Sunday Snippet: War Horse Rides into Theatres Christmas Day

When we were in Hollywood seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the other day, we couldn't help but notice the massive War Horse ad looming over the Sunset Strip. Same thing in Westwood, and I imagine on big city buildings all over the place.
Last night on a very funny SNL, they did a  semi funny skit where Kristing Wiig and Bill Hader go to see War Horse, the play. In the play, the horse is a puppet.  Except in their version, the horse puppet has been replaced by a solitary actor. In the second act, the boy has been replaced by a handpuppet.  Kristin Wiig ended up in tears anyway, just like Kathleen Kennedy did.  Kennedy was so impressed she brought the project to her partner Steven Speilberg. And that's how War Horse came to ride high over the rooftops this holiday season, leaving Santa in his wake.

And this morning, my husband brought the LA Times in to me with a cup of coffee. The newspaper is encased in a stunning full color War Horse emblazoned legal folder, the likes of which I have never seen. I can't imagine how much all this stuff costs?! The movie which opens Christmas Day should do really well over the winter break. Presumably enough to pay for all that full color advertising. Geoff Bucher has an interesting piece in the LA Times in which Spielberg talks about the challenges of bringing the material to the screen and the film's chances for the Oscar.

"It's one of the most compelling narratives that I've been given the opportunity to direct," Spielberg said. "It was not that way in the play. In the play, Albert coexists in a series of intercuts with the perils that Joey finds himself in. Richard Curtis and I made the conscious choice early not to do that because this is a story about connectivity between human beings, and there's this miracle animal that not only brings people closer to themselves but also brings warring nations closer together -- in a symbolic way, not a literal way."

You can read the entire article here