Spielberg of my dreams.

Rating: 3/10 (3 July 2005)

I'm not a movie-maker but I dream. For instance I saw Spielberg's "war of the worlds" and dreamed I was his assistant when he made it. I know it is presumptuous but it's just a dream okay? In this dream, in order to assist him I got to ask him a few questions. I asked him how he felt about directing his first bad alien movie and why this particular story. He answered that everything has its part of darkness and so has extra-terrestrial life, that today's public wasn't curious enough about some great works of the past, that new technology had given meaning to the word "remake" and that a remake, more up to today's world could bring out of this story something both really exciting and very profitable.
Whoa! In my dream I started daydreaming about a pessimistic pendant to "Encounters of the third kind". It put me on a little cloud knowing I was part of it.
I got the script and as it was expected of me rose some points needing changes, or some explanation and made a list like so: 1- With the Tsunami experience we know people do not understand danger is here and completely lack self preservation instincts, but here it says the street has been hit by lightning, then starts collapsing, cracking, erupting, the buildings are too; a very odd looking flying machine comes out of this quickly followed by another this time standing on three feet, still people do not try establishing any safe distance with the phenomenon until they start being vaporized. I know people are weird in the face of danger, but I think this may not work. How about most of the people flee and only some cops because it's their duty and some idiots because they're idiots should show some bravado (and Tom included as his character at that point in the movie is one of an idiot).
2- The EMP has disabled any electronic device, the camcorder should not work, period. I'm sure the line has escaped you and was written by someone who didn't know and forgot to read the beginning of the script when they explain it.
3- The TV crew engages conversation, shows Tom footage a little too easily to then leave him as if he were nothing. Also, when in a plush suburb of NYC at the end of the world, having to choose between breaking into a freshly deserted house and climbing on a still sizzling crashed B747 full of cadavers to look for water, my choice would be in favor of the house. The other things with this scene are how can the street remain practicable for a car? And why is Tom's car still intact? 4- On the hill, why are all the people running towards the front line? If they're fleeing from something it will not be obvious for the audience as the army clearly defines it as a front line. The text between Tom and his son should be re-written for something more coherent and shorter, we should hire really convincing actors for the couple who tries to abduct/save Tom's daughter or shorten their scene too. It will seem more realistic in the context of a battle. Tom seems to again fail death with uncommon good luck (not to speak of his son's). If we put them all a little further away from the action, it will keep the latter where it should be: not showing too much, too close.
5- There is a clear paradox between the seemingly paramount blood sucking routine of the second part and the obvious vaporizing waste of the beginning. If there is a rationale, then it isn't clear.
6- The family reunion looks a little too much like one, we should make it differently, maybe the son is dead, or maybe the mother died, like in she went to NYC to get her children because she knew her ex-husband is such a loser he wouldn't have done anything to help, even less take the trip to Boston and she would have met a tragic but beautiful death saving someone when she realizes her kids are probably dead... In short something more Shakespearian...
7- The end makes the germs an enemy we learned to live with... How about the germs learned how to live with us? How about changing the trailer catch phrase to "the last war on Earth will not be won by humans"? This victory we witness and which was already in the original story by Wells, isn't it the planet's victory? Shouldn't the message be one of respect and awe for the might of the planet? Not only protecting us from the void and the radiations but giving us air and defense against the Extra-Terrestrials?
It's just a start but I think we could focus on a few more things just to deepen the whole thing and make it more likely to satisfy the crowds who are only asking to believe what they see, even if only for 2 hours. So tell me Mr. Spielberg, what do you think? I asked him as soon as he read my notes. He said, Wow, well, yeah Ben, this makes sense, I'm so overwhelmed by life and so used to people licking my *** that I've lost my own critical view and you are the kind of person I really need to get back to my good work without turning my back on good life, thank you so much
That's when I woke up with my wife staring at me like she always does when I sleep talk and then she said: Ben, I like your movie better (hey, that's my wife, so I can't expect much objectivity from her), I kissed her and we went back to sleep but as I was falling asleep I thought, You're wrong my love, it's not my movie that's better, it's my Spielberg.