The Lord sent me this message and I think it sounds very interesting:



"Twenty-seven years after Jeff Wayne's "Musical Version of 'The War of the

Worlds' " was first released, Jeff Wayne Music Group has sealed a deal with

China's M-Star Intl. Culture & Media Co. to finance and co-produce an $18

million theatrical "TWOTW" show.



It is expected to open in China for the Chinese New Year 2007, in advance of

the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and then embark on a world tour.



The deal also includes a 26-part animated TV series based on Wayne's musical

version of "TWOTW."



"The large-scale show is somewhere between a rock concert and very large-scale

theater," Wayne said, noting that the plan is to have five Martian fighting

machines as tall as 30 feet, a handling and flying machine, the Thunder Child

frigate and a number of other special effects. The show will follow the album

and additionally include a prequel that shows Mars suffering from severe

ecological problems that force the Martians to leave the planet. Richard

Burton's original performance will be brought back to life in holographic

form.



More in the works



The show is just one of a multitude of projects tied to Wayne's musical

version of "TWOTW," which Sony BMG (Sony Legacy in the U.S.) re-launched

worldwide in June. The album is enjoying its 10th week back in the U.K. top-10

album charts -- selling more than Oasis and Gorillaz -- bringing its overall

tally to more than 290 weeks.



Album has now sold more than 13 million records worldwide as well as topping

the charts in several other countries. It went gold in the U.S. on its initial

release and has spawned a vast range of merchandise, including three

videogames (including for the PC and PlayStation formats).



Additionally, Clear Channel Entertainment and SJM have just inked a concert

tour in the U.K. beginning in April 2006 in which Wayne will conduct the work

with a symphonic string orchestra and solo vocalists. Venues include London's

Royal Albert Hall as well as various arenas around the U.K. Marketing the tour

will begin in mid-September with sponsors also to be announced.



Dark Horse Entertainment, which recently unveiled at Comic-Con a line of

limited-edition statues based on the album artwork, is partnering on a

comicbook with Wayne and music group managing director Damian Collier.



Dark Horse also is expected to assist on Wayne's forthcoming CGI film, which

16 U.K. animators have been working on since October. Wayne estimated that it

will be three years before it is ready; it's timed to be released

approximately 18 months after the airing of the first episode of its TV

series.



In the mid-1970s, Wayne and his father Jerry acquired from H.G. Wells' estate

all rights associated with "The War of the Worlds" (other than the right to

reprint the novel, which remained with the estate, and the film rights, which

were bought by Paramount in 1953).



'Worlds' trade



Last year, Collier and Paramount made an amicable swap -- the studio received

a license for the non-exclusive right to merchandise its 2005 feature and make

a soundtrack album, and Wayne received a free license to develop a film and TV

series based on his musical version. Wayne's version of "TWOTW" has always

been set in late-1890s Victorian England, keeping true to Wells' storyline and

characters.



The background to the new relaunch is that two Sony BMG London execs

approached Wayne in late 2002 to help prepare a 25th-anniversary edition

of "The War of the Worlds," but once the ideas were kicked around the projects

grew, including remixes in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. "We over-ran by a

mere two years, creating perhaps the first 27th-anniversary edition in the

history of the record industry," Wayne joked.



One of the new projects includes a collector's edition of Wayne's musical

version of "TWOTW," which includes six CDs, a making-of DVD and an 80-page

hardbacked book in an LP-sized package. Included in the book is a letter from

Steven Spielberg, dated Nov. 23, 1979, stating that the album would "make a

unique and visionary film" but that he was too busy to consider it."



Source: Variety

WOW - sounds like fun.

Im going (be there with bells and whistles on!!!!!!!).

The Lord is going...........

Are you going to go too?

I could probably rig up some bells and whistles too, when?

It seems we have to wait until well into next year, but that will give you plenty of time to make them nice and shiny!!!!

Ooooooh shiney

Maybe they could help with the percussion during the performance!

Yeah, I can just see my knees chattering the 1812 overture during the love scene.

What love scene?

You know, the one where Richard Burton and the Martians make lots of little baby Tom Cruises.....