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...

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...