THREE film-makers are hoping to put East Lancashire on the map by shooting their own rival to cult film The Breakfast Club - with aliens.

Simon Ashton, Andrew Birtwell and Karl Grieve are preparing to film over the summer and are searching for new stars of the small screen.

The three film enthusiasts met at Blackburn College on a media studies course.

Simon, 23, left last year, Karl, 24, from Brownhill Drive in Blackburn is currently finishing his final year, and 25-year-old Andrew, from Fernlea Drive in Clayton-le-Moors, lectures in the subject.

Simon said: "We've all made lots of films in the past, as part of our studies and also in our spare time, so between us we've covered every genre including drama, comedy, surrealism and sci-fi.

"This summer, none of us has got too much on, so we decided to make three bigger films, each based on one of our ideas."

The first 45-minute film to be shot is From Space, which the trio describe as similar to cult 1980s teen movie The Breakfast Club, but with a sci-fi edge.

Simon, from Preston New Road, said: "The concept is a group of people who are in a flat together when there is suddenly an alien invasion.

"This means they are trapped inside, and the film focuses on how they react in this end-of-the-world type situation.

"We'll be using special effects but mostly it focuses on the characters."

John Hughes's seminal film The Breakfast Club, starring Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, revolves around a group of teenagers thrown together at school detention, who realise they have more in common than they first thought.

"Our characters are older, between 18 and 24, so the kind of things that will come up will be a bit more serious than adolescent worries," said Simon.

Between them, the trio have all the equipment needed and now are just missing the actors. They want to audition local people for the cast.

Simon said: "You don't need to have any training or even experience, we just want people who really want to do it.

"Although we're looking for actors for the 18 to 24-year-old parts, the two other films will feature older characters, so all are welcome to try out."

The second film, Eleven Letters, will be a road trip drama, and the third is a futuristic film called The Safe Zone. All three will be filmed around East Lancashire, as most of their previous work has been.

Simon added: "We all love the area, we've filmed all over Blackburn and Pendle, lots of places.

"We don't understand why more films and TV aren't filmed here, we've got some beautiful surroundings which look even better on film."

To audition, e-mail linearnorth@hotmail.co.uk.