Published in the Asbury Park Press 11/24/04’Almost everybody in the neighborhood took the day off for this. The school buses were just about empty.’Julie Scully, Camelot DriveHowellB3HowellB1Howell treated to star sightingsBy BOB JORDAN
FREEHOLD BUREAU
Fans of cinema and Tom Cruise flocked to the normally quiet Ardena Acres development in Howell yesterday hoping to catch a glimpse of the filming of the big-budget ‘War of the Worlds.’

But people unable to convince township police that they live on the development’s Canterbury Way or on nearby Merrick Road — where filming at a farm also took place — got no farther than road barricades that insulated the temporary movie sets.

But for those who were patient, the wait paid off. Around 4 p.m., actor Tom Cruise, director Steven Spielberg and 10-year-old actress Dakota Fanning signed autographs for the waiting crowd of about 30 to 40 onlookers.

‘It was just totally awesome,’ said Magda Muka, of 16 Canterbury Way. ‘I have all three autographs. Now I really have something to talk about over Thanksgiving.’

Elaine Thermos, 20 Canterbury Way, got an up-close look at the director and actors when she delivered homemade Greek desserts to the crew during the shoot.

‘I really wanted to welcome them and show them how glad we all were they were here,’ said Thermos, who made baklava, almond butter cookies and a Greek custard pie called galaktoboreko. ‘They were so gracious and nice — and Mr. Spielberg really liked the cookies. He ate three of them!’

‘I’ve lived in Howell for 15 years, and this is absolutely the most exciting thing that’s happened. We can say that we live in the town where ‘War of the Worlds’ was filmed,’ said Joanne Seitz, who lives on County Route 524.

The movie is being directed by Spielberg for Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks and is slated for a 2005 release. It’s based on the classic H.G. Wells novel, written in 1898 and set in London.

When the novel was adapted into a 1938 radio play by Orson Welles, using a news broadcast format and set in New York City, many New Jersey listeners did not realize it was fiction and fled their homes, fearing invading Martians.

Spielberg has already filmed portions of the movie in Newark, Bayonne and other parts of the state.

Though Canterbury Way residents said producers told them most of the scenes expected to be used in the film would be shot in the area of a cul-de-sac, those living in homes on other parts of the street said they didn’t mind putting up with Hollywood-type inconveniences.

‘There’s a lot of people working, and they have a humungous tent set up,’ said Muka. ‘They told everybody on the street to park all their cars in the garages, and they’ll want people who are outside their homes to move to a certain area when filming takes place. I have my camera ready, but I don’t think they’re thrilled with pictures being taken.’

Muka said she and her husband, James, signed waivers and agreements to cooperate with the production effort. They are being paid $300 by the studio but the compensation will increase if their house appears in the movie, she said.

The crew did shoot yesterday around her home, but Muka said she was not sure if her house was in any of the scenes. ‘We won’t know until we see the movie next year,’ she said.

Muka said production repre-sentatives told her details of the scene scheduled to be shot on Canterbury Way.

‘Tom Cruise’s character is di-vorced, and this is where his ex-wife lives, and he comes here to drop off their kids to her,’ Muka said. ‘But it’s des-erted. Nobody’s home. He tries to find his ex-wife but his Jeep Cherokee doesn’t start up.’

The Howell scenes are expected to be interwoven with action that took place in previous New Jersey shooting. The mov-ie is reportedly rich on special effects, as it updates Wells’ tale of a Martian invasion to pre-sent day.

Cruise and Spielberg last worked together in the 2002 thriller ‘Minority Report.’

‘War of the Worlds’ also stars Justin Chatwin, Dakota Fan-ning, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins. Fanning, 10, became the youngest person to be nom-inated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her support-ing performance, when she was 8, in ‘I Am Sam’ (2001).

Muka said Fanning, while wait-ing for the filming to start, also signed autographs for neigh-borhood children early in the day.

But most of the buzz came from the hope that Cruise also min-gle with fans.

Jamie Obertlik, Brooke Edger-ton, and Massella Dukuly — all Colts Neck High School stu-dents — camped outside the bar-ricade at Camelot and Tudor drives.

‘It would be cool if we could see Tom Cruise,’ Obertlik said.

Julie Scully — who lives on nearby Camelot Drive and took her sons Shawn, 5, and Mat-thew, 18 months, out for a clos-er look — said she was disap-pointed her block was not selected for filming.

‘Almost everybody in the neighborhood took the day off for this. The school buses were just about empty,’ Scully said.
(app.com)