Movie Star Blog

Heard through the Hollywood grapevine that this is a good movie.

I recently had the pleasure - and honor - of meeting a group of Marines returned from action in Iraq, including in Fallujah. Several of the men bore combat wounds; all of them were eager to return to the fight. The idea that these tough, seasoned veterans or their able commanders are ‘doomed by insurgency’ is laughable - except, perhaps, within the cocktail-party circuit of West Los Angeles … where grown adults can stand around with martinis in their hands and seriously discuss the metaphorics of Martian invasion. But a $150 million budget and a similarly expensive advertising campaign - supported by an A-list star and director - can give even the most lunatic ideas a semblance of credibility. Mr. Spielberg should distance himself from Koepp’s rhetoric with the same rapidity he’s been distancing himself from Tom Cruise, as Cruise’s behavior grows increasingly aberrant. And Spielberg had better do this fast before Tim Robbins - who also stars in War of the Worlds - starts opening his mouth …