Cool News
New WAR OF THE WORLDS Trailer Continues The Ass-Kickery!
Hey folks, Harry here - I absolutely love this new WAR OF THE WORLDS trailer... you get one bottom part of a tripod kicking ass... more devastation... and the first glimpse of one of the aliens! Can't really make it out - but it looks cool. Now - as much as I love this trailer - I have a tech issue I'm spitting furious at. Ok - so for the longest time - QUICKTIME has been my absolute favorite format for the enjoyment of killer trailers. However... here's where I get pissed. MovieFone seems to like to artificially increase the "effective" NUMBERS of downloads of their QUICKTIME offerings by embedding into the trailer that if you play it once - you are required to redownload it to see it again. Now - if you direct download these MovieFone offerings - from the desktop - you have to RE-OPEN the file repeatedly to see it again, as opposed to just clicking on it once and playing it over and over again. I get it - it's about trackable impressions. BUT instead of making it a right ugly pain in the ass for everybody trying to view the damn things... instead - just build in a cookie or something that sends MovieFone a little tag - that it had been played. That way - the ever important TRACKING information can be culled, but isn't something that aggravates and pisses off people that do like to watch something over and over again. Ultimately it's about them getting what they need (or think they need) - while delivering to those they're trying to court the best and most convenient & courteous delivery. To Experience this great trailer, I recommend seeing REVENGE OF THE SITH and hopefully you'll see it before... but if not, here's this jacked up Quicktime version - Click Here For the Trailer!
Hey Guy's,
I'm writing to you from London England where I just got back from seeing Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith, followed by a viewing of Episode IV A New Hope. Both totally rocked and link together better than I had hoped, a few things in EpIV even had new meaning which was totally unexpected.
Anyway, almost as exciting as the Feature itself was the new Trailer for War of the Worlds.
it starts off with Tom Cruise saying to Dakota Fanning to be still, don't move, in what looks like a basement,
Immediately following this is a well edited sequence filled to the brim with shots of destruction, including tripods in full view, although only briefly.
My friend informs me he saw a airplane involved in some kind of senario, sorry there was too much information for me to take in
I saw a ferry being flipped like the Titanic on it's side, with people falling into the water etc,
Explosions,
Freeway being flung (seen before),
Tom running from a exploding Tripod
Dakota Fanning hiding from an alien which you get to see briefly, it looks like the green male Jedi with Dreads but without the dreads and a slightly Dinosaur like quality to the top of the skull.
This trailer rocked, everybody in the cinema seemed out off breath by the end of it, it was that fricking intense. I'm now extremely hopeful that this is going to be one of the most entertaining movies of the year.
Not sure if this has been released State Side of the Pond yet which is why I thought i'd let you know, I also saw a new Chronicles of Narnia Trailer which was alot more epic and beautiful than I imagined or expected.
If you use this call me Bob.
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I've always wanted to say that... :-)
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Just view the page source coding, find the .mov URL, copy it into FileHound or some other downloader and presto, it's yours to keep. Worked just fine with the Narnia trailer.
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I mean, Independence Day wasn't exactly poetry but War of the Worlds has such a been there, done that vibe to it. Even the Gene Barry original wasn't all that great. I'm much more interested in the Timothy Hines idea for War of the Worlds.
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I need to see that movie NOW.
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Greatness is one man's, or woman's, opinion. That is all. If you like one version over another for anything, not just WotW, then I applaud your "greatness". 'Cause you are truly an original. Free thought should remain just that, free. Not to be tampered with or influenced by a group of less minded individuals who are only following and not deciding for themselves. Films that are being released this summer, and all summers, will forever be known as great, but only if you believe it to be.
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Everything in the trailers clicks. It gives off the feeling that the movie is pure chaos and destruction. Who cares about making sense and movitve when survival comes first. What's that music? It kicks holy ass.
