Bob Hoskins has dealt with wacky rabbits, dangerous viruses and London criminals, but he’s rarely tackled aliens. All that looks set to change as he’s signed on to the cast of extraterrestrial invasion pic Transmission.
Hoskins is on board alongside Jason Flemyng, Willem Dafoe and Talulah Riley, last seen in the pivotal role of “blonde” in Inception, but probably better known for her work in Pride & Prejudice and The Boat that Rocked. Oh, and she was in both** St Trinian’s** films, but we won’t hold that against her.
There aren’t that many details yet about Transmission’s plot, though according to Moviehole, it’ll be proudly British, will see nasty space-going types deciding to attack the Earth during a solar eclipse, and because few sci-fi films can escape it these days, it’ll be shot in 3D.
The one big element that has us worried is word that Roger Christian is in talks to direct it. While he might still have that Oscar on his mantelpiece for his art directing on** Star Wars**, his most famous film directing job was Battlefield Earth. And since then, he hasn’t been let anywhere near a movie with aliens in it. If he gets the job, it’ll either end up with him securing freedom from director jail, or having his Oscar taken away as punishment. Let's hope for the former, eh? Just don't give the aliens dreadlocks and we might be OK.