Post by jeffwaynefan on May 11, 2005 13:39:33 GMT
EXCLUSIVE DAVID LATT INTERVIEW
PART TWO
David Latt co-wrote, directed and edited the straight to DVD version of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, staring CT Howell. Today he found time to drop by the War of the Worlds Online.com forums and answer some of the questions that fans of the story have been asking.
Q: Opinion about competing with three other interpretations, and what problems / challenges did that create?
A: Didn’t know about them until it was too late. We shelved the film, but got it green light in January. We knew at that time DreamWorks, but were surprised to find out about Pendragon a day before we started filming.
We are all fans of the book and there is no competition. Also, let’s face it DreamWorks could care less about us. We made this film for less than one tenth of one percent of their production/marketing budget. We are a fly on their ass. Pendragon is making a completely different film. I will be the first in line for both films when they come out.
Q: Did copyright issues impact the production?
A: Sure. We had to get the ‘all-clear’ from our lawyers before we made the film.
Q: Feelings on charges of exploitation, which are sure to come?
A: It’s gonna happen. What could you do? It’s really a matter of intent. We all set out to make a great film with great actors. I believe we succeeded. I am very proud of this film. I sleep well at night (though with one eye open). Will die-hards be disappointed? Yep. Will Wells turn in his grave? Maybe. My adaptation isn’t anymore exploitation than DreamWorks or Haskin or Welles. But, will this version look cheaper than DreamWorks? Yep. Will the aliens make Ed Wood look like a genius? I hope not, but that’s up for interpretation.
Q: How did you use the original source material?
A: I wrote many drafts of this script…but I just couldn’t get into the lead’s head. It was driving me crazy. At a certain point I approached Carlos de los Rios who is perhaps one of the best unknown writers in town. He knows characters. He can get into the dark places.
I never told him about WAR OF THE WORLDS. The script I gave him was INVASION. I told him my problems, and wanted him to come up with original solutions. He did.
Q: Where & why did you stick to the novel?
A: Why stray from it? It’s genius.
Q: Where did you deviate from it and why?
A: We had to shove this epic into 90 minutes…so many things got left on the cutting room floor. Henderson: Gone. Ogilvy: Gone. Horse: Gone. England is not the centre of the world, so I made it DC (hence the photos I see on this site).
Q: How long did it take to write?
A: 1 year.
Q: How many drafts did it undergo?
A: 40…50? We were writing on the set, too.
Q: Did you encounter any special problems during composition?
A: See above.
Q/A: Director/Writer/Editor/Producer: Same guy. Me.
Q: How familiar are you with the fan base?
A: Getting more and more familiar every single day!
Q: Why were you attracted to the material?
A: The incredible realism of the text. The graphic nature, the adventure…it was like reading a documentary.
Q: How was pre-production?
A: Great!
Q: How long did it take to shoot?
A: 16 days total.
Q: Any special problems / challenges during production?
A: Finding locations that looked devastated. Finding locations that looked like the North East. Shooting in California’s worst rain season in over 100 years.
Q: How was post-production?
A: This whole production has been fantastic. I’ve loved every minute of it.
The worst is that I scheduled my first vacation in years in April (it was a cruise and we had to buy our tickets before we even thought about this production). I thought we’d be done with everything, but due to production delays…I was finally seeing the effects shots during the week I was gone. My wife and child were upset, but I spent many hours on the ship’s internet looking at visual effects shots, making notes, and, well, working!
Q: Why has it been so secretive till now. Seems a bit sudden.
A: Didn’t know we were secretive! Sorry. We don’t have a Publicity Agent working for us. All the money went to production.
Q: Seriously, I would ask if it's a cynical attempt to cash in on the hype created by the Spielberg film. I would have the utmost respect if they said "yes"...
A: My intention was to make a great film. The distributor’s intention was great timing.
Q: The White House? Again?
A: See above.
Q: "Seriously, I would ask if it's a cynical attempt to cash in on the hype created by the Spielberg film. I would have the utmost respect if they said "yes"... "But that would ruin the game. You have to act like you are making a film with artistic pretensions even if it is the most obvious cheap rip off imaginable.
Bottom line: this is a cheap, quickie attempt to cash in on the Spielberg. Film The film could be cheesy fun to watch, but let's not blind ourselves to what it is.
A: Yep.
"Thanks a bunch for hearing me out. I'll check in from time-to-time if you have anymore questions. Also, I'll let you know when the trailer is on-line."
David Latt
PART ONE of the interview can be found here: robk.proboards13.com/index.cgi?board=dvd&action=display&thread=1115818967&start=0
Thank you to Mr Latt for taking time out to talk to War of the Worlds Online. This interview is exclusive to War of the Worlds online, please ask permission from info@waroftheworldsonline.com before reproducing any part of it.