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Just thought I'd mention that.. you have to do a slow-mo, frame by frame back and forth to get a decent look, but you can see it's head and arms fairly clearly. Although based on the shot, either what you're seeing is a reflection in a window, or the freaking thing is translucent.
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I missed a shot.. there are two, one right after the next. Okay, it appears that it's just a reflection the second time or it looks weird because of the shot. I don't think it's translucent. The head is quite large and uhm, like long egg shaped moving up to the back portion of the skull at a diagonal. And based on how it's walking, it seems to walk insect-like with four legs... I'm guessing the front legs are also the "arms." That the best I can describe it.
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I missed a shot.. there are two, one right after the next. Okay, it appears that it's just a reflection the second time or it looks weird because of the shot. I don't think it's translucent. The head is quite large and uhm, like long egg shaped moving up to the back portion of the skull at a diagonal. And based on how it's walking, it seems to walk insect-like with four legs... I'm guessing the front legs are also the "arms." That the best I can describe it.
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This absolutely rocked....the ferry, and that alien beast in the cellar looked like a tripod itself. Cool. BTW - any moviefile can be rescued from your temp internet files once watched.
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The previous one was better. It seems stupider now that they've shown the aliens.
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May 19, 2005 7:05:19 PM CDT
I have a bad feeling about Dakota Fanning. I hope she won't ruin
by curryice
And i agree with xXMr_BoJaNgLeSXx. Trailer was great but they shouldn't show the aliens in the trailer.
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and not a doorstop...lol...
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For the guy who liked the music: the song that got played at the beginning is "Stealth Mass In F#m" from the Apollo 440 album "Electro Glide in Blue". You're welcome.
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Yeah, I agree that she's freaky to watch and she will be a bit of a distraction when trying to enjoy the film. I'd rather them get a little kid who thinks and acts like a little kid. Ms. Fanning is just too smart and you can see it in her eyes...she's a freak of nature and takes you out of the movie in most cases. I don't think she's capable of acting like a dumb little kid.
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..and like a retard, I still watch. The one time I avoided ALL trailers was for the Matrix Reloaded and it didn't pay off. I really shouln't be watching these trailers, but I'm lacking in discipline and want the quick fix.
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Saw this theatrically and you can clearly see a tripod outlined against the horizon at the top of the frame in one of the early shots in this trailer. Can't seem to see it in this version - it could have been cropped out by accident (or on purpose), it's right at the top of the frame. Lovely image though, very simple, classic design. :)
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Ah, kids. I'm going to have to see it, since it's not the original story. The audience I was in enjoyed the Fantastic Four trailer the most.
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May 19, 2005 8:29:20 PM CDT
The fact that you guys are ripping into a little kid is pretty f
by payton 34
Had to be said.
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May 19, 2005 8:29:39 PM CDT
Tom cruise the believable father of this dorky little poor mans
by chileanseabass
Who believes this is anything more then popcorn heartburn?
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I think that this movie is going to disappoint a lot of people.
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Trailer got me interested. This is a movie that I will go see. Liked the part when the aircraft were coming over head. I guess that POV confirms the WOTW set visit piece from Quint earlier this week. Also dont see what the big deal is with Dakota Fanning, most kids are annoying anyways. Dont tell my daughter I said that! >_-
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aliens uses thousands upon thousands of small death machines, death rays, etc. when they with their superior technology could easily desing some super virus to wipe us all out within a year? They could then land on a depopulated planet. Why? Oh, I know, because death machines are sooo cool. Movies looks interesting. I will go and see it.
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Whatta stupid plot device, the alien invasion as door-to-door manhunt. Saw it in Signs, it was despicably handled then, and here it is again, looking disturbingly Signs-y in all it's traumatized child/mugging lead actor glory. Damn, but that's disappointing.
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Much much better than the trailers that preceded it. I actually have an interest to see this now rather than a sense of obligation.
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For years, Spielberg has done movies that were happy go lucky, Hense his two previous movies about aliens, I think this movie will show Spielberg's darker side of film making, The trailer itself gives the movie a very apocalyptic end of the world feel.
