Spielberg & Cruise Teaming on War of the Worlds

[knivesout]

Here we go again:

Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise will bring The War of the Worlds to the big screen, with Cruise expected to star, reports Variety. David Koepp will rewrite a Josh Friedman first-draft script based on the classic H.G. Wells alien-invasion novel.

More here: http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3949

I suppose Spielberg will make an enjoyable enough popcorn fest out of this one, but I have to ask - why Tom Cruise?

[dwndrgn]

He's doing a lot of producing lately as opposed to acting, so he may be producer here while Spielberg will direct. He may or may not act in it as well.

[littlemissattitude]

Well, I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan. To say the least.

However, Speilberg getting his hands on "War of the Worlds" is an interesting prospect. As I said in the thread on remakes, I'm not always enthusiastic about them. On the other hand, I think this one is ripe for an updating. Just hope it doesn't scare the bejezus out of me like the 1953 version did. It got re-released when I was in elementary school, and my parents took me to see it at the drive-in. Well, the top of the Martians' ship started unscrewing near the beginning of the movie, and I spent the rest of the thing hiding in the back seat of the car. Oh, and by the way, the 1953 version is one of those films that was partly filmed around the town where I grew up.

[Foxbat]

I think this one is ripe for an updating

I agree. The 53 version was a fine film but kind of strayed a bit from the novel. I'd like to see this 'remake' set in it's original time and location (with the original look to the machines).

I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan either but I thought he carried himself off quite well in Minority Report so, fingers crossed, he can do the same again.

It's Speilberg at the helm that worries me. I just don't think his style is suited to this task. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope so. I'd like to see this film be a success and live up to the very fine book on which it is based.