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WAR OF THE WORLDS - Where Do Spielberg's Aliens Come From'
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hey folks, Harry here... Well - with modern science being what it is - Spielberg has admitted that the aliens do not come from Mars - as H.G. Wells intended. Although, the latest scientific studies of Mars are picking up a degree of methane readings that could indicate subterranean life of some form on Mars. (Check Here) - Wells may still be proven right one day, hopefully! Heh. But this alternative is equally intriguing. Be interesting to see how it's visualized. Here ya go...
Heya Harry.
I just got home from Wondercon and thought I might share what may or may not be a spoiler regarding War of the Worlds. On the panel were a couple of of artists including Doug Chiang and some other guy.
In the discussion of the aliens they were both quite tight lipped but the second man said at one point that this was a full on invasion picture and that we were being watched from a parallel dimension. Now with that nugget and the trailer saying they are alreday here it makes me think that the aliens are coming from another version of earth.
Who knows?
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Wells was a fucking idiot.
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"across the gulf of space, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic regarded our planet with envious eyes".
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I like that font for the letter more than the blue boxes in other articles. ;)
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http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2665143?htv=12&htv=12 looks rad
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Feb 19, 2005 9:45:11 PM CST
Screw Wells being proven right about Mars... I wanna see BURROUG
by thewoodman
This sounds wacky. More revisionism and "re-imagining"... ugh. If Spielberg wanted to do an alien invasion movie, but didn't want to do an adaptation of Wells' classic, then he should've just done an original film. I mean, he's STEVEN fuckin' SPIELBERG... it's not like he has to capitalize on an established name to get people off their asses, like those hacks who made that fake Godzilla movie (y'know, what's-his-name and the other guy). Don't get me wrong, I'll be checking this out opening weekend... but I don't know. I just don't know.
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its a Mars from another dimention.
"The chances of anything coming from mars, are a million to one you say...
The chances of anything coming from mars, are a millon to one...
but still they come!" -
To me it would make more sense if the aliens were martians from the mars that they see. Their planet is dying and they want one that isn't. They could have moved underground, whatever. Or better yet, maybe the are comfortable in the enviorment of Mars and plan on terraforming Earth so it too will be colder and more inhospitable to human life. Hmm. that would make a great plot for a different scifi movie. Scientists realize the global warming process is not due to man made activity but from aliens trying to terraform the earth. Has this story been done yet?
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Feb 19, 2005 11:11:24 PM CST
Gosh, that must mean in the tangent Universe, Tom Cruise's chara
by jaguart
Who can see the future through the chest tunnels, he has super strength, and he has telekenesis. The Aliens enter a wormhole (through space and time) that ends right above his room in the primary universe. He's visted by a super kewl bunny named Frank that tells him that the Aliens will destroy the earth in twenty-eight days... six hours... forty-two minutes. and twelve seconds. So Ray Ferrier has to brush up on his Graham Greene and Roberta Ann Sparrow in time enough to stop the pedophile and save Sparkle Motion while dealing with his grief over his wife (Miranda Otto) who was run over by a Trans Am. I am not able to tell you more. I could lose my job.
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This has been another episode of "The Scary Door"
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Or destroy it?
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If they'd just set the damn thing at the end of the 19th century, with the relative disparity between the technological advancement of the two cultures,they wouldn't have to resort to such lame fudging. Parallel dimensions? Well, thats a WHOLE LOT more convincing. Fuck all revisionist assholes. H G Wells is the MAN!
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THEY ARE FROM MARS...NOT ANOTHER DIMENSION. WAY TO GO SPIELTERD!!
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Setting it nowadays seems too forced to me. Just wrong. There are so many things that could be done with the turn of the century 100 years ago.
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the movie is more based in the radio drama than the wells book.
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What a terrible idea, Spileberg should be booted in the nuts for the entire screw up that this movie will be. I'm looking forward to the Pendragon version more than this, at least Pendragon have filmed the book.
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I don't see why where the aliens are from would make one lick of difference. And no idea if the above poster was being sarcastic are not, but there's a lil sci-fi flick out there called "The Arrival" with Charlie Sheen, where he discovers that global warming is an alien conspiracy to "terraform" the planet before they move in.
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It turns out they're from a Mars in the alternate universe? What if, in that one, the earth near them was desolate, but however, they find ours, and voila, its habitable, however the mars near us, as we know, is uninhabitable. This will remove the glaring plothole of 'SURELY the space probes would've seen SOMETHING? Or Hubble?'
If it's worked that way? Ok, cool, I can live with that very easily. Makes more sense too... -
Oh my, so gay.
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Isn't he the hack who did the shitty star wars 1 and 2 ships?!?!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO -
Who gives a flip where the aliens come from? If the movie turns out bad, then go ahead and fire away. If Spielberg decides to throw in some bullshit "it was all a dream" Shaymalan twist, then we can lynch him. But to condemn a movie at this early date for such a trivial thing is silly.........
