Liebesman-directed science fiction film, including R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and Ramon Rodriguez, recently seen in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Read more...

The hardest thing about making an alien movie is finding new ways to depict your invaders; the hardest thing about being a leading man like Aaron Eckhart is finding new ways to reinvent yourself. These days, both struggles are being waged with “Battle: Los Angeles."

“We are doing our best to do something that hasn’t been done before,” said 29-year-old South African born director Jonathan Liebesman, best known for getting gory with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” in 2006. “This is a more down and dirty alien movie. This isn’t like ‘Independence Day.’”

This time, Liebesman’s sci-fi action thriller centers on a marine platoon that must protect the City of Angels from alien invaders. Read more...

After his brilliant turn as Harvey Dent in 'The Dark Knight," one would expect the handsome Aaron Eckhart to be signing onto big A-List roles right and left. But he's remained relatively quiet, taking no big parts, just working on "Traveling" with Jennifer Aniston.

However, it looks like Eckhart might be ready for that to change. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he's just signed onto Columbia's sci-fi thriller "Battle: Los Angeles." It will be the first time he's really played the action hero, and been front and center of the action.

The story centers around a Marine platoon, who battle alien invaders right in the middle of Los Angeles. Eckhart will play the platoon commander. Read more...