Back in October 2009, just before the release of the first Paranormal Activity, it was revealed that Oren Peli's next found-footage directorial adventure would be the Roswell-themed **Area 51. By the end of November the same year there were reports that production had wrapped. So where is it?
It turns out that rumours of the films completion were premature. "There's still no release date," regular Peli producer Jason Blum told Shock, "but I anticipate the movie will be mostly done in three or four months. Like Paranormal Activit****y, we went back like fifty times for additional photography. The great thing about doing extra shooting for inexpensive movies is that the cost is low, so we screen and shoot and screen and shoot."
There were also distractions in the form of a certain high-profile sequel. "Oren and I were pulled away from Area 51 a lot for the second Paranormal," Blum explains. "Once that came out we ramped up on Area 51 again." Asked if he's expecting a 2012 release though, Blum is more optimistic: "Not for sure; it could be sooner..."
Last we heard, Area 51 involved three brothers taking the motorway to Roswell to try out their new video camera and investigate the disappearance of an alleged alien abductee. Given the extensive shooting that's taken place since that was revealed though, there may now be much more to it than that...