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Author Topic: Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005)  (Read 16063 times)
Ash
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« on: August 12, 2004, 10:52:47 PM »

Oh yeah!
This is gonna be so cool!
Word has it that Tom Cruise has temporarily turned down the role for the next "Mission Impossible 3" film due to problems with finding the right director.
Instead, he has signed on to star in the remake of "War of the Worlds" and Steven Spielberg is directing!



Here's a brief text taken from boxofficeprophets.com:

""Ladies and gentlemen, here is the latest bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News. Toronto, Canada: Professor Morse of McMillan University reports observing a total of three explosions on the planet Mars, between the hours of 7:45 p.m. and 9:20 p.m., eastern standard time. This confirms earlier reports received from American observatories.

"Now, nearer home, comes a special bulletin from Trenton, New Jersey. It is reported that at 8:50 p.m. a huge, flaming object, believed to be a meteorite, fell on a farm in the neighborhood of Grovers Mill, New Jersey, twenty-two miles from Trenton.

"The flash in the sky was visible within a radius of several hundred miles and the noise of the impact was heard as far north as Elizabeth.

"We have dispatched a special mobile unit to the scene, and will have our commentator, Carl Phillips, give you a word picture of the scene as soon as he can reach there from Princeton.

"In the meantime, we take you to the Hotel Martinet in Brooklyn, where Bobby Millette and his orchestra are offering a program of dance music..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With these simple words, an entire nation was sent into a panic. The ever inventive Orson Welles, created such a realistic radio portrayal of the events that took place in sci-fi pioneer H.G. Wells' War of the World that listeners didn't even realize it was fiction.

Now, the granddaddy of all alien invasion tales will be adapted for a second big-screen treatment (the first was in 1953, starring Les Tremayne and Gene Barry). And who better than to put his name on a big-budget special effects extravaganza than the master himself, Steven Spielberg?

The eminent director of such modern classics as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and Minority Report will team with Really Big Star Tom Cruise to bring the film to the big screen. Currently, Spielberg is expected to join Cruise in producing the film. It is anticipated that Cruise will also take the starring role. The two will be expected to settle on a production start date once screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Secret Window) delivers an acceptable script.

Given the high profile of both the story and the talent involed, War of the Worlds will be a project that will merit a lot of attention as it proceeds through the development phase. It's an adaptation that has been tossed around for many years -- a quarter of a century ago, A Clockwork Orange novelist Anthony Burgess had been tapped to write a screenplay. Count on Spielberg to make sure it's done right rather than cheesy. (Kim Hollis/BOP)"

I totally agree that Spielberg is the only one to do this.
I am so there opening weekend!

What do you think?
Can Spielberg pull it off and will you go see it?



Post Edited (08-12-04 23:00)
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Ash
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« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2004, 10:58:39 PM »

Here's some more info I found:

Movie News for
War of the Worlds
Release Date: TBA 2005
August 12, 2004

War of the Worlds and M:I3 switch spots

"After two days of frantic negotiating, War of the Worlds, which stars Tom Cruise and is being directed by Steven Spielberg, has been fast-tracked. Yesterday, it was reported that Spielberg's 1972 Munich Olympics film had been pushed back due to the need for a rewrite of the screenplay. With newly-hired helmer J.J. Abrams still working on his rewrite of the Mission: Impossible 3 script so that he can begin production, Paramount decided to flip-flop the two tentpole projects. War of the Worlds will now see release in 2005, while Mission: Impossible 3 will be pushed from Summer 2005 to 2006. DreamWorks is actually co-financing War of the Worlds with Paramount, while Paramount is handling M:I3 on its own. Sources speculate that budgets for both films are probably in excess of $100 million.
Source: Variety "



Post Edited (08-12-04 22:59)
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IguanaGirl
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« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2004, 02:02:47 AM »

I hope he can pull it off, it would be great to see War of the Worlds with the kind of special effects available today. Ill definately go see it.
Im not too sure about Tom Cruise though. Im not a big Tom Cruise fan.
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Mitch McAfee
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« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2004, 03:29:11 AM »

> What do you think?
> Can Spielberg pull it off and will you go see it?

If this was 25 years ago I'd day YES indeedy Spielberg could pull it off.

But sadly not now, his sensibilities have changed & he's not the film maker he once was.

And with Cruise staring & the reported updated/contempary setting, ie not in Victorian England, I may give this one a miss.
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The Burgomaster
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« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2004, 05:57:02 AM »

I'm hopeful . . . but let's wait and see.

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trekgeezer
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« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2004, 07:24:43 AM »

I thought when they first started talking about this it would be set in Victorian England like the book. I don't like a lot of these modern retellings.

I did think that the 50's version with Gene Barry captured some of the panic of the book. This has been one of my favorite books since childhood and I am hoping they do it justice.

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Mr. Hockstatter
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« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2004, 07:43:31 AM »

Wow.  Words cannot express my excitement.  When it comes to TV, assuming there's nothing else on that night, maybe I'll check it out.
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AndyC
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« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2004, 08:02:55 AM »

I'd like to know a little bit about what they're planning to do with the Martians. With modern special effects, they could be made a little more true to the book than the 50s version. I'd like to see them go for the walking machines instead of the floating ships. They'd look pretty cool ripping through a city, although they might need to be bigger and have a few more tricks to be formidable in our time. And the original idea of the Martians themselves as just grotesque heads, essentially helpless outside their machines, was pretty cool. A race totally evolved to depend on technology.

I love the 50s WOTW, but it was turned more or less into another flying saucer movie. They need to go back to the book for this one, and keep more of what made it special.

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Mr_Vindictive
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« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2004, 08:50:19 AM »

I'm excited about this flick, but then again I am not.  I loved the book and although it's been many years since I have read it, I still have fond memories of it.

Yes I can see Tom Cruise doing this film.

Yes I can see Speilberg directing.

Will it be good?  I have no idea.  I guess we will have to wait and see.  I do hope that the film is not an all out FX fest as was I Robot.  I hope they stick to a more basic film without the huge special effects..

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peter johnson
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« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2004, 11:21:32 PM »

There was a truly wonderful remake of the radio play, using the original Howard Koch script, on NPR back in'88.  It's available on cassette/CD from Lodestone Audio.
Jason Robards, Steve Allen, Phil Proctor & a bunch of old-time radio folk.  Sound and recording at Skywalker Ranch.  Directed by David Ossman, who also did the voice of the announcer quoted in the blurbs above.
Set in New Jersey, just like Orson Welles' production.
Seek it out -- it may be freely available at your local library.
peter johnson/denny crane
PS:  I liked the Gene Barry version also.
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loyal1
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« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2004, 05:38:00 AM »

This is one that is definately meant for the big screen and look forward to seeing it.  This is just the type and style of movie that made Spielberg the powerful and respected man he is today.  I do hope he can still work that magic I grew up with as a kid.

As for Tom cruise, I don't care for him, don't like him, but as an actor he has talent, so I can tolerate him.

I also agree with Andy C and hope they stay closer to the book...not making this a flying saucer film.  I am very curious and will definately see this one on the big screen!
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JohnL
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« Reply #11 on: August 15, 2004, 10:59:47 AM »

This movie sounds interesting, except for Tom Cruise. I haven't liked him in anything since Risky Business. Unlike some actors, he never really blends into the character he's playing. In every single film, he still has a lot of the same mannerisms that he had in Risky Business. I'm afraid his name and personality will overshadow the story. Then there's the fact that I don't like him personally. It's hard to like someone who can be so easily suckered into a scam like scientology. (before anyone asks, I'm not real crazy about John Travolta either, but at least his characters don't all seem like the same person).

>With modern special effects, they could be made a little more true to the book
>than the 50s version. I'd like to see them go for the walking machines instead of
>the floating ships.

I'd like to see that as well, but I predict that it won't happen. Just like every other remake, they'll feel the need to modernize it to appeal to kids today. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the alien ships are more like fighters, and the aliens use little floating scouting orbs to spy on the humans. The aliens will probably be more like soldiers, leaving their ships and hunting down the humans while wearing high-tech body armor. Maybe at some point they'll even make contact with the aliens through some kind of electronic translator or some humans will be captured by them and held prisoner.
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peter johnson
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« Reply #12 on: August 15, 2004, 03:07:07 PM »

The very best modern treatment of this is in the second volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -- love when Hyde dines on the roasted corpse of the Martian . . .
I for one would dearly dearly love to see this done as a period piece, with the high celluloid collars & Maxim guns, etc. etc.
Who knows?
peter johnson/denny crane
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Flangepart
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« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2004, 05:10:22 PM »

AndyC wrote:

> I'd like to know a little bit about what they're planning to do
> with the Martians. With modern special effects, they could be
> made a little more true to the book than the 50s version. I'd
> like to see them go for the walking machines instead of the
> floating ships. They'd look pretty cool ripping through a city,
> although they might need to be bigger and have a few more
> tricks to be formidable in our time. And the original idea of
> the Martians themselves as just grotesque heads, essentially
> helpless outside their machines, was pretty cool. A race
> totally evolved to depend on technology.
>
> I love the 50s WOTW, but it was turned more or less into
> another flying saucer movie. They need to go back to the book
> for this one, and keep more of what made it special.

Reminds me of a B&W Indy Comic treatment of that same idea.
Tripods with fire wepons, red weed that ate people, humans occasionaly killing Martians, that kind of stuff.
Humm...anyone else see this one?

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dean
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« Reply #14 on: August 16, 2004, 09:20:16 PM »


Here comes another independence day!

I personally don't think a period piece would be my favourite way to go, I actually don't mind it being set in more of a contempory timeframe, although this movie will only be great if they have the tripods and the red weed.  Recreating the panic from the invasion is the main crux of the piece.  If you add flying saucers and big action scenes, this will cheapen it slightly.

I also have found a copy of the original radio broadcast, and thought it was fantastic.  I love War of the Worlds, so I hope the movie is done well.  

Maybe Tom Cruise will be playing the martians! :-P Then it would truly be an evil mind invading the Earth.
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