20 Things You Didn't Know About War Of The Worlds
19. Spielberg Kept The Look Of The Aliens Secret From The Cast & Crew
Despite H. G. Wells' source material being over 100 years old by the time Spielberg's film started shooting, the legendary filmmaker nevertheless attempted to shroud the production in as much as secrecy as humanly possible.
The director was especially adamant about keeping the design of the aliens themselves on a strict need-to-know basis, to the extent that the cast and most of the crew didn't even know what the creatures looked like until the film was actually released.
More generally, Spielberg also kept the script on a tight lockdown, with screenwriter Koepp saying, "[Spielberg] wouldn't give [the screenplay] to anybody."