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I didn't watch any Return of the King trailers before seeing the full movie and it paid off in spades. Best moviegoing experience of my life.
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I know what you mean, but in some ways, anticipating a movie can be better than the actual experience itself. The last trailer for 'Return of the King' was fantastic. But sometimes I wish I had more restraint as well. You'd probably be better off if you didn't see this trailer if you don't want to spoil yourself.
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Niven and Pournelle had it right in the novel Footfall. Any aliens wanting to invade the Earth would just soften us up by dropping big rocks from orbit onto the major population centers. Economical and easy for any space-faring race wanting to pacify a non-space- faring race. Why risk your best hardware in a full-on frontal assault? Doesn't make sense. But what-the-hey, I likes my cool movie battles and effects as much as the next geek.
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All I said was that she's a brilliant little kid and it's distracting how she's like an adult trapped in a child's body. She will probably be a fine actress when she is older, but she just seems spooky at this point. It's not her fault she is so smart and it's not an insult to point that out.
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May 19, 2005 11:07:58 PM CDT
rofl.. trailers come out for this movie every day it seems like
by white owl
or is it just me? And I was one of the punks who downloaded the japonese version of the ROTK trailer the night before it came out on glorious quicktime on aol.. like i couldn't wait a night i HAD TO SEE IT in blurry smallscreen format. I agree micmac, I saw ROTK in the theatres opening night, with surround sound blaring, and I will never forget that night for the rest of my life.
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And Tom Cruise owns. Admit it. He absolutely owns.
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Mindlessly beaming signals out into the blackness with no clue of whose attention we will attract? Whom do you think we are calling out to? If they can get here they will utterly dominate us. The notion that we could fight back against an intergalactic travel-capable alien culture is laughable.
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Personally I'd be okay with it, 'cause I'd get to say aliens before I die. Unless they fangoriously devour me. That shit would not be cool.
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Sorry.
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WE - as in the human race - have been 'beaming signals out into the blackness' since the first radio transmission was sent. Do you believe the millions and millions of radio and television signals that have been broadcasted since whenever somehow stop when they hit the sky? S.E.T.I.'s Project Phoenix spends more time LISTENING for signals, not SENDING them - we are doing that all on our own. S.E.T.I. does not believe in UFOs either. Sheesh! www.seti.org
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You now have 40 days to finish this "Signs" mulligan (hopefully minus religious elements, be they Christian, Thetan or otherwise). Pretty impressive, considering that principal photography started in, what, December 2004? I'm looking forward to this.
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May 20, 2005 2:08:05 AM CDT
Saw the trailer last night, I wasn't blown away like everybody e
by spectrebeeyatch
I think I would have rather not seen the aliens at all will see in the movie if they are corny or not. Last night though people almost lost lungs cheering when this trailer ended. Wasn't as huge as a response for Batman Begins trailer though. The music was so loud and the trailer was just very impressive and I think someone behind me had a heartattack watching it.
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"And I think someone behind me had a heart attack watching it." Thank you for that. Considering TalkBack is usually inordinately intense and testosterone-drenched, I appreciate a little levity.
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some of these guys on here probably push old people down when they walk by them on the street.
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Do you care about the ants on an anthill - and are they even aware of what we are? Thats how I look at it.
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There's no money shot in the trailer, maybe the closest thing is the tripod tentacles plucking people from the water. That's kind of cool - I'm getting a major JAWS/JP vibe from this whole campaign. They're just assaulting us with tons of shots now, no real focus. I think Spielberg's really holding back something big - but you know, it would be amazing if Cruise missile dies towards the end and we just follow the kids throughout the end of the second act. It would be kind of like LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, but with tentacles and shit getting all fucked up by heat beams. The TITANIC comparison's already there, so if its good enough for Leo, its good enough for Cruise.
