On this day in movie history - War of the Worlds (2005 movie & novel):

War of the Worlds

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp,

based on the novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells,

was released in the United States on June 29, 2005.
Narrated by Morgan Freeman.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Rick Gonzalez, Yul Vazquez, Lenny Venito, Lisa Ann Walter, Ann Robinson, Gene Barry, David Alan Basche, Roz Abrams, Michael Brownlee, Camillia Monet, Marlon Young, John Eddins, Peter Gerety, David Harbour, Miguel Antonio Ferrer, January LaVoy, Stephen Gevedon, Julie White, Marianne Ebert, Rafael Sardina, Amy Ryan, Erika LaVonn, Christopher Evan Welch, John Michael Bolger, Zoe Quist, Ana Maria Quintana, Lorelei Llee, Mark Manley, John Scurti, Becky Ann Baker, Mariann Mayberry, Jerry Walsh, Tommy Guiffre, Daniel Franzese, Ed Schiff, Ellen Barry, Amy Hohn, Dan Ziskie, David Conley, Daniel Eric Gold, Booker T. Washington, Eric Zuckerman, Daniel A. Jacobs, Asha R. Nanavati, Joaquin Perez-Campbell, Dendrie Taylor, James DuMont, Ben Ciaramello, Ricky Luna, Columbus Short, Kent Faulcon, Kevin Collins, Terry Thomas, Clay Bringhurst, Jorge-Luis Pallo, Suanne Spoke, Kirsten Nelson, Melody Garrett, Lauri Johnson, Takayo Fischer, Shanna Collins, Elizabeth Jayne Hong, Art Chudabala, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Dempsey Pappion, Chris Todd, Johnny Kastl, Juan Carlos Hernández, Bruce W. Derdoski Jr., John N. Morales.

Recommended reading:

The War of the Worlds

By H.G. Wells

First published 1898.

ISBN 10: 0451522761
ISBN 13: 9780451522764

Description:

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own....

So begins The War of the Worlds, the science fiction classic that first proposed the possibility of intelligent life on other planets and has enthralled readers for generations. This compelling tale describes the Martian invasion of earth. When huge, tireless creatures land in England, complete chaos erupts. Using their fiery heat rays and crushing strength, the aliens just may succeed in silencing all opposition. Is life on earth doomed? Will mankind survive? A timeless view of a universe turned upside down, The War of the Worlds is an ingenious and imaginative look into the possibilities of the future and the secrets yet to be revealed.

On this day in movie history - The Firm (1993 movie & novel):

The Firm

directed by Sydney Pollack,

written by David Rabe, Robert Towne and David Rayfiel,

based on the novel by John Grisham,

was released in the United States on June 23, 1993.
Music by Dave Grusin.

Cast:

Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Terry Kinney, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, David Strathairn, Gary Busey, Steven Hill, Tobin Bell, Barbara Garrick, Jerry Hardin, Paul Calderon, Jerry Weintraub, Sullivan Walker, Karina Lombard, Margo Martindale, John Beal, Dean Norris, Lou Walker, Debbie Turner, Tommy Cresswell, David A. Kimball, Don Jones, Michael Allen, Levi Frazier Jr., Brian Casey, William J. Parham, Victor Nelson, Richard Ranta, Janie Paris, Frank Crawford, Bart Whiteman, David Dwyer, Mark W. Johnson, Jerry Chipman, Jimmy Lackie, Afemo Omilami, Clint Smith, Susan Elliott, Erin Branham, Ed Connelly, Joey Anderson, Deborah Thomas, Tommy Matthews, Chris Schadrack, Jeffrey Buckner Ford, Jonathan Kaplan, Rebecca Glenn, Terri Welles, Greg Goossen, Jeane Aufdenberg, Bill Booth, Lannie McMillan Quartet, Ollie Nightingale, Teenie Hodges, Little Jimmy King, James White.

Recommended reading:

The Firm

By John Grisham.

Filmed as The Firm (1993), directed by Sydney Pollack.

Published by Vintage.

Published 1991.

