Spielberg still believes in ET

Interviewed by the Associated Press, Spielberg said. "I have to certainly believe what my heart tells me. That the first time there is a meeting of the minds between extraterrestrials and human beings, it's going to be friendly."

Hmm, only if we don't shoot first.

Spielberg alludes to big effects

An interesting article has been published with comments from Speilberg. Speilberg says this his most special effects heavy movie in some time and reveals that he originally planned a War Of The Worlds theme park attraction, but could not get the rights at the time. Read the whole store here.

War Of The Words

Looks like Tom Cruise got more than he bargained for in an interview with the German magazine Spiegel. As reported on Cultnews.com, a reporter grilled the War Of The Worlds star on why he had a tent up on the set of the movie to promote his belief in Scientology.

The war (for an audience) is hotting up

By my count, this makes the 4th War Of The Worlds movie to be announced. Just to recap, we have the Speilberg version, the Tim Hines version, the revised Jeff Wayne version and now, the "David Michael Latt" version: Much as i'd like to be positive about this, the fact that www.imdb.com has the movie listed as "invasion" very much suggests this is a quick rename of a movie to cash in on the hype over the other versions, unless this was the cover story. Hines kept his version super secret for a long time. The Independence Day-like poster is a bit of give-away that this straight to video movie has some pretty cheap and cheerful credentials. But hey, who am I to judge sight unseen. It might be fun. Offical website is here, though the link for trailer is dead.

Hitachi chooses War of the Worlds

In the first of what are sure to be numerous tie-ins, Hitachi are teaming up with Steven Spielbergs War Of The Worlds to promote their flat screen televisions. More info here.

War Of The Worlds game

You can now play an online game of The War Of The Worlds at the Spielberg movie site. Its a neat little game which puts you in various situations in which you have to flee the invaders while picking up survivors. Played on my slightly creaking PC, it was a slow experience with lots of pauses, but I'll give it a go on my high speed work connection and report back if it runs better.

War Of The Worlds graphic novel

An interesting looking update of War Of The Worlds is due out May 2005. Its a modern reworking of the story and has a cover by Frank Brunner. Fifteen pages are available for preview on the publishers site.

War Of The Worlds tie in game for April 14th

A highly complex online multi player game is to be made available on the War Of The Worlds site, this April 14th. Quoting the press release, it will be "a human-survival game that echoes the themes and real world environments of the film, the game calls upon players to rescue survivors, collect objects, and escape danger in varying combinations. Players will try to escape maze-like boards while avoiding cataclysmic alien destruction. The game is free for users worldwide and will be available in seven different languages. Designed as both a single and multi-player game, the game’s objectives are scaled to the number of people playing; in addition, multi-player boards will require players to work together to complete their mission. In the weeks approaching the film’s release, additional maps – of increasing complication and difficulty – will become available". You can check out some great screen shots here at Ugo.com

Europe back to Mars

The European Space Agency is planning a Mars rover for arrival in June of 2013. Full story here.

New look site for War Of The Worlds

The Spielberg/Cruise version of War Of The Worlds has a newly refreshed site here. Still not giving much away but plenty of content.