I wish that one shot of Bob Roberts apparently losing control of his bowels in the basement was still there. THAT WAS INTENSE! I'd be shitting my pants too if a 50 foot long tentacle was snaking past me. I bet when those aliens try and force him to suck their massive alien phalluses, Tim Robbins will smugly suggest he'll bite their cocks off.
I find it amazing so few people have actually READ the book, yet because they actually wasted their time watching A.I. and MINORITY REPORT they have NO faith that Spielberg will do justice to "Wells' vision." Hell, some of these friends of mine don't even know how it ends!
There's never been a better time for a movie like this, especially if Spielberg takes some nice jabs at our post 9-11 society, just like Wells did Victorian England. And killing off perfect Tommy's a good start. I hate to think something is what it takes to shake people up a bit, but it might just do the trick these days... -
May 20, 2005 3:52:33 AM CDT
This could be okay but do you have to blow this much fucking hyp
by laserbrain
"Prepare yourself for the event that will change your world..." Prepare MYself? Just give us a taste of the story and let us make up my own minds- don't try and bludgeon us into feeling excited with slogans you hype-mongering jackals. Enough with the oh-so imporant choral score and the 9-11 subtext- yeah, this is such an "imporant" film. Give me a break, Spielberg, you star-fucking shyster. *************** No, but really, I hope it's decent.
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If aliens invaded tonight, do you think more people would flee in terror, or try to catch a showing of Ep. 3, just to have closure before they become charred streaks on the pavement?
OK - so I've just read some of the earlier postings, and have to argue this fact: Door to door invasions are terrifying. Think about how mean, ruthless and ambivalent you'd have to be to wholesale slaughter New York, but then go DOOR TO DOOR to make sure you've killed every man, woman, child, and scientologist actor on Earth! Just to be sure! I can't think of how genocide on that level is anything less than terrifying.
Its slackers like you who'll let the alien races we one day conquer survive long enough with small enough numbers to eventually rebel. -
May 20, 2005 4:00:46 AM CDT
A rushed edit left my last post in a grammatical shambles, sorry
by laserbrain
Duh :(
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it doesn't blow the mystery of the Tripods' appearance- thankfully. Nor does it utilize that idiotic fade-to-black-every-20-frames technique. Whoever invented that gimmick needs a hard slap.
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"Another theory which has been proposed to explain the apparent lack of interstellar communication is the suggestion that the galaxy may contain predatory (or otherwise aggressive) species. Those species smart enough to maintain radio silence are those that survive such predation."
SETI experiments use a wavelength whose latency allows it to survive ungarbled for the maximum distance possible (unlike TV, radio etc.). Further the signals were mathmatically systemtized to be quickly recognizable as a "transmission", and the cherry on top is that these transmissions give the LOCATION in space of the primitive rubes who sent it (earthlings).
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A flipping computer virus? No firewalls/anti-virus software for the intergalactic travelers? That was so utterly lame. Hollywood uses even half-assed science in so few pictures. If the aliens go down in any man-created or inspired way (or at all really) it is TOTAL crap.
If the aliens are not from Mars (as I've heard) they are definitely more than we could handle (intergalactic travelers). When Speilberg tweaks a little H.G. Wells the SCIENCE fiction part of the War of the Worlds likely will get sprayed out his a...
Ignorance is bliss. The AvPers will f'in love it. -
That trailer was splendid
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I post my MOVIE comments over at the Jet Propulsion Lab/CalTech site under the name "Shotgun in the Rover". You'll find my review of the sublime "Alone in the Dark" and my "wish list" for the finale of Desperate Housewives. Peace
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...Simply because when they first announced WOTW, Cruise was giving interviews and talking how he envisioned this could be his new "franchise". In fact, I recall reading several early press articles openly detailing that the whole WOTW project was pitched and envisioned as a Trilogy, though this first movie would be specifically constructed as a stand-alone so that if it wasn't received so great, everyone could back off with grace and say "No, no. We always intended to make just one." But given the box office appeal of Cruise and Speilberg -- coupled with opening the 4th of July holiday weekend where people will be pumped up to run out and see this type of summer movie -- me thinks it's a safe bet this movie will make some serious coin.
