It's the 'War' according to H.G. Wells

ZAP2IT.COM
LOS ANGELES -- Steven Spielberg doesn't want his upcoming sci-fi flick "War of the Worlds" compared to producer George Pal's 1953 film version, which he refers to as "corny."
"In no way is this movie trying to be a remake of the '50s movie," says the film's producer Kathleen Kennedy in an interview with Zap2it.com and other media outlets. "It really is much more inspired by the H.G. Wells [book]."
Spielberg confirms this take on his film, pointing out that even online fans have speculated that his aliens will move about in the same mechanical tripods that are described in the novel.
"There's not one message that assumes we'll be doing George Pal's boomerangs with the green lights on both wingtips, you know? There's not been one mention that maybe there'll be flying saucers," he says during a break from shooting.
The filmmaker credits Pal, however, for making a film that created "a tremendous sense of tension and dread." The 1953 version of "War" played on the fears of a paranoid Cold War-era America and wowed audiences with its Oscar-winning special effects.
As a bonus for sci-fi fans, Spielberg has shot cameos of the original films' stars Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, who played Dr. Clayton Forester and Sylvia Van Buren, respectively.