War of the Worlds screenwriter says Martians slaughtering humans are metaphore for U.S. military

Larry Elder Talk Radio Show on KABC AM 790 Los Angeles ^ | Tuesday, July 19, 2005 | Larry Elder

[FraudFactor.com]

War of the Worlds screenwriter David Koepp admits political propaganda in movie

KABC talk show host Larry Elder said today that David Koepp, one of the two War of the Worlds screenwriters, stated in a recent interview for a Canadian publication that the Martians slaughtering the humans are a metaphor for the adventurism of the American military forces, i.e., for the Bush Administration's war on terrorism, and the human civilians are a metaphor for the Iraqi people. He stated that this is going back to the original H. G. Wells book upon which the movie is loosely based.

However, the original story took place in England, and as Larry Elder pointed out, the book was written in the late eighteen hundreds (first published in 1898) at a time when British imperialism was at its peak, when the British Empire had authority over one out of every four human beings on Earth. Clearly, the United States is not an imperialist country, especially when compared to England, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and the communist Soviet Union, Turkey/The Ottoman Empire, and the Arab Muslims.

One of Larry Elder's callers pointed out that we should expect leftist political propaganda in any movie directed by Steven Spielberg and including actor Tim Robbins, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration.

Tim Robbins played a survivalist named Ogilvy, who is the Hollywood-left's stereotype for a conservative - a distasteful "red neck" character portrayed as a crazy shotgun-wielding suspected child molester. He was in one of the two anti-gun scenes in the movie. This is another example of the bigotry of the Hollywood-left.

[wildwood]

oduction Budget: was $132 million.

actually i heard it stated several times that the production budget was 180 mill and advertising costs exceeded 40 mil, bringing the total to 220 mil that needed to be surpassed.

[bnelson44]

advertising costs are only part of "marketing costs"

[Darkwolf377]

Production Budget: was $132 million. I don't know what the marketing cost was. But $449 million gross (given all they hype) does not give them much profit once you subtract the marketing costs and overhead.

LOL If you're planning to work for a studio, don't quit your day job. First of all, all the merchandising deals lopped off millions from the studio's investment; marketing didn't eat up about $320 million, and "hype" is what a studio is trying to get, so I don't understand what you're trying to say--that somehow it's a bomb because it will only net a couple to three hundred mil profit? There have been movies hyped far in excess of this (what movie ISN'T hyped these days?). When you put it all together, you can pooh-pooh it all you want, but an excess of $200 million profit before DVD and other income is a huge hit. Calling it a bomb is simply wrong, and there's no two ways about it.

Any studio head who thinks $200million + clean profit is a bomb won't have a job in the morning.

[Darkwolf377]

If you like the Spielberg of Jaws and Duel I think you will enjoy it. It has some of Spielberg's dysfunctional family garbage in it, but I was pleased that it also has a lot of hard-edged stuff. The violence isn't fun, it's "Holy cow, get the heck outta here, it's the end!" kinda violence. There are several really imaginative, unique moments.

(Very minor spoiler) There is a moment in which people are waiting for something, and then we see one of the machines walking towards them from the horizon, and there's just this very powerful sense of impending doom.

I like end of the world type movies that make you think "Wow, this could be it!" as opposed to Independence Day goofy stuff like giving computer viruses to alien technology.

[bnelson44]

"Any studio head who thinks $200million + clean profit is a bomb won't have a job in the morning."

Your not including all the post production costs. Somehow I think you know that.

Anyway, considering what they planned it to be, it was a bomb.

[Lawgvr1955]

Lots of people seem to have an agenda about this movie, and they aren't all lefties.

[Darkwolf377]

"Any studio head who thinks $200million + clean profit is a bomb won't have a job in the morning." Your not including all the post production costs. Somehow I think you know that. Anyway, considering what they planned it to be, it was a bomb.

Dude, post production is included in the budget. Obviously you don't know that. Any movie budget that doesn't include post-production is going to result in no movie being made--what do you think the huge bulk of that budget is for, location work? No--its MOSTLY post. If you cut the post costs from that, the budget would be only about $70 mil.

