Alright... so these aliens in BATTLEFIELD EARTH are supposed to be like 8 feet tall or something right? So they just put lifts in their KISS boots and put a funky coneheadish appliance on? I thought they were supposed to be this reptilianish creature in the book. Oh well... I know a lot of people that are planning on this movie sucking like no movie has ever sucked before. HOWEVER, the word is still out on this one. I haven't heard from any screenings anywhere yet, and script reviews (based on an early draft) have been very negative, but that is an early draft. Sigh. Well... here's the scoop...
This picture, taken from the latest issue of Movieline, claims to be the first full shot of Travolta as the 9 foot tall alien Terl from the upcoming film, Battlefield Earth. The man he is dragging around would logically be the hero of the film played by Barry Pepper, whom we know from Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile.
The film is based of course on the book by L. Ron Hubbard and takes place sometime in the year 3000 as humans have been enslaved by a race of aliens called the Psychlos and are using the Earth as a mining colony. Barry Pepper plays a young farmer who happens to be humanity's only hope for survival. This film covers only half of the book and if all goes well a sequel should complete the story in a few years.
Travolta's appearance in the film had been a well guarded secret up until now. Gaining access to the set was nearly impossible as the noted scientologist would bar any visitors to see him in costume.
The film, which was shot just outside Montreal over the course of last summer, has generated a curiously small amount of hype considering it's large budget, which has been estimated around the 90 million dollar range. This is a film Travolta wanted to make ten years ago but no one paid much notice to it as his career was in a proverbial rut. The original plans were for Travolta to play the hero of the film but he refused claiming that he was too old and too heavy.
The verdict is still out on this one as our only glimpse of the film is a teaser trailer which has been shown very seldomly here in Montreal. Nevertheless, this could be a fun film as Travolta has proven to be a good villan in the past. It opens on May 12th.
Until next time,
Lynch on Lynch
