If I just saw the trailer for INVASION PLANET EARTH by itself, I wouldn't be very interested in checking it out. It's a low budget version of the alien invasion disaster movie scenario we've seen play out many times over the decades. But what makes this movie worth supporting is the back story; the fact that this was a passion project that took director Simon Cox twenty years to complete.
Cox started working on INVASION PLANET EARTH, which was originally called KALEIDOSCOPE MAN, in the '90s, and spent six years shooting footage that he then used to pitch the project to the UK film industry and private investors. He had concept art created, he tried to produce a TV pilot version of the story. Eventually he turned to crowd funding – and with the money that was raised over the course of two years and seven crowd funding campaigns, Cox was able to shoot a third of the movie. Investors then stepped in to finance the rest of it.
So if you look at the film's IMDb page and see that it has over 100 producers, that's how it happened. Amazingly, Cox got so much support while trying to get this movie done that he was even able to get 900 extras to show up for the filming of an epic battle scene.
Now Munro Films and Lightbulb Film Distribution have announced that INVASION PLANET EARTH will be getting a theatrical release in the UK on December 5th. A digital download release will follow on December 16th, and the movie will be reaching DVD on December 30th.
For December 5th only, the theatrical screenings will be followed by the documentary featurette FROM DREAM TO SCREEN.
The film has the following synopsis:
After the death of his young daughter, Tom Dunn is a broken man. When his wife falls pregnant again, he cannot believe their luck. However, his joy is short lived, as on the very same day, the people of Earth become plagued with terrifying visions of the end of the world.
When a gigantic, all-consuming alien mothership appears in the sky and launches a ruthless attack on Earth’s cities, chaos and destruction follow!
Tom must find the strength and wisdom to save his wife and unborn child. However, first he must confront a shocking truth. A truth which threatens the key to the survival of the human race.
The ultimate war for Planet Earth is about to begin…
Munro Film's managing editor Frank Smith had this to say:
Simon Cox had the vision and drive to make the kind of film he and sci-fi fans want to see. It’s the ultimate nostalgic homage and very effective. There’s a clear fanbase, and Simon should also be applauded for engaging a community of fans for the film over the years, many of whom featured as extras in crowd scenes. They, along with sci-fi fans across the UK can now enjoy Invasion Planet Earth and we are very happy about that."
Lightbulb's commercial director Matthew Kreuzer added:
We’re absolutely thrilled to be releasing Invasion Planet Earth. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this film for the past few months with Simon and his team. What he has created over the past 20 years is a fantastic action / sci-fi film with a nod to the sci-fi programmes we used to watch in the 70’s and 80’s (Dr Who, Blake’s 7, Space 1999 and Buck Rogers). It has such a cool retro feel about it and yet he has combined this with strong CGI elements, bringing it up to the modern day."
Cast and crew will be present at the MCM Comic Con Birmingham this Sunday, November 17th for a behind the scenes panel. Cox will then be leading a workshop called "Creating Special Effects on a Budget."
The trailer for INVASION PLANET EARTH can be seen right here: