June 15, 2005. Copyright 2005, Graphic News. All rights reserved

War of the Worlds set to scare summer cinemagoers
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, June 15, Graphic News:  In times when the stuff of nightmares is routine fodder for moviemakers, it takes a genius to grab the attention by pulling off something truly out of this world. Fans of Steven Spielberg are hoping the director does just that when he unleashes an alien invasion of Earth in his eagerly anticipated adaptation of the H.G. Wells sci-fi classic, War of the Worlds.

Hang on, isnÕt that the same Spielberg who gave us cuddly alien E.T? Yes, but he also left a generation of filmgoers terrified of entering the water with Jaws, and who can forget those nailbiting scenes in the first Jurassic Park? Early reports suggest that there may be scenes reminiscent of the rampaging dinosaurs but not a single friendly alien in War of the Worlds, which reunites Spielberg with Minority Report star Tom Cruise.

Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a New Jersey dockworker who is contemplating his troubled personal life when the unthinkable happens: an invasion of vicious alien ŌtripodsĶ sweeps the United States, bent on destroying civilization. Ray fights to defend estranged wife Miranda Otto, and his children, played by Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin, and his own struggle to survive takes place as humanity teeters on the brink of being wiped out by a force greater than itself.

Spielberg insists that the film is not a remake of the 1953 version of H.G. WellsÕs classic book, which was published in 1898. Nevertheless, the director has included cameo roles for Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, stars of the 1953 movie, in his version, which cost an estimated $200 million to make.

The screenplay has been written by David Koepp, who wrote the first two Jurassic adventures. If, as expected, it proves one of the summerÕs biggest blockbusters, Cruise, who chose a share of profits rather than a fixed fee and was one of the producers, could add more than $100 million to his fortune.

A key difference from both the 1953 movie and WellsÕs book is that this War of the Worlds is set in an ordinary, blue collar world -- as if to emphasise the all-pervasive, sinister nature of the threat. Its hero is not an educated scientist but an everyman who will go to the ends of the earth for the love of his family -- after all, it wouldnÕt be Spielberg without a fair amount of tugging at the heartstrings.

In the run-up to the filmÕs June 29 release, Spielberg has been helped by press coverage of the historic 1938 broadcast by Orson Welles of his radio play of the book. Speaking on the night before Halloween, Welles struck terror into the hearts of Americans already nervous about events in Europe. Thousands hid in their cellars or fled their homes as the then modern technique of simulating news reports convinced them that aliens had landed.

Spielberg, of course, will use far more sophisticated techniques to terrify todayÕs audiences. But he has commented that such a story may be fitting for the uncertain, post-September 11 world, and his real genius may lie in turning contemporary fears, once again, into a surefire hit.
/ENDS

RELEASE DATES

Jun 23: New York premiere
Jun 27: Los Angeles premiere
Jun 29: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates
Jun 29: Argentina, Hungary
Jul 01: Estonia, Iceland, India, Mexico, Turkey
Jul 06: Belgium, France
Jul 07: Israel
Jul 08: Poland