War of the Worlds - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[leo]

When filming on a residential street in Howell, New Jersey, the actors took refuge in the garages of nearby houses for warmth.

[veronica]

While scenes were being shot at the riverbank on the Connecticut River in Windsor, Connecticut, two life-sized mannequins, being used as extras, drifted into the river and were gone before they could be retrieved. The production's water-safety crew performed a search but weren't able to recover the mannequins. Police departments along the river were notified of the missing mannequins, according to Windsor police Lieutenant Shannon Haynes, who said, "We just wanted them to know that if they got any calls about bodies floating in the river."

[melinda]

Steven Spielberg owns one of the last copies of the Orson Welles radio script, which he purchased at an auction. Spielberg wanted to make the film years ago, but decided against it when Independence Day (1996) was released. However, he wanted to work with Tom Cruise again after Minority Report (2002), and picked War of the Worlds (2005) as their next project.

[beth]

"Fallujah" was the name that make-up technicians gave to their original new "combat grime" coloration applied to the soldiers. It was inspired by the cover photo of a news magazine showing a close up of a Coalition soldier in Iraq.

[jesus]

While filming in Bayonne, New Jersey, Paramount Pictures offered quick cash to residents who lived on First Street and Pointview Terrace to move their cars off the block, between a Tuesday and Friday. This was in order for the film crew to resume shooting.

[harry]

Right before the Hudson Ferry scene, Ray and his children watch in horror as a locomotive speeds by on fire, and out of control. The train is part of the MTA Metro-North Railroad, which runs in New York, New Jersey, and Conneticut. It can be identified by the paint scheme on the side.