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But what if they're benign? (I'm actually laughing at how stupid that notion is). I think you're right. SETI should be dismantled. It's like ants yelling "HEY YOU!" at us. We'd crush them every time.
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I distinctly remember one shot that blew me away, with the sillhouette of a tripod on a distant hill. I don't see it in this version. Just the hint of out-of-the-way danger on the warpath is exactly what the beginning of the novel has, a distance with the enemy and death getting ever closer. And that single shot was it for me - it totally sold it.
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All message boards seem to come out in a rash when a director announces that Dakota Fanning is going to star in their movie. She is just a kid after all....
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all the hyperbole and that's it? All I'm getting is a been-there-done-that vibe out of that trailer
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Haha!
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That's Dakota Fanning.
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To me that thing creeping behind them is still another machine of some kind. It looks like one of those wee spiders from Minority Report. And what's he mean by a male Jedi?
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Wow. You negative whiners are amazing! This is a story based on a book that has already been made as a movie. What do you expect? Those who read the story know what happens. Those who have seen the original film know what happens in general. If you don't like remakes, what is the point of bashing this film.
In my opinion, the visuals look fresh and kick ass. The perspective of the filming will be refreshing from what I hear... not your typical dumbed down, every 2 second cut shot you get with todays moronic MTV generation of filming.
I have no problem with Cruise or Fanning. Spielberg should the performances justice. So the aliens die from the common cold. So what. The ride, in this case is what matters.
It is amazing how today's younger generation has been spoiled by the amazing special effects many of us now enjoy. Now it is always been there, done that. What the fuck people.
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She was the the best thing about HIDE AND SEEK, MAN ON FIRE, CAT IN THE HAT, and TAKEN, to name a few. She's never "ruined" anything. More like she's "saved" more than her share.
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I've never actually considered that SETI would be sealing our doom instead of ushering in a new age of interstellar discovery, but I have to admit, it's a good point. If alien species are anything like our own, why would we expect them to by any less rapacious, violent, self-serving and domineering than ourselves? But I think the good thing about these alien invasion movies is that potential conquerors would see them and think they were documentaries of earlier races that tried to conquer Earth and failed miserably. Maybe this is the only reason we haven't been "contacted" (i.e. conquered) yet -- the galaxy is scared shitless of us!
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...I really like War of the Worlds, got the original radio broadcast on CD a while back, great stuff. The effects look nice so far, so here's hoping.
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I swear that shot chilled my spine, and it's not in this one. Perhaps I AM going mad. 0_o
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if you do a frame-by-frame advance, the alien doesn't look transparent. it's just behind that curtain. also looks like it's walking on 2 legs, not 4. am i missing something?
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May 20, 2005 2:15:25 PM CDT
Finally after 1 YEAR we see 1/2 a second of what might be an ali
by bong
Can't wait for the restock at my local DVD bargain bin next year...
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I feel nothing..no sense of dread no excitement..nothing about this film
But of course there's Fannings lame teary eyed mug in every shot "stealing" the show
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May 20, 2005 2:22:14 PM CDT
Problem w/ Cruise is he's becoming more famous for his off-scree
by bong
So that when I see him play the average joe w/ Fanning as his daughter...I instead see some schmuck making the talk show rounds proclaiming his infatuation with his latest love
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By far the most loathesome corporation in modern media. Evil incarnate. If I meet someone and they give me an AOL email address I lose respect for them. You don't care, but I mean it. Yes.
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Cruise's character wakes up in his worn out living room chair, realizing that he has been asleep while the 1950s WOTW movie is playing on the late, late, late show. Dakata Fanning's character's voice is heard from her small, shabby bedroom and asks for a glass of water. Cruise enters room, slaps the little tyke and tells her to go back to sleep. Fade to black, credits.
