Spielberg and Cruise team up

Tom Cruise will be directed by Steven Spielberg in an adaptation of "The War Of The Worlds".

17:47 17 March 2004

Tom Cruise will be directed by Steven Spielberg in an adaptation of "The War Of The Worlds".

HG Wells sci-fi classic will be penned by David Koepp, the man behind the scripts for "Jurassic Park" and "Spider-Man".

When it went live on the radio in 1938 Orson Welles' adaptation caused widespread panic as Americans believed it to be a news report of a real alien invasion.

Cruise is also set to produce the film. After years stalled in development Spielberg has pushed it to the fore as script problems have seen "Indiana Jones IV" slip from the agenda.

Filming on "War" is set to begin in late 2005.