And the fact that Spielberg is setting it in modern times: Again, what's the problem? Why is this suddenly considered blasphemy when the George Pal version did the same thing. Orson Welles did the same thing. Cripes, HG Wells even set the original story in (his) modern times; he wasn't trying to write a "period" piece. -
Feb 20, 2005 11:49:37 AM CST
What is this? Sounds like a plot from a cheap sci-fi series
by performingmonkey
Maybe this does explain all that invisible heat ray crap. Perhaps we don't see the aliens for the whole movie because they're in another dimension but somehow they managed to create a heat ray that passes between dimensions. Whatthefuckever, this is obviously the difference between Independence Day, and any other movie that raped WOTW, that Spielberg is banking on making HIS movie 'original'. The tag-line 'They're already here' now makes sense. If the aliens are just humans on another version of Earth trying to rape OUR Earth I will be thoroughly pissed. Imagine that each person on this planet has countless other versions of themselves existing in different dimensions. It is a scientific concept. But if this is used for this movie it will scream suckage. I wonder who came up with this idea - Spielberg? Koepp? Lucas.....
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I'm scared.
psst, its to big, lower the font -
so give
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Feb 20, 2005 2:57:22 PM CST
So why don't the parallel-universe invaders attack the parallel-
by frankdrebin
Or are the invaders actulally parallel-earthers who trashed the parallel-earth, so now they're coming after ours? A sci-fi ecological message movie, like Silent Running. And, because the villains are parallel-earthers, Spielberg will have kept his promise not to ever have malevolent aliens.
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Read the interviews over at CHUD. There will be no cutting to the oval office with the president talking to scientists about where the aliens come from. This is all told from the point of view of one family dealing with it so it doesn't the fuck matter where they come from.
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..thats why.
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Tralfamafore!
They've come to capture us and put us in viewing tanks with Playboy playmates... I know it makes sense. -
... because Spielberg's movies just don't do anything for me anymore. Last time I got excited about a Spielberg flick was 12 years ago. All I hope is that in some kind of weird TIME AFTER TIME way, H G Wells time travels to present day Hollywood and proceeds to beat the shit out of Spielberg for making a contemporary mockery oot of his classic novel.
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The aliens used to be from our universe orginally, but they moved as soon as they realized they were sharing it with all of you retards.
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As long as "they" take Spielberg with them, then I'd finally be happy...
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Feb 20, 2005 6:14:21 PM CST
They might not be Martians - but I expect them to have Tripods,
by robinp
The Martian thing is a little disappointing. Just like not having it set in the proper country or the proper time. But please...for the love of HG Wells, let's at least have tripods. Let's keep SOMETHING apart from the title.
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No way I will believe this is cool unless tripods happen. Must have tripods. Indubidably.
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Feb 20, 2005 7:30:01 PM CST
Actually, I ain't ever going to be happy until the faithful film
by taxman2001
And if you want to see a tripod goto Woking in England where they have one AND a crashed pod. Check out the sculptors website for pictures etc: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/mcondron/martian/martian_main.htm
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Ummm....call me crazy..
But why do they have to be from Mars? I mean, they are changing key aspects of H.G. Wells' original story, so why not change the Mars origin. They could be from any where in the local neighborhood (within 100 light years).
This of course does away with any cheesy need for a "parallel universe", as the solution.
After all, the movie is not called "War of Worlds: Earth vs Mars". In Spielgburg's adaptation, "War of the Worlds" could mean Earth and any other habitable planet.
Heck, maybe they are from Europa, and live under the Ice in the liquid oceans.
Cheers,
Tritium -
I'm excited to hear Spielberg is borrowing material from the "Many Worlds" or "Multiple Universes" theory, an unproven yet increasingly intiguing aspect of quantum physics. Quantum computers, though still unavailable to the general public, are currently being produced for supercomputing functions at CERN and a few of the other supercolliders around the world. These computers utilize chips that instantaneously quadruple (or higher) the processing power of the unit, using a function of quantum physics called "superposition." For more info: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/2606/superpos.htm. Spielberg is obviously reading the latest cutting-edge scientific research, which was evidenced in "Minority Report" a few years ago. Even though the notion of a "precog" was completely bunk, many of the peripheral plot points were extrapolated from up-to-date research into the fields of phyics and biotechnolgy. Pretty cool, even though the movie left me feeling a little flat by the end. Spielberg apparently utilized the "Many Worlds" theory as a method of bringing the aliens to Earth in "War of the Worlds." Obviously the aliens are older and more advanced than humans, so it makes sense they might be able to control the interconnectivity of parallel universes. Pretty fucking cool, in my opinion, and pretty fucking scary. I'm pleased.