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And will certain punks in here quit moaning about the lack of alien/tripod footage in the trailers. You are surely children of the 2000s aren't you, all used to having your film experiences ruined by four trailers and eight tv spots and 10 min previews and entire opening sequences shown on MTV. You're gonna walk into this and be SUPRISED! Do any of you know what that feels like anymore? The Beard has obviously insisted on the Tripods and aliens being hidden and I love him for it. You didn't get to see the shark in the trailers either, y'know! ;) CRUISE and SPIELBERG and WAR OF THE WORLDS is enough to get the studio their money and WE'LL all be truly blown away by the opening Tripod attack! Life's a bitch, aint it?
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Hi,
i have done some sketches of the aliens and their machines based on what we saw in the trailers.
Tell me what do you think?
http://www.ifrance.com/tylerart/wotwaliens.jpg?NOM=tylerart
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I liked it - a lot. When they heard the creek in the basement, I thought of "Signs" though. Hmm, not sure if this can be scarier than that, but it certainly will be bigger. Anyway, liked it.
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Save your beligerance for people who REALLY deserve it, like the big-haired, dumbass, ugly-furniture-having, plastic-on-the-lampshades, squirrel-gravy-eating, stone-washed jeans wearing, faux-sophisticated hicks who name their children after U.S. states. The only reason they do that is because their deluded hillbilly neighbors have used up all the porn star names available for their own children like Amber, Kayla, Shayley, Sharla, Shawna and Rayne. The Confederacy is not as dead as it needs to be.
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Though I saw the trailer I can't say how accurate your pictures are, still I like them. The 1953 movie, (my favorite sci fi flick as a kid) had the eyes of the alien resemble their viewing scope which I though was neat. In other words their engineering design mimicked their physiology. If your drawings are accurate, there seems to be some of this here too. In regard to the 1953 movie, I have yet to see an alien ship more eerie or sleek than the ones designed for that movie. The sound effects for them add so much. I think Pal tapped into our subconcious dislike of snakes. The ships as rendered by you seem to be inspired by crabs or crusteans. There seems to be a Giger Alien influence in the Martians themselves and the organic nature of their ships. Anyway enough rambling. If it is your goal, I hope you make it somewhere in the art world. (Maybe you have already!)
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If you got to 59secs and go frame by frame you can see that the aliens actually have beaks! Big curved pointy beaks! Weird. They seem to be a cross between an insect, HR Giger's Alien, a Tricerotop and an eagle! You can also see movement all the way through the sheet to the far left side of the basement shot meaning they could be quite huge. This could also mean it's crawling into the basement (creepy) and may actually stand some 15-20ft tall. Ok, I'm giving this waaaaaay too much thought and I'm gonna leave it alone now!
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May 20, 2005 10:42:18 PM CDT
So, the fantastic farmhouse scene in the original 53 version....
by mister man
....was based on a scene in the novel? Or, is Spielberg paying homage? It scared the hell out of me when I was a kid, and it still looks wonderfully creepy. Is it a basement in this version, or a similarly crushed-by-a-spaceship home?
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Spielberg gets better acting out of the actors he uses unlike Lucas. The effects are equally awesome, however the human element is essential to the story and Spielberg manages to give the audience a chance to relate to the characters on screen. Dakota Fanning and Tom Cruise could be the one two punch that we felt with Henry Thomas and ET.
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'A.I.' and 'Minority Report' were NOT bad movies, people?! What the fuck is wrong with you guys? If these movies hit without any rep, their posters would probably be hanging up on your dorm room walls. But because they're "travesties" of Kubrick, or Brian Aldiss, or Phillip K. Dick, or whoever else that douche on your college radio station tells you to like, they sucked. I thought 'A.I.' was flat-out great, and 'Minority Report' was better than most of the summer movie crap that you expose yourselves to. And I'm not a Spielberg apologist. I just think opinions are far too robotic on this site sometimes.
