- Der Spiegel asks some curious questions to filmmaker Steven Spielberg and star Tom Cruise about their horror sci-fier War of the Worlds. Also: A Kansas City man spat tobacco juice on two-time Oscar winner and former Vietnam War protester Jane Fonda during her book-signing tour.
Der Spiegel talks 21st-century politics and Scientology with War of the Worlds director Steven Spielberg and star Tom Cruise
“Aren’t you afraid that audiences in some parts of the world may even applaud when they see Americans lying on the ground?” asked the German weekly Der Spiegel to War of the Worlds director Steven Spielberg and star Tom Cruise during an illuminating interview about the raison d’être – i.e., terrorism – of the latest big-screen version of H.G. Wells’ 1898 science-fiction/horror classic The War of the Worlds. (It’s unclear why Spielberg dropped the initial article.)
Spielberg’s reply: “I wouldn’t want to speculate about that. We aren’t responsible if people perceive the film differently because of their ideology and their aversion to our country.”
‘Subjective point of view’
The lengthy Der Spiegel interview also broaches the fact that although War of the Worlds is supposed to depict a worldwide invasion, almost all of the action (including the miraculous planetary rescue) takes place among Americans in the United States.
According to Spielberg, that is so because his movie – screenplay credited to Josh Friedman and David Koepp – “describes a global catastrophe from a subjective point of view.”
The three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker (as Best Director and Best Film coproducer for Schindler’s List, 1993; as Best Director for Saving Private Ryan, 1998) might have added that plain old economics played a part in the selection of the setting for War of the Worlds, since most of the movie’s grosses (on a per-country basis), including ancillary revenues, will be generated in the United States. (Wells’ novel is set in England.)
The ‘other’ Welles (with an ‘e’)
Now, keep in mind that Spielberg was off the mark when he told Der Spiegel that Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio broadcast took place right after the start of World War II, when “the headlines were dominated by reports on Hitler’s invasion of Poland and Hungary.”
Actually, Welles’ broadcast (purportedly) terrified a good number of Americans in October 1938, almost a year before the September 1939 invasion of Poland. (Germany invaded Hungary near the end of the war, in 1944.)
Scientological resonance?
Also in Der Spiegel, Tom Cruise discusses his increasingly outspoken devotion to Scientology, which some in Germany perceive as a dangerous cult.
Answering a question about his being so openly Scientological – even having “a fully staffed tent of the Scientology organization right next to the food tents for the journalists and extras” at a Los Angeles location shoot – Cruise explained:
“I believe in freedom of speech. I felt honored to have volunteer Scientology ministers on the set. They were helping the crew. When I’m working on a movie, I do anything I can to help the people I’m spending time with. I believe in communication.”
June 2005 update: Tom Cruise snapped at a Boston Phoenix reporter who asked at a press conference whether War of the Worlds resonated with him because Scientologists believe in extraterrestrials: “That’s not true. It has no resonance whatsoever. There’s absolutely no relation to that whatsoever.”
War of the Worlds cast
Besides three-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise (Born on the Fourth of July, 1989; etc.), War of the Worlds features Dakota Fanning as his daughter, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, David Alan Basche, Yul Vázquez, Amy Ryan, Channing Tatum, and Oscar winner Tim Robbins (Mystic River, 2003).
Another Oscar winner, Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, 2004), provides the narration.
Big-screen original
Starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, the original big-screen version of The War of the Worlds was directed by Byron Haskin, also a cinematographer (e.g., the John Barrymore star vehicles Don Juan, The Sea Beast, and When a Man Loves) and visual effects artist (e.g., A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Captains of the Clouds).
Both Barry and Robinson have cameos – “Grandfather” and “Grandmother” – in the 2005 War of the Worlds.
2-time Oscar winner turned author Jane Fonda victim of spitting man’s tobacco juice
Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Jane Fonda (Klute, 1971; Coming Home, 1978) remained calm and composed after a man spat tobacco juice on her face at a book signing in Kansas City, where Fonda was promoting her autobiography My Life So Far.
The man, Michael A. Smith, 54, did not like the fact that Fonda had been an anti-Vietnam war protester, later referring to her as a “traitor.” (According to reports, Smith is a Vietnam War veteran.)
After spitting on the 67-year-old actress, Smith tried to flee the scene but was caught by police and charged with disorderly conduct. Jane Fonda, for her part, never left her seat. She wiped her face and went on signing books. She has also refused to press charges.
According to CBS News, there were around 900 people at the book signing event.
In a statement issued through her publisher, Fonda said, “In spite of the incident, my experience in Kansas City was wonderful and I thank all the warm and supportive people, including so many veterans, who came to welcome me last night.”
Of note, in Hal Ashby’s psychological drama Coming Home, which earned her her second Oscar statuette, Fonda plays the wife of a Vietnam War veteran (Bruce Dern) and the lover of another (Jon Voight).
According to the Vietnamese government, the Vietnam War left as many as 2 million civilians dead.
“Spielberg, Cruise Talk War of the Worlds” notes/references
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning War of the Worlds image: DreamWorks | Paramount Pictures.
Jane Fonda My Life So Far image: Random House.
“Spielberg, Cruise Talk Horror Sci-Fier; Jane Fonda Spat On” last modified in June 2025.