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N E E D S . . . W O M E N ! ! ! !
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Yes, the whole multiple universes angle is potentially fascinating subject matter for a scifi extravaganza. However, it ISN'T H G Wells's WOW. I'd prefer either a faithful adaptation of that classic work, or, failing that, an entirely original concept (written, produced, directed, felched, dry-humped - whatever) by Spielberg, Mann, Lynch, Efrem Zimbalist jnr, or a cocker spaniel. The only reason that I'm disappointed that it isn't more faithful is because that treatment would simply be more stirring, engaging and dynamic Post-all-the-other-alien-invasion-opuses we have had since Welles's and Pal's admittedly excellent interpretations. A contemporary interpretation just seems weak compared to the dramatic impact a High Victorian spin would have had. And, Lordy, wouldn't it have been so blessedly, amazingly unique? Oh well...
And, yes, it must be tripods all the way. They are ICONS of scifi, dammit. What is better than a squidgy, octopoid martian nemesis bestriding the Thames in a three-legged engine of death? Whatever else you can think of you're most welcome to it.
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I'm laughing out loud at the descriptions in your post. I'd like to see an entirely original concept dry-humped by Spielberg too. Man, my mind can't even quite wrap its synapses around that one. And if the film was directed by a cocker spaniel, I'd be so there on opening night. Can you imagine what that film would look like? Probably lots of incessant barking, eating bowls of tasty dog food, and tear-assing after small animals in Central Park. And the director has no concept of how to speak or write English, so certain aspects of the original WOTW might suffer. But I think the film might still be more entertaining than anything Paul W.S. Anderson has directed. Oh, and a giveaway...
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Feb 21, 2005 2:34:24 AM CST
If -- and I say IF -- this rumor is true, here's the REASON for
by commando cody
...is so that eventually the overall war can escalate and be taken by Earth forces back to THEIR world across a dimensional barrier. One of the things that has gotten buried in all the hype over WOTR is that early on Cruise noted in an interview that he saw this as being a TRILOGY of movies, a new 3 picture franchise he could do. Now, maybe that changed in one rewrite along the way, but me thinks it never did -- and that's why the Martians could be dimensional travellers. So that the first movie can be LIKE the classic War of the Worlds story/movie with Earth under attack... but then there's room for them to attack again in a sequel, even larger scale, and then setting up the inevitable franchise closer with a tag line "This time we take the war to THEM!" Mark my words, if the aliens are from an alternate world, this is why...
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Feb 21, 2005 5:17:38 AM CST
Commando Cody, if you are right, than this thing now interesting
by noriko takaya
It wasn't at first - it looked too much like an ID4 remake, which was itself a kind of riff off of WOTW. I still wanted to see it but I kind of, "meh." Interdimensional warfare has upped the stakes a bit, though. However if I were doing it I'd use S.M. Stirling's Draka as the invading aliens; that would be even more fun. The first film could be the "Drakon," where Gwen comes over, only change the ending to one where she manages to open the dimensional gate. The Draka come pouring in but then the CIA/MIB's/Majestic/Bureau 13/whoever whips out some top-secret Area 51 type weaponry and the slavers find out they've bitten off more than they can easily chew. That would set things up for films 2 and 3 quite nicely. Oh God, I look at what I just wrote and feel like Queen Nerd. Goodnight. Toppu o Nerae!
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Feb 21, 2005 7:22:01 AM CST
Commando Cody, I think you may have just uncovered the REAL secr
by big dumb ape
I too recall Cruise saying that they were SPECIFICALLY approaching this movie with the pre-set concept of it being a trilogy of films. When he said that, I thought "What the hell? The Martians don't get defeated in this first movie? It's a cliffhanger?" Then I thought "Ok, they get defeated so the first one is a stand alone, and THEN can come back a second time with more firepower." That would fit the traditional Hollywood bigger, better, badder sequel theory. But I couldn't figure out how the hell they came back a THIRD time without it being redundant, till I read this rumor leak and your post. I think you nailed it. I think that IS the overall idea they'll be building towards with the third movie...well, assuming they do come back for more. But it seems pretty likely that WOW will do major box office this summer.
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remember the ack-acks from mars? little skeletons with brains? we defeated them. unless this is a secondary attack. but by now we all know the song to sing that kills them so maybe they will wear earmuffs. can tom cruise sing? we can get him to record a CD.
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Not only does he move his garbage adaptation of the classic from UK to USA and from one century to over 100 years later, but now he changes the origins of the aliens, too? Arrogant bastard. He really should have stuck to his post-Schindler "spiritual reawakening" idiocy.
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Brillant if well executed. The only thing more brutal and warlike than Earthmen are other Earthmen. I like it...if true
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They should do War of the worlds 2 Electric Boogaloo with Hulk Hogan as the.... Oh nevermind....
