The Worldwide War Of The War Of The Worlds

I’m not normally one to keep track of the comings and goings of movie makers (apart from the Star Wars movies, of course.) However, there’s been a strange confluence of events over the last couple of days which is worth reporting.
Yesterday, I discovered the awful trumour that Tom Hanks is set to play the lead in the movie adaptation of ‘The Da Vinci Code’. The movie’s never as good as the book.
Over the last week or so, I’ve been introducing Caleb to one of the greatest music albums of the 20th century – Jeff Wayne’s ‘The War Of The Worlds’. It’s a dark, dark story, but such a brilliant aural canvas for your imagination to run wild with. Caleb’s asked if the school library has the book. Sadly, they don’t. (I wonder how many pirimary schools stock H.G. Wells?)
I happened across some information that Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise are filming a version of the book right now, for a 2005 release.
It also seems that a British outfit has filmed their version of it as well. We could have the happy occasion of TWO Wars of the World next year. (Or should that be ‘War of the Worlds’s’?)
On top of all that, Jeff Wayne is also planning an animated version, it seems – presumably based on the music and artwork of the album.
I’ve got a couple of new sites to keep an eye on, now: www.eveofthewar.com and www.eveofthewar.co.uk.
It’s been so long since I’ve listened to the album – probably a good 20 years. I remember well the dark nights in the back shed, huddled over the record player with the headphones on full bore and the album cover on my lap, getting completely freaked out over and over again. Even after two decades, I realise I still know every word by heart.
That’s the sign of a good story.