WAR of the WORLDS
PENDRAGON PICTURES Pendragon Pictures announces that its production of WAR OF THE WORLDS will premiere for general release on Halloween, October 31, 2002 instead of summer 2003, as originally planned. Director Timothy Hines explains, "As the details of our production became more refined, we realized we had it within our grasp to release by Halloween, which I really want to do as Halloween is the night Orson Welles broadcast his famous radio version of WAR OF THE WORLDS. I feel the approach to our production has a great deal in common with the approach Orson Welles took with the material, and we will make history on Halloween night, 2002." While casting and star talent negotiations continue, newcomer KATIE TOMLINSON has been cast as a principal character, beating out over 900 other hopefuls for the role. Ms. Tomlinson has recently appeared in THE FUGITIVE TV series and is an honors graduate of The New England Conservatory. "Katie's auditions were miles above the rest. She has a truth in her performing that few could match, as well as a powerful star-talent charisma," beams Timothy Hines. The principals of Pendragon Pictures have just returned from a whirlwind deal making trip to Hollywood, where director Timothy Hines met with Ron Thornton and Michele Jeffers of special effects house, Foundation Imaging (STAR TREK VOYAGER, STAR TREK ENTERPRISE, DEEP SPACE 9). Foundation Imaging will handle a major portion of the visual effects for WAR OF THE WORLDS. Hines commented, "Originally, I had thought to go entirely in-house. But when we toured their facilities, met their principals and artists, I knew we were philosophically aligned. Ron (Thornton) is a huge fan of WAR OF THE WORLDS, and has a strong background in miniature construction, which is fantastic, as we are favoring miniatures over CG as our primary approach to the effects." That is not to say Pendragon's Magic Dragon Visual Effects will not be involved. "We're bringing on people like Jon Sorenson, who contributed to many effects films, such as the construction of the Nostromo for ALIEN," says Hines. "Jon has a wide range of background experience in scifi/horror films, including ALIEN BLOOD, which he wrote and directed." As far as the darkness of Pendragon's script, "I'm convinced more than ever that we are doing WAR OF THE WORLDS right," says Hines, candidly. "We met with many studio executives and Hollywood agents, and the vast majority have flipped out at how great our script is, though a few have expressed concerns as to how frightening our approach is. Talking with one major producer, when I expressed that the fans of WAR OF THE WORLDS demand that the story be told true to Wells and must be dark, he responded by telling me, 'These people are not your audience. Kids are the ones going to the movies the most and your film will terrify them.' He tried to convince me that my production needed more 'dramedy'. Whereas script polishing is inevitable as you go in production, I assure the fans of WAR OF THE WORLDS that our movie will be truly terrifying and contain no 'dramedy'. Visit the http://www.pendragonpictures.com to learn more
production details about WAR OF THE WORLDS. Timothy Hines TB
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