Post by jeffwaynefan on May 11, 2005 13:42:47 GMT
EXCLUSIVE DAVID LATT INTERVIEW
PART ONE
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: What research have they done regarding the story and characters for the new film?
A: I have only read the book. I have never seen the Haskin version, the TV show, or the Welles Radio Play. W hen I first started this journey I wanted it to follow the book as close as possible. I read and re-read the book, took notes, joined story discussions with other fans, etc. I didn’t want to pollute my ideas with other filmmaker’s ideas.
Q: What problems they've had making this/ what good things they like?
A: Budget was the biggest problem, time, of course was no friend either. But story-wise’ WAR should be a mini-series’ not a 90 minute Alien freak fest.
The main character was hard. Wells didn’t write for Hollywood. How can you take a normal day-to-day man and have him try and commit suicide by the end (via an Alien)? Sure, the world around you is gone’ death and destruction is everywhere, but for the writer you have to get inside this person’s head and understand why he does when he does it. He can’t just walk up to the Alien and say, ‘Kill me’. This is not your straight Hollywood story. I basically approached this as THE PIANIST with aliens. It's a story of survival.
Q: How do the actors feel about the original story, have they read Wells books, have they done research themselves.
A: You have to ask them, sorry!
Q: Did they find it difficult to transpose the story to a modern setting?
A: Yes and no. I describe some problems above, but another one was ‘communication’. 100 years ago there were no cell phones, TV, radio (kinda), etc. What worked in Wells favour is that the ship could hang out for a few days and no one knew about it except for a few nearby towns. Because of this I had to accelerate the story. The ship crashes, and within an hour the Walkers appear and start the destruction. Also, I made it so all telecommunications; satellites, phones, etc. are wiped out because of the electromagnetic interference from the ships. So, there is no heavy technology fighting these creatures.
Q: How closely did they follow the books story, although it is a modern piece?
A: I want to say for the record that this is an ‘adaptation’. Pendragon’s version is probably going to satisfy a lot more of you die-hards. It’s like this: if you had three painters--Picasso, Rembrandt, and Kandinsky--paint a vase with a flower in it. I guarantee that each would look different. It’s their creative perception of the vase. Their adaptation. Of course, I’m more like the guy who paints the velvet Elvis’ in the trashy motels’ but, nevertheless, the analogy stands.
That being said my original script was pretty close to the book. It was only after a lot of studio/production re-writes that it became watered down. Which is not to say that I’m not proud of the work ‘I am ‘it’s just that, well, everyone has an opinion.
Q: What gives with the quite different tripod design? Especially with the legs? Who came up with the design?
A: Since we were releasing this film as INVASION, there was no pressure to tell anyone about WAR. So, I took the descriptions, went to our designers and said, ‘Make me the coolest, nastiest, Walker (our code name) you can. Go crazy.’ They did. At this point during the process I didn’t feel it necessary to be so exact with the text (since this is, after all, an adaptation of the book). We started with three legs. Really. But, well, we just went crazy.
Q: Are the aliens actually Martians??
A: Yes. They are from Mars. Not from underground.
Q: How did the idea for this flick come about?
A: I am a huge fan of the book...have been since I could remember. When I was approached to do the one film I always wanted to do (with the idea that it had to be sci-fi and/or horror) there was only one choice.
I actually wrote the first draft then found out about DreamWorks. We shelved the film. I made about seven movies since then ’when out of the blue’ we were tasked to go back and produce my script - in no time. I know it was about timing, but we really went into this because we wanted to make a cool, frickin’ movie.
Q: How do they feel about the other movies that are on the way?
A: What other movies?
Q: What are the best biscuits for dunking in tea?
A: According to Dr. Len Fisher on Physics of Biscuit Dunking its Ginger nut. The best dunking time for a ginger nut biscuit was 3 seconds, but 8 seconds for a digestive biscuit. Also, dunking your biscuit into a milky drink gives you up to 11 times more flavour release than from eating the dry biscuit alone. Hope that helps.
Q: Credentials / Influences?
A: Credentials? I can be found on the www.imdb.com website. I’ve won over 30 awards for my films. My films have been to over 100 festivals world-wide. Oh, and my wife says that I smell nice.
Q: Influences?
A: A fan of storytelling and storytellers.
Q: When and how did the idea for the film come about?
A: See above.
Q: Who/what was the driving force behind getting the film green lit and filmed?
A: Our main buyer. The guy that said if you make this film, I’ll give you money. It works every time.