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Wow. Intelligence on the AICN boards may be just as rare as intelligence in the Milky Way. Anyway, there is a theory regarding 'war-like' societies: They would likely destroy themselves before having the chance to destroy others. It makes sense if we look at our own planet (the only thing we can do)...Governments who insist on controlling their citizens and/or warring with others need to spend its time, finances, resources, and manpower on staying in power. NASA has just received notice of the cuts to their budget (good-bye solar probes...would have been nice...and don't even get me STARTED on Hubble). Just a theory. Plus, if Earth had a mailing address in the Milky Way, it would have a R.R. in front of it. We can only hope that if 'someone' is listening/watching our broadcasts, they are tuned into The Discovery Channel and not The History Channel - or else we may wake up someday with a big fucking fence around us and an intergalatic "Don't Feed The Animals" flashing on it. **** If you're really curious, check into the GRB (gamma ray burster) theory regarding life expectancy. You know that Dean Devlin must be pacing in his Hollywood Hills mansion, trying to think of a script that will work GRB's into his next disaster opus. Peace back at you.
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I don't know man, the trailer kinda reminds me of that dumb-ass alien movie "the sign".
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So let's say there was a fence around the Earth. How would that change my life, exactly? It's like that "South Park" episode where Earthlings find out that the planet is just one big television show ("We're on television!!!"). Just messing with ya. I may have to take you up on your offer and at least read a little into this SETI stuff.
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An overwhelming powerful "alien" culture uses shock and awe to paralyze the nation. Surgical strikes and door to door searches are used to decapitate the leadership. F-16's rocket towards certain obliteration like a 60's era MIG into a Patriot missle battery. ICBM's are knocked out of the sky like some garage built SCUD. Massed troops are mercilessly vaporized by an unassailable, unstoppable ground assault. Americans flee on a "Highway of Death" as alien craft roast them like ants under a magnifying glass.
Remember you heard the parallels here first [I don't endorse them]. Next stop Le Monde! -
David Koepp hisself has said that his script is supposed to be a subversive "commentary on imperialism." That remains to be seen.
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If you noticed the parallels without any prior information, it still counts as the same thing, I suppose, so... congratulations: you're right about the similarities being more than just coincidence.
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Did H.G. Wells see WotW as subversive? Social commentary (e.g. Morlocks and Eloi) was not something H.G. shied away from. I think Koepp may have seen some notions for his script there first. [I knew my flip "here first" would not be well received].
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No...REALLY. We aren't. We're stuck out in the boondocks of the Milky Way. We'd have cows grazing around us and Farmer John harvesting the methane on Titan (not that Haliburton doesn't have that it mind....Titan has enough natural gas to support Earth for a million years...coincidence? I think not!). Anyway, I fear Spielberg will once again stick a happy ending on things (see: A.I.). That humanity will somehow discover a simple yet powerful (and photogenic) way of sending those nasty (highly intelligent, light-speed conquering, infinitely superior) creatures crawling back to their intergalactic empire with their tail(s) between their leg(s) to nurse their hurting egos. The spirit of Orson Welles must want to piss on Spielberg's head. **** Hey! Listen to S.E.T.I. radio, Sunday nights online at Radio America! 7 p.m. PST, 10 EST with a repeat 5 hours later! www.seti.org *** gammraychick@yahoo.com
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May 21, 2005 2:55:22 AM CDT
The "ripoff" basement scene is IN the Wells book. And ALIENS do
by halsolo
OK- I'll warn anyone who doesn't know what WOTW is all about may find spoilers in here, assuming Stevie stays true to it....
The aliens in Wells' book were huge, and squid like. Here's the quote, enjoy it and go buy and read the original book:
"A sudden chill came over me...I stood petrified and staring.
A big greyish rounded bulk, the size, perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and painfully out of the cylinder. As it bulged up and caught the light, it glistened like wet leather. Two large dark-coloured eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framedthem, the head of the thing, it was rounded, and had, one might say, a face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively. A lank tentacular appendage gripped the edge of the cylinder, another swayed in the air."
