Alien invasion heads to Melbourne's Docklands

Melbourne will be the setting for an alien invasion. Should we expect similar scenes to those seen in Independence Day?

Strange things are soon to be afoot on the Melbourne horizon.

UFOs and aliens will descend on the city's Dockland Studios to film a TV adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's 1953 science-fiction novel Childhood's End.

The story sees a peaceful alien invasion of Earth led by the "Overlords" who spend decades ruling the planet as a Utopia, but at a cost to human identity.

The production will be penned by Life on Mars creator Matthew Graham and directed by Nick Hurran, whose previous credits include Sherlock and Doctor Who.

Pre-production kicks off next month, with principal photography starting in December at Docklands, which is marking its 10th year of operation, and locations across Melbourne. The six-hour miniseries is set to premiere in the US in 2015.

It is being developed by studio Universal Cable Productions for US network SyFy, which claims it will be one of the most ambitious projects it has undertaken in years.

Arthur C. Clarke's novel finally
gets to the movies

The network's president, Dave Howe, said: "The powerful themes of Childhood's End, from the fearsome price of peace and prosperity to the very question of what constitutes a human being, remain fascinating and timeless."

The Victorian government said in a statement that the 13-week shoot will employ almost 400 local staff and bring $20 million to the state.

The shoot follows other recent productions including fantasy feature film The Moon and the Sun, which starred Pierce Brosnan, William Hurt and Chinese star Fan Bingbing, and Stuart Beattie's I, Frankenstein.

Film Victoria chief executive Jenni Tosi said the Melbourne move was testament to the standard of facilities and crew here. "This will be 'event television'," she said. "We're thrilled that Victoria's screen practitioners and businesses will have the opportunity to once again demonstrate their talent on a major international production, which will be seen by audiences across the globe."

It will be the first screen adaptation of the novel; several attempts have been made in the past but none have got off the ground.

Director Stanley Kubrick expressed an interest in the 1960s, but instead worked with Clarke to develop his short story The Sentinel into the landmark 1968 sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.