Endangered Eli Roth

.

Now that Eli Roth has become one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite playthings (alongside Sam Jackson's silver tongue and Uma Thurman's toes) it was inevitable that Roth would have to get the go-ahead from his master before making another movie, and via MTV comes word that QT has given Eli his blessing:

In the spring, Eli Roth stopped by MTV News and revealed plans to write and direct a film he declared was "along the lines of 'Transformers' or 'Cloverfield,' " only more fully "science fiction-based and with lots of chaos and mass destruction."

In an interview on Friday with MTV, Roth let us know that film — called "Endangered Species" — will be his next directorial project, that he's about to conduct some visual effects tests for it and that he's now back to working on the script after a discussion with frequent creative partner Quentin Tarantino.

"Quentin actually loved the draft and had some really great suggestions, so I'm tweaking the script," he said. "And I'm working out some visual effects tests, which is going to determine how I shoot it."

Still loath to spill any plot specifics, Roth did admit that "Species" will take place in an urban setting that will be largely destroyed by a still undisclosed adversary.

"I actually saw ['Transformer' director] Michael Bay the other night and I talked to him for half an hour about how much he inspired me to destroy things!" Roth laughed.

Committed to shooting the film in 2010, the director said he's not yet begun the casting process since he's still tweaking the script. "The characters inform all the cast," he explained. "There are certain actors that I love and that I'd love to work with and certain people I have in mind. But it's easier for me to hone and finalize and get the script finished and then the method by which I'm going to shoot it and then the order, and then cast it."

.