PART TWO
David Latt co-wrote, directed and edited the straight to DVD version of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, staring CT Howell. Today he found time to drop by the War of the Worlds Online.com forums and answer some of the questions that fans of the story have been asking.
Q: Opinion about competing with three other interpretations, and what problems / challenges did that create?
A: Didn’t know about them until it was too late. We shelved the film, but got it green light in January. We knew at that time DreamWorks, but were surprised to find out about Pendragon a day before we started filming.
We are all fans of the book and there is no competition. Also, let’s face it DreamWorks could care less about us. We made this film for less than one tenth of one percent of their production/marketing budget. We are a fly on their ass. Pendragon is making a completely different film. I will be the first in line for both films when they come out.
Q: Did copyright issues impact the production?
A: Sure. We had to get the ‘all-clear’ from our lawyers before we made the film.
Q: Feelings on charges of exploitation, which are sure to come?
A: It’s gonna happen. What could you do? It’s really a matter of intent. We all set out to make a great film with great actors. I believe we succeeded. I am very proud of this film. I sleep well at night (though with one eye open). Will die-hards be disappointed? Yep. Will Wells turn in his grave? Maybe. My adaptation isn’t anymore exploitation than DreamWorks or Haskin or Welles. But, will this version look cheaper than DreamWorks? Yep. Will the aliens make Ed Wood look like a genius? I hope not, but that’s up for interpretation.
Q: How did you use the original source material?
A: I wrote many drafts of this script…but I just couldn’t get into the lead’s head. It was driving me crazy. At a certain point I approached Carlos de los Rios who is perhaps one of the best unknown writers in town. He knows characters. He can get into the dark places.
I never told him about WAR OF THE WORLDS. The script I gave him was INVASION. I told him my problems, and wanted him to come up with original solutions. He did.
Q: Where & why did you stick to the novel?
A: Why stray from it? It’s genius.
Q: Where did you deviate from it and why?
A: We had to shove this epic into 90 minutes…so many things got left on the cutting room floor. Henderson: Gone. Ogilvy: Gone. Horse: Gone. England is not the centre of the world, so I made it DC (hence the photos I see on this site).
Q: How long did it take to write?
A: 1 year.
Q: How many drafts did it undergo?
A: 40…50? We were writing on the set, too.
Q: Did you encounter any special problems during composition?
A: See above.
Q/A: Director/Writer/Editor/Producer: Same guy. Me.
Q: How familiar are you with the fan base?
A: Getting more and more familiar every single day!
Q: Why were you attracted to the material?
A: The incredible realism of the text. The graphic nature, the adventure…it was like reading a documentary.
Q: How was pre-production?
A: Great!
Q: How long did it take to shoot?
A: 16 days total.
Q: Any special problems / challenges during production?
A: Finding locations that looked devastated. Finding locations that looked like the North East. Shooting in California’s worst rain season in over 100 years.
Q: How was post-production?
A: This whole production has been fantastic. I’ve loved every minute of it.
The worst is that I scheduled my first vacation in years in April (it was a cruise and we had to buy our tickets before we even thought about this production). I thought we’d be done with everything, but due to production delays…I was finally seeing the effects shots during the week I was gone. My wife and child were upset, but I spent many hours on the ship’s internet looking at visual effects shots, making notes, and, well, working!
Q: Why has it been so secretive till now. Seems a bit sudden.
A: Didn’t know we were secretive! Sorry. We don’t have a Publicity Agent working for us. All the money went to production.
Q: Seriously, I would ask if it's a cynical attempt to cash in on the hype created by the Spielberg film. I would have the utmost respect if they said "yes"...
A: My intention was to make a great film. The distributor’s intention was great timing.
Q: The White House? Again?
A: See above.
Q: "Seriously, I would ask if it's a cynical attempt to cash in on the hype created by the Spielberg film. I would have the utmost respect if they said "yes"... "But that would ruin the game. You have to act like you are making a film with artistic pretensions even if it is the most obvious cheap rip off imaginable.
Bottom line: this is a cheap, quickie attempt to cash in on the Spielberg. Film The film could be cheesy fun to watch, but let's not blind ourselves to what it is.
A: Yep.
"Thanks a bunch for hearing me out. I'll check in from time-to-time if you have anymore questions. Also, I'll let you know when the trailer is on-line."
David Latt
PART ONE of the interview can be found here: robk.proboards13.com/index.cgi?board=dvd&action=display&thread=1115818967&start=0
Thank you to Mr Latt for taking time out to talk to War of the Worlds Online. This interview is exclusive to War of the Worlds online, please ask permission from info@waroftheworldsonline.com before reproducing any part of it.