"The push back is due entirely to production," states director Timothy Hines. "I've worked for seven years on this film and as the release deadline approached I was faced with a very simple choice, rush the picture or push the release date back and do the movie right." Hines is unapologetic about the push back. "This was absolutely the right thing to do. My picture, H.G. WELLS' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS is an epic with thousands of special effects. It would have been absurd to cut scenes or rush effects when the movie was so close to completion. The thousands of fan letters that pour in every week reflect that this decision is correct and in the end it was the only way to go. Nobody remembers that some episodes of STAR WARS have been up to a year late, that Francis Ford Coppola, Kubrick and many other directors have routinely missed deadliness to get their picture right. H.G. WELLS' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS is all we hoped it would be and more."

A few private test screenings have brought overwhelmingly positive responses. Test audiences have reacted with strong emotions ranging from tears to triumphant. "I'm not surprised at the powerful reaction to the movie from our test groups," says Hines. "We did the book. Wells was a powerful writer. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS is a tragic story. It's a horror story. I didn't play the battles between the human artillery and the giant three-legged fighting machines triumphantly.  This is humanity losing its planet to an invading force. Well, for a time anyway. That people have shown they are moved by the movie says we got it right." 

The exact April theatrical release date of H.G. WELLS' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS will be announced shortly, though the DVD release is locked. The picture is presold for DVD into 60,000 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada and will hit the shelves June 15th, 2005. Worldwide DVD presales are in progress.

Two books on the making of Pendragon's H.G. WELLS' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS will hit the bookstores on June 1st. The books are published by Retrovision in association with Ed Gross, the east coast editor of CFQ (Cinefantastique) Magazine.

To pre-order the THE MAKING OF H.G. WELLS' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS books contact Retrovision at http://www.retrovisionmag.com .

http://www.waroftheworldsmovienews.com .
 
 

Rant or Rave? Your turn, post your comments and thoughts on this news item. But hey keep it clean, we wouldn't want to have to wash your mouth out with Old Spice.

Fan Speak:

 

...end