I think I need a beer. -
Feb 21, 2005 11:49:33 AM CST
RE: So why don't the parallel-universe invaders attack the paral
by trik
because
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"Time Machine" and "League of Extraordinary Gentlement" were sci-fi movies set in the late 19th Century and they both flopped. This proves conclusively that ALL sci-fi moives set in the late 19th Century will flop. You people don't know anything about making picutres.
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Feb 21, 2005 1:23:28 PM CST
If we were attacked by aliens we'd have no idea where they came
by asseyes
And it wouldn't matter cuz we'd all be either dead or hiding.
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I'm outta here.
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Feb 21, 2005 1:35:52 PM CST
Sounds like an "Outer Limits" story...why even call it "War of t
by nomad202
To rake in more money I guess. Seriously, this will probably end with Cruise accepeting the invasion and having to learn to live with the paralell-demension aliens.
Fantastic Four will plummel this POS. -
With all this talk about Speilberg's WOTW film I'm surprised there isn't more talk about Pendragon's historically acurate WOTW film (Which if I understand correctly will be coming out first)here on talkback and on the site itself....?
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20th Century Fox was right to move the Fantastic Four. War of the Worlds will rule the summer box office (apart from that little independent film by George Lucas). Butter my popcorn, please.
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...Nazis from a parallel dimension where Germany won WWIII and then colonized Mars. That's right the same old bad guys all over again. Hey, it's easier than being creative.
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I meant WWII not WWIII...or did I????
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Thanks for the comment. I remember an episode of Superfriends, the Saturday morning show in which aliens were terraforming the earth, but I remember it ending on an upbeat note. Anway, I can see from your post and others that the idea has been done, but perhaps you are right; it hasn't been done well. Okay, here are my possible answers to the Aliens from this WOTW. 1)They're the chimps from Planet of the Apes! 2)The're the aliens from Close Encounters who are now pissed off at us for electing George Bush 3) They are androids from the future trying to stop a future resistance movement. 4) They're ET's friends who want us to pay the huge long distance and roaming charges from the "phone home!" 5) Tom Cruise wakes up and it is all a dream. Whatever it is, I hope it is not too clever for its own good.
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If they're coming from another dimension, why don't they just call it "War of the Dimensions"? Guess it's not as catchy as the more familiar Wells title, huh? I'm getting a real bad feeling about this... I'm a big Spielberg fan, and I hope this will still do OK box office, but I was hoping for something better from Mr. Spielberg. So much of what's being done today is updating what's already been done, only this time with a whole new set of CGI toys. That gets so tired so quick. Wouldn't it be great if Speilberg teamed up with Pixar and directed an absolutely wonderful ORIGINAL fantasy epic -- or a simple ORIGINAL tug-at-your-heart story. Why not do CS Lewis' "Out of the Silent Planet" or even "Perelandra"?
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Maybe it's me, but I just can't see a Jewish director making Christian science fiction.
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I think you meant 'shit movies set in the 19th century'. Actually, were you being sincere or facetious? From the tone of your post I simply can't tell.
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No one buys that shit. Ever. So 'scientifically' we know there's not life on Mars, or at least studio execs think we do. So the aliens come form another dimension. Cos that's way more believeable. If you want to do 'realism' then WOTW was probably the wrong movie to make...
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The aliens will be the Morlocks from Well's time machine story. Mars was once like earth, colonized by the Martians, but their own technology ruined their planet, killed the Eloi and the Morlocks survived by going underground. Now they are dying at last, and in a last ditch effort they decide to invade and colonize (again) the earth. The sequels will involve time travel back to Mars before it became overrun by the Morlocks. Well, if this isn't the story, it should be.
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Yep, that movie has already been done. It was called The Arrival. http://imdb.com/title/tt0115571/combined
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Yes, somone else mentioned that movie too. It sounds interesting. I will have to rent it someday.
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David Twohy made this long before he made crappy Riddick movies. If you can ignore Charlie Sheen, then 'The Arrival' is quite effective and creepy, with a great terraforming plot and nifty sci-fi machinery. Rent and enjoy. I've got mine on Laserdisc, ha!
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At least there not aliens who take over human bodies like in the WOW tv series! and Battle Star PC Correctica!
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Sorry, Couldn't resist!
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are really Earthlings! Yeah, like everyone said in the previous posts, they're earthlings, but in a different dimension. And when the 'aliens' get out of their saucers to deal the final blow, the lead alien commander sees a man exactly like him and says, "whats, this? Why, he looks just like me!" The aliens and humans walk towards each other, and lo and behold, there, right in front of each other, is their dimensional twin! Like an episode of Sliders! Then we all realize that we're all the same, and we hold hands across America (yes, the two dimensional Americas) and everything ends happily! Beautiful!
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Sigh. Well, when an Alien mother and a Alien father love each other very much. . .
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