PART TWO of the interview can be seen here: robk.proboards13.com/index.cgi?board=dvd&action=display&thread=1115818773
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 ONE
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: What research have they done regarding the story and characters for the new film?
A: I have only read the book. I have never seen the Haskin version, the TV show, or the Welles Radio Play. W hen I first started this journey I wanted it to follow the book as close as possible. I read and re-read the book, took notes, joined story discussions with other fans, etc. I didn’t want to pollute my ideas with other filmmaker’s ideas.
Q: What problems they've had making this/ what good things they like?
A: Budget was the biggest problem, time, of course was no friend either. But story-wise’ WAR should be a mini-series’ not a 90 minute Alien freak fest.
The main character was hard. Wells didn’t write for Hollywood. How can you take a normal day-to-day man and have him try and commit suicide by the end (via an Alien)? Sure, the world around you is gone’ death and destruction is everywhere, but for the writer you have to get inside this person’s head and understand why he does when he does it. He can’t just walk up to the Alien and say, ‘Kill me’. This is not your straight Hollywood story. I basically approached this as THE PIANIST with aliens. It's a story of survival.
Q: How do the actors feel about the original story, have they read Wells books, have they done research themselves.
A: You have to ask them, sorry!
Q: Did they find it difficult to transpose the story to a modern setting?
A: Yes and no. I describe some problems above, but another one was ‘communication’. 100 years ago there were no cell phones, TV, radio (kinda), etc. What worked in Wells favour is that the ship could hang out for a few days and no one knew about it except for a few nearby towns. Because of this I had to accelerate the story. The ship crashes, and within an hour the Walkers appear and start the destruction. Also, I made it so all telecommunications; satellites, phones, etc. are wiped out because of the electromagnetic interference from the ships. So, there is no heavy technology fighting these creatures.
Q: How closely did they follow the books story, although it is a modern piece?
A: I want to say for the record that this is an ‘adaptation’. Pendragon’s version is probably going to satisfy a lot more of you die-hards. It’s like this: if you had three painters--Picasso, Rembrandt, and Kandinsky--paint a vase with a flower in it. I guarantee that each would look different. It’s their creative perception of the vase. Their adaptation. Of course, I’m more like the guy who paints the velvet Elvis’ in the trashy motels’ but, nevertheless, the analogy stands.
That being said my original script was pretty close to the book. It was only after a lot of studio/production re-writes that it became watered down. Which is not to say that I’m not proud of the work ‘I am ‘it’s just that, well, everyone has an opinion.
Q: What gives with the quite different tripod design? Especially with the legs? Who came up with the design?
A: Since we were releasing this film as INVASION, there was no pressure to tell anyone about WAR. So, I took the descriptions, went to our designers and said, ‘Make me the coolest, nastiest, Walker (our code name) you can. Go crazy.’ They did. At this point during the process I didn’t feel it necessary to be so exact with the text (since this is, after all, an adaptation of the book). We started with three legs. Really. But, well, we just went crazy.
Q: Are the aliens actually Martians??
A: Yes. They are from Mars. Not from underground.
Q: How did the idea for this flick come about?
A: I am a huge fan of the book...have been since I could remember. When I was approached to do the one film I always wanted to do (with the idea that it had to be sci-fi and/or horror) there was only one choice.
I actually wrote the first draft then found out about DreamWorks. We shelved the film. I made about seven movies since then ’when out of the blue’ we were tasked to go back and produce my script - in no time. I know it was about timing, but we really went into this because we wanted to make a cool, frickin’ movie.
Q: How do they feel about the other movies that are on the way?
A: What other movies?
Q: What are the best biscuits for dunking in tea?
A: According to Dr. Len Fisher on Physics of Biscuit Dunking its Ginger nut. The best dunking time for a ginger nut biscuit was 3 seconds, but 8 seconds for a digestive biscuit. Also, dunking your biscuit into a milky drink gives you up to 11 times more flavour release than from eating the dry biscuit alone. Hope that helps.
Q: Credentials / Influences?
A: Credentials? I can be found on the www.imdb.com website. I’ve won over 30 awards for my films. My films have been to over 100 festivals world-wide. Oh, and my wife says that I smell nice.
Q: Influences?
A: A fan of storytelling and storytellers.
Q: When and how did the idea for the film come about?
A: See above.
Q: Who/what was the driving force behind getting the film green lit and filmed?
A: Our main buyer. The guy that said if you make this film, I’ll give you money. It works every time.
PART TWO of the interview can be seen here: robk.proboards13.com/index.cgi?board=dvd&action=display&thread=1115818773
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.
