John Pod: That’s an interesting observation about keeping War of the Worlds away from reviewers. Here’s my story — more than a month ago, in preparation for my Wall Street Journal piece on H.G. Wells, I began inquiring about advance screenings of the film. I’m not a professional movie reviewer, but I’ve always gotten into screenings when I’ve had a professional interest in them. Being on assignment with the Journal seemed like a pretty good excuse. But I was told that there simply wasn’t any room for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a screening in which there was no room for an extra media body. Alas, I’ll have to buy a ticket — but if it ROTS (so to speak), maybe I’ll wait for the DVD.