"...In a group round the mouth were sixteen slinder, almost whip-like tentacles, arranged in two bunches of eight each... they were heads, merely heads... They did not eat, much less digest. Instead, they took the fresh, living living blood of other creatures and INJECTED it into their own veins..."
So that big mass COULD be a Wellsian martian... or invader if not from mars. Thats a scene I'm going to miss from the new movie - in the book and 50's movie the cylinders fall, and everyone waits with anticipation KNOWING full well they're making first contact. All the hope of being the first to communicate turning to abject fear will disappear from this movie if they just "lightning teleport" into the ground then burst through...
Enough of THAT, the other thing that massive silhouette COULD be is - a martian "handling-machine." The martians in Wells' books were constantly struggling against Earth's increased gravity, so they had large crustacean-like spider machines which allow them to maneuver on the earth. The martians even brought food in the cylinders they drained of blood during the trip. So that huge bulk could be the machine with a martian atop it.
All this is extremely cool to me. I pray Spielberg doesn't stray too far from the source - there still are cylinders, right?
Anyways, that whole basement scene's in the original. The protagonist and a cleric spend six days in house, then the cleric freaks out and the martians snag and feed off him, while the protagonist hides in the coal cellar as a massive tentacle examines the house. All this seems to be in the trailer. This was obviously the inspiration FOR that scene in "SIGNS," and the last thing Stevie's doing is ripping Shamalayan's invasion flick off. Robbin's character also looks like the type who would freak out and try to kill the martians with his shotgun, bringing the invaders into the basement.
Hope this was at least interesting to someone. -
May 21, 2005 3:47:04 AM CDT
Ass-kickery continues; Alien appearance non-revealing also cease
by truthseekr1488
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May 21, 2005 4:08:02 AM CDT
This just in: Alien appearance mystery may continue till premier
by truthseekr1488
Some experts have suggested that fans may have to see the film to find out what the aliens look like.
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What the hell do people want? The trailer looks cool, yet that quality no longer seems to be respected. But of course, when we're offered a Sci Fi film thats intelligent and thought-provoking, its not good enough either. Have audiences (or is it just net fans) become far too picky these days? I'd say yes - absolutely. Bottom line is, the trailer looks great and the film should be a fun summer flick. Could be much more than that, considering this is Spielberg and that this is War of the Worlds; not just any sci fi film. Stop reading into everything so much and reserve judgement until you see more than 2 minutes worth of the film.
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Shit, that FPOS Hitchhiker's Guide looked pretty good until the theater took nine bucks from me that I'll never see again...I got burned on AI and Minority Report...guess I'll get burned again. Last good Spielberg action movie: Raiders. Man, I'm old.
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I know, I was a little bit harsh with you and I shouldn't have been. I pulled something like that too, so if anything I should be sympathetic. In any case, I apologize for making you feel affronted. I did read the Koepp thing though, I swear. I'm pretty sure it was a small interview he did in "Entertainment Weekly" a few months ago (like half a page, six questions) and, again, I congratulate you on your instincts. He cited Wells' book as an indirect way of writing about the threat of imperialism as well.
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Kinda like, hmm..., I don't know... ...'A.I.' and 'Minority Report?' For the record, I'm one of those people who believes the ending to 'A.I.' is subversive and not happy, but Spielberg may have me bamboozled on that one.
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why is this movie called war of the worlds when we will only see america at war? anyway small nit-pik aside i'm looking forward to this.
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It's because our brains are ripe for harvesting...
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Silver lining in every cloud, eh?
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May 24, 2005 10:50:01 PM CDT
David Koepp plus super short production time does not equal grea
by rupee88
This may be watchable and kinda fun, but my expectations are low. This is the guy who wrote Panic Room, remember...he's not exactly a brilliant mind or great artist. He's a hack and writes serviceable scripts...I'm going to see this for the CGI and that's about it.
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