ISBN-10: 0440245923

ISBN-13: 9780440245926

Description:

Mitch McDeere has worked hard to get where he is: third in his class at Harvard Law. Aggressively recruited by all the top firms, and initially headed for Wall Street, Mitch surprises everyone by joining Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a very private, very rich tax firm in Memphis. Mitch and his wife, Abby, move to Tennessee and quickly settle into their new life: they’re young, happy, and on the fast track. Or so they think.

Soon, though, Mitch senses trouble: two of the partners die in a suspicious diving accident off Grand Cayman; the firm’s management is overly proud of the fact that no one has ever resigned; and security measures at the firm, even for a company with billionaire clients, are more than a little stringent. Then, suddenly, Mitch’s vague suspicions come to life.

The FBI has the lowdown on Mitch’s firm and needs his help. Now Mitch is caught between a rock and a hard place. The FBI will bust him if he doesn’t cooperate, and the firm will kill him if he does. There’s no way out.

Or is there?

On this day in movie history - Minority Report (2002):

Minority Report

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen,

based on the novella The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick,

was released in the United States on June 21, 2002.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Tom Cruise, Max von Sydow, Steve Harris, Neal McDonough, Patrick Kilpatrick, Jessica Capshaw, Richard Coca, Keith Campbell, Kirk B.R. Woller, Klea Scott, Frank Grillo, Anna Maria Horsford, Sarah Simmons, Eugene Osment, James Henderson, Vene L. Arcoraci, Erica Ford, Keith Flippen, Nathan Taylor, Radmar Agana Jao, Karina Logue, Elizabeth Anne Smith, Victoria Kelleher, Jim Rash, Colin Farrell, Stephen Ramsey, Tom Choi, Tom Whitenight, William Morts, Samantha Morton, Daniel London, Michael Dickman, Matthew Dickman, Lois Smith, Tim Blake Nelson, George D. Wallace, Ann Ryerson, Kathryn Morris, Tyler Patrick Jones, Dominic Scott Kay, Arye Gross, Ashley Crow, Mike Binder, Joel Gretsch, Jessica Harper, Bertell Lawrence, Jason Antoon, William Mesnik, Scott Frank, Severin Wunderman, Max Trumpower, Allie Raye, Rocael Leiva, Nicholas Edwin Barb, Catfish Bates, Peter Stormare, Caroline Lagerfelt, Danny Parker-Lopes, Vanessa Cedotal, Katy Boyer, Adrianna Kamosa, Kari Gordon, Elizabeth Kamosa, Raquel Gordon, Laurel Kamosa, Fiona Hale, Pamela Roberts, Clement Blake, Jerry Perchesky, Victor Raider-Wexler, Nancy Linehan Charles, Nadia Axakowsky, Dude Walker, Tony Hill, Drakeel Burns, William Mapother, Morgan Hasson, Andrew Sandler, Bonnie Morgan, Kathi Copeland, Ana Maria Quintana, Lucille M. Oliver, Gene Wheeler, Tonya Ivey, David Stifel, Kurt Sinclair, Rebecca Ritz, Beverly Morgan, John Bennett, Maureen Dunn, Ron Ulstad, Blake Bashoff, David Doty, Gina Gallego, David Hornsby, Anne Judson-Yager, Meredith Monroe, Benita Krista Nall, Shannon O’Hurley, Jorge-Luis Pallo, Elizabeth Payne, Ethan Sherman, Jarah Mariano, Miles Dinsmoor, Vanessa Asbert.

On this day in movie history - Legend (1985):

Legend

directed by Ridley Scott,

written by William Hjortsberg,

was released in the United States on April 18, 1986.
Music by Jerry Goldsmith and Tangerine Dream.

Cast:

Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O'Farrell, Kiran Shah, Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo, Tina Martin, Ian Longmur, Michael Crane, Liz Gilbert, Eddie Powell, Ian Stewart, Jeff Davies, Sally Dewhurst, Jane Devonshire, Amanda Rose, Joey Baxter, Sharon Brown, Nicky Dewhurst, Debbie Greenwell, Helene Holland, Anna Kipling, Samantha Newbury, Belinda Payne, Gabriel Piatrowski, Jerome Sax, Mike Edmonds.