If you were wondering how a group of teens could find themselves partying alone in a Maine vacation home, and then have to fight off aliens who invade from upstairs, we have our answer. Ashley Tisdale's dad in They Came From Upstairs is going to be played by Doug Wilson, err -- Kevin Nealon, who has been co-starring on Weeds as the pot-smoking ex councilman Doug for a few years now. Of course, there's a chance that the teens are not alone, and that mom and pops are sleeping upstairs, but since they haven't been mentioned in previous news releases, I'm going to guess that the parents either went out for the night, or don't know where their rabble-rousing children are.

So yes, The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Nealon will play Tisdale's father, Stuart Pearson, while Gillian Vigman (Mad TV and one of the speed dating women from 40-Year-Old Virgin) has been cast as his wife and Ashley's mom. Since Tim Meadows already nabbed himself a role earlier this month, the adventure comedy will be a bit of a reunion for the SNL alumni. With these adults in place, you've got your comedy, and I guess the kids will provide the adventure. Now, if only we could hear something more about the film other than it being a comedy adventure about kids trying to defend a vacation home from aliens who invade from upstairs. Production is getting into gear, so maybe we'll hear soon.

I always kind of thought that Tim Meadows deserved to be way more famous than he is; but, I guess his brand of humor just never really caught on. Instead, Meadows just keeps steadily working on projects that, for the most part, seem kind of beneath him. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Meadows is set to star in They Came from Upstairs with High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale.

The family-friendly film centers on a group of teens who fend off an alien invasion that seems to be originating from the second floor of their vacation home -- sure it sounds silly, but then again, it is a kid's movie. Meadows has slummed it before in plenty of family-friendly flicks, so it's not a big surprise to see his name in the credits of another kiddie movie. At least with some of his work in teen comedies, he has the chance to be a little more 'risqué'.

The original spec script for Upstairs was written by Mark Burton (Madagascar and Wallace and Gromit) and was purchased back in 2006 by 20th Century Fox for $1.75 million. So, I guess they are banking on the film to pull in a tidy profit at the box-office. Luckily for them, securing Tisdale in the lead guarantees legions of tweens on opening day, so I think that their investment is going to pay off. Meadows will play Sheriff Doug Armstrong, but I doubt most of the audience for this movie will get to truly appreciate the comic mind that created Leon Phelps. They Came from Upstairs is set for release on January 16th, 2009.

I imagine if she can deal with having one hell of an unfortunate name in the whole High School Musical series, Ashley Tisdale could take on a couple of aliens. Before she gears up for the third installment of the hugely popular HSM franchise as Sharpay Evans, The Hollywood Reporter says she'll fight off some other-worldly beings in 20th Century Fox's They Came From Upstairs. When I first told you about this project, Thor Freudenthal had nabbed himself the directorial chair for this feature. Unfortunately, now THR says that the adventure comedy will be helmed by John Schultz (Drive Me Crazy).

The premise: a group of teens are partying it up in their Maine vacation home when aliens invade -- via the home's upstairs. I presume she'll be fighting off the green things, grey things, or whatever color the aliens will end up being along with co-stars Robert Hoffman (Step Up 2 the Streets), Carter Jenkins (Keeping Up with the Steins), and Austin Butler (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide). Rounding off the cast is Ashley Boettcher and Henri and Regan Young. Cautionary tale #9873547 -- don't party with fellow teens in a vacation home, or aliens will invade! Production will get underway in the ultra-Maine location of Auckland, New Zealand later this month, and when that wraps, Tisdale will help bring High School Musical to the big screen for the first time.

Welcome back to The Write Stuff! I'm thrilled that there is such a strong interest in screenwriting out there. Thank you all so much for your comments last week, both here and on my site. All of your questions and comments will be addressed in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and keep them coming!

The first interview for the column is with red-hot screenwriter Adam F. Goldberg. Adam is living the dream. He writes for both television and film, and his upcoming movie projects include Fanboys, the live-action Jetsons movie, and They Came from Upstairs. Cinematical spoke with the incredibly busy Goldberg about his scripts, his process, and Goonies: The Musical.

Cinematical: You said you were being "enslaved by a director," what are you working on? And should I call the authorities?

Adam F. Goldberg: Perhaps call them for my hacky writing! It's called They Came From Upstairs for Fox. It's a family movie, kinda like Gremlins -- but with aliens. The spec was written by Mark Burton and was sold for like $1.7 mil. I believe I am making about .0001212 of that. It's been a really cool project. The movie was in pre-production and the studio realized the script wasn't ready and shut it down pretty late in the game. I came aboard to get the train back on the tracks which is always high pressure and very difficult to do. I handed in 40 pages and they re-greenlit the movie and we're casting and location scouting now. I'm on draft two currently, working next to the director and bringing his vision into it.

Cinematical: Is that an awkward process at all -- being brought in to re-write a fellow writer? Do you ever run into hurt feelings or bruised egos? I guess the $1.7 million makes the pill easier to swallow.

AFG: Well, I come from the TV world, writing on sitcoms and that's very collaborative. You have to sit in the room and watch 10 other writers tear apart your script right in front of you. That bruises your ego. As for movies, more often than not a writer can only go so far and it's your job to bat clean up. It's never a great feeling to have your screenplay rewritten, but hopefully you've moved onto your next project, so it doesn't sting so much. And believe me, that $1.7 payday is like winning the lottery. I hope I can sell a spec one day. I've had little luck in that department.

In an interesting twist, the film that was one of the biggest spec sales of 2006 is getting a less-than-famous name to head it. 20th Century Fox was the winner who grabbed Mark Burton's They Came From Upstairs -- about a group of kids in a vacation home in Maine who have to fight aliens that have invaded from the home's upstairs. The British screenwriter is responsible for many of the leading family films to be released over the last few years -- Chicken Run, Madagascar and Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Considering the success that Burton has had so far, it might seem logical that a big name would head the directorial ship. However, Barry Josephson, of 20th Century Fox's Josephson Entertainment, has chosen Thor Freudenthal.

Thor was chosen because of his advertisements for the likes of Ritz and Reebok and for his short noir film, Motel. Apparently his other work had a tone that reminded Josephson of Men in Black. Variety really went in-depth into the producer's picking process, with a lot of justification. In case his film experience isn't enough to sell you, the new director has also worked with children and done some creature design.