I happen to work on the fringes of the business and have several friends IN the business. You can keep going up against me, but I know a lot more about this stuff than you, quite obviously.

You can keep saying this stuff, but you simply don't know what you're talking about, and I do. "What they planned it to be" doesn't even make sense--they planned it to be a big, profitable hit, and it was. You're just trying to deny the success of someone we both don't like, but that's what DUmmies do; we should simply observe reality.

We can keep this up if you want, but maybe you should learn some facts first. I don't claim to know much, but you're playing in my sandbox here.

[Darkwolf377]

Agreed. I don't care for the politics of anyone involved, but I don't go through life only dealing with people whose politics I like when it doesn't matter. Life's too short. I like movies. That's all.

Koepp is a boob and an ignoramus, but I wanted to see this movie, and I saw it, and shockingly my support of the war didn't drop one bit!

[bnelson44]

Dude, they said production costs were $440 million, not marketing and not post production. We can only go by what they say.

Reference,
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=waroftheworlds.htm

[FraudFactor.com]

You make a very good point.

Hollywood goes out of their way to inject gratuitous obscene language and nude and sex scenes in movies that do not add to the plot, and often distract and detract from the movie. These scenes often serve as filler footage in lower quality movies. They also produce movies with in-your-face homo-centric ("GLBTQ") characters and themes in their attempt to mainstream deviant sexual behavior and lifestyles. They then export these movies throughout the world. Also, they publicly support laws and court rulings to impose same-sex marriage on society.

Also, I believe most of the softcore and hardcore pornography distributed world-wide over the internet is produced in the U.S., probably in the San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles.

This must appear to be the work of the Devil threatening the world to backwards Islamic societies where women must cover up all of their body except their hands and faces, and in some cases also cover up their faces with veils or burqas. The Hollywood movies, pornography, and politics must be highly effective recruiting aids for the Islamo-fascist terrorists who want to kill all "infidels".

The leftist Democrats are really misguided for opposing our military and instead supporting the Islamo-fascist terrorists, whom they refer to as "activists", "militants", and "insurgents". If the Islamo-fascist terrorists succeed, they will kill and destroy everything the leftist Democrats claim they support and believe in, including homosexuals, freedom of religion (or atheism), free speech, women's rights, civil rights, and voting rights.



An Afghan woman and child in Parwan Province, Afghanistan. Photo by Sgt. Sean A. Terry, USA.

Source: DefenseLINK Information presented on DefenseLINK is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.     http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2002/n09272002_200209264.html

[asp1]

I have never seen Independence Day. (Probably the only person on the planet who can say that!) My favorite sci-fi are the real old black and white movies. Them! is one of the best of that genre. I also like the hokey ones where you can see the zipper on the creature's costume. :o) They're the best!

[Darkwolf377]

Dude, they said production costs were $440 million, not marketing and not post production. We can only go by what they say. Reference, http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=waroftheworlds.htm

DUDE--the production costs were not $440 million.

Marketing is separate from the budget--BUT POST PRODUCTION IS NOT. If that won't sink in, I can't help you.

Marketing is SHARED--it differs from movie to movie based on the participants.

The budget was @$130:

http://www.waroftheworldsfilm.com/archive/news_29.shtml

WOTW Budget is 128 million, not 200 An article in The New York Times "Arts" section yesterday about the filming of "The War of the Worlds" in Bayonne, N.J., misstated the size of the film’s budget. "It is $128 million," a spokeswoman for Paramount Pictures said, "not $200 million." We shall see how much that budget changes in the next couple of months....I say the minimum would be $145 million. As a matter of fact, just a few weeks ago, Paramount supposedly said that their budget was $90 million.

End quote

You're not taking into account all kinds of income streams and participants, either, like distribution costs and cuts, the huge foreign market and its lower costs, etc.

Educate yourself about the industry before you go head to head with me, 'kay bud? ;) I don't mind discussion on the issue, but obstinate insistence that our political enemies haven't just made a big, fat hit is luncay.

[bnelson44]

Thanks, I am trying. The source I reference did include foreign income in the $440 million.

please view it.

[Darkwolf377]

I just got 10, count 'em, 10 Mystery Science Theater episodes based on 50's movies. Hee hee hee!

