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Originally Posted by crich70
There is also the fact that the Orson Welles broadcast had the story set in NJ rather than in England as well. The filmmakers might have felt that more people are familiar with that version of the story than H.G.Wells actual book.
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That would be a surprise to me, considering how few of those who would've seen the Cruise movie are likely to have ever actually
listened to the broadcast. Sure, most people are aware of it, but I'd think more people would be familiar with the book than the radio show.
Orson Welles knew, of course, that making his radio show sound like it was impacting Americans (largely the only ones who could get the broadcast) made sense from two perspectives: You react more strongly when the threat is closer; and, oh yes, his entire cast happened to be American, and he surely didn't want bad cockney accents to ruin the verisimilitude of his broadcast. His choice, and its effectiveness, probably influenced Hollywood in making similar decisions with foreign content, and helps explain the vast amount of "Americanized" foreign content in movies and TV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
The original WOTW movie was also set in the U.S. if you recall. Probably for the same reason (and possibly in part due to budget needs too).
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When the old movie was made, practicality would have played a big part. Only in America could they do the effects needed for the movie as well. Also, Hollywood wasn't as international in scope then. Hollywood movies were made for Americans, their primary audience and largest revenue stream.
In the case of the new movie, I don't think budget was an issue. Today, countries vie for production locations equally because they can compete with American production budgetary needs. Sets and SFX can make almost any location look like any other location, removing the need to actually be there to fool your audience. Also, if budget was a concern, they could have replaced Cruise (and probably Fanning) with any two well-known actors that don't demand their top-box-office high salaries.
Though the revenue stream has changed, Americans still provide the lion's share of profits, so small- and big-budget Hollywood movies are still done with American audiences in the cross-hairs.