At the end of October, it was reported that summer blockbuster extraordinaire, Roland Emmerich, was set to begin filming a secret new alien invasion movie called The Zone that would channel the likes of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity (Read: ‘2012″² Director Roland Emmerich Wants To Make “˜Paranormal Activity’ “¦ With Aliens).

The “found footage” style movie was said to tout a $5 million micro-budget, hundreds of millions of dollars less than Emmerich is used to having on his movies, such as Independence Day, Godzilla, and 2012. We all wondered if this tiny budget would be a good thing for the director, who has been critically assaulted quite often (deservedly so), forcing him to worry about quality over just attention-grabbing effects.

Now we may never know.

It’s being reported that Emmerich’s involvement in The Zone is now non-existent after he decided to walk away, and that production on the movie has currently come to a halt. “This is not a project (Emmerich) is pursuing at this time,” said one of the director’s representatives, which has those involved with the production stunned.

As you might have noticed, “found footage” movies are pretty popular these days.

It all began with The Blair Witch Project before movies like [REC], Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, and any sequels or remakes continued to prove the success of such an outrageous style of filmmaking. Some people don’t have the stomach for these them park-worthy adventures, but for the rest of us, most of the movies can be a whole lot of fun. Just like first person shooter video games, these movies make you feel like you’re right there in the middle of whatever madness is unfolding, and they’re without doubt an effectively entertaining experience to behold.

Most of these films have been made on incredibly low-budgets and without any top-tier actors or directors involved, but now it appears that this is about to change.