I love 50's SF, including the bad ones, but I love the good ones, too. One in particular re-uses the War of the Worlds ships, called Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Terrific movie. Also a huge fan of Journey to the Center of the Earth, Time Machine... I love the sense of wonder.

Ack, we could go on about this all night. I have a Heinlein book on the to-read shelf--am getting back into old SF novels, the new ones stink.

[Darkwolf377]

Thanks, I am trying. The source I reference did include foreign income in the $440 million. please view it.

Dude, what is your problem?

I know it includes foreign income--but you claimed that was its production cost. It's not--that's the worldwide gross. I mentioned the foreign income because the amounts listed are grosses; the studio, depending on the deal, will get to keep more of that depending on the territory and the distribution deal; and marketing costs are shared.

I did view it, before you did, actually. The difference is I understand what it means. Give it up until you understand the numbers.

[bnelson44]

Dude, I am trying to understand the numbers. Actually trying to get to a net figure, which doesn't seem to be out there. Even with your help.

[Armigerous]

I've seen it and it sort of runs out of gas about halfway through but it was worth it to stick around to the end to see the cameo appearances by Gene Barry and Ann Robinson who were the protagonists in the original

[FraudFactor.com]

"Koepp is a boob and an ignoramus"

You are right on! How can the "professionals" do such a bad job selecting/defining the characters and writing the plot when there was so much opportunity to do better?

Ordinary people who are not industry professionals can see the many flaws and logical holes and inconsistencies which spoil the movie.

The movie industry is selling us a lot of junk with a few real gems in the mix (e.g., the three Lord of the Rings movies).

The movie industry gets their bad movies into the theaters by forcing the theater operators to buy packages of movies in order to get the good movies. The theater operators cannot cherry-pick only the good or best movies. They have to buy the junk movies to get the good ones. To help make up for this, the theaters jack up their prices on the food concessions and show paid advertisements for up to twenty minutes after the official start time of the movie.

What a racket!

[Darkwolf377]

There isn't a net figure to find. The studios don't publish net figures. They charge a bookkeeping fee to themselves and recycle the accounting so movies never, or rarely, go into the black to people on the outside. They charge overhead to a movie's profits, they have all kinds of profit participation and distribution deals, and they charge THEM for the accounting--which the studio itself performs. They do this everytime they give an accounting to one of their participants, so the "profit" keeps dropping to the naked eye while the studio enjoys the profits.

It's one of the reasons why if you were to write a screenplay or act in a movie and are offered net points, you should laugh very hard, because you will never see them. And only a handful of people earn gross points. Spielberg is one of them, but he also owns Dreamworks, so technically his participation would cut into the net-except he's profitting.

Stop looking for the net; you won't find it.

[Darkwolf377]

You are right on! How can the "professionals" do such a bad job selecting/defining the characters and writing the plot when there was so much opportunity to do better?

I liked it. :) Not how I would have done it, but I can't argue with its success. This "dysfunctional family" crap isn't my kind of thing, but it works.

Ordinary people who are not industry professionals can see the many flaws and logical holes and inconsistencies which spoil the movie.

There's no room for me to go into this here, but the truth is (and this may shock you) that almost no movie really makes sense when you look at it.

The movie industry is selling us a lot of junk with a few real gems in the mix (e.g., the three Lord of the Rings movies). The movie industry gets their bad movies into the theaters by forcing the theater operators to buy packages of movies in order to get the good movies.

Nope--that's illegal now.

The theater operators cannot cherry-pick only the good or best movies. They have to buy the junk movies to get the good ones. To help make up for this, the theaters jack up their prices on the food concessions and show paid advertisements for up to twenty minutes after the official start time of the movie. What a racket!

That's not really true. Block booking is illegal, and has been since the fifties. Some claim that the practice of offering movie X to get movie A still exists, and it does, but it's not the same thing because movies still get pulled from theaters if they're not selling tix. It's more complicated and subtle than I'm saying, but it's not really the same thing as block booking, a practice that died in anti-trust litigation in the 50's or 60's. Now it's more a case of the theaters NEEDING the shows because they need twenty films at a time.