There are many ways to try and get an actors attention. You can try and map out their daily route so you can "accidentally" bump into them. You can call the friend of your cousin who knew that agent who was friends with the star. You can hire a skywriter to write your script in the clouds. If you're trying to get Jean-Claude Van Damme to sign on to your film, however, it's actually fairly simple: just shoot his wife an email.
BBC News has learned that The Muscles from Brussels has signed on to play in UFO, a new film from director Dominic Burns. Also set to star Sean Brosnan, Andrew Shimm and Simon Phillips, the project is described by Burns as "Independence Day meets Monsters, told from the point of view of Signs." THR says that film is about five friends who wake up one morning to find that there is no power, cell phones or radio. They group wanders in the darkness for two days when a city-sized UFO appears above the city. The production is scheduled to film this week in Derby, England, where one scene will require 200 extras. Burns recently finished filming Airborne, a horror film starring Mark Hamill and Simon Phillips.
What happened to Jean-Claude Van Damme? When he starred in 2008's JCVD, a critically praised action/comedy in which the star openly made fun of himself, it looked like things were on the upswing, but he hasn't really done anything big since (he placed Master Croc in Kung Fu Panda 2, but that character couldn't have had more than 5 lines). I will say I am curious as to how Van Damme will play into UFO. Will he be one of the five friends? Will he be the alien asskicker who the friends run to for help? As soon as we know, we'll be sure to relay the information.
