http://www.lineone.net/express/99/12/28/news/n2320sf-d.htmlOut of this world role for Travolta
FROM GARY MORGAN IN LOS ANGELES
HOLLYWOOD star John Travolta walks even taller than usual in his latest film. He plays a nine-foot alien in Battlefield Earth, based on a book by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Travolta, a devout Scientologist, has struggled for 15 years to get the paperback made into a science fiction film for the big screen. It was only when his comeback again made him a bankable star that he was able to get financial backers.
"This is the pinnacle of using my power to do something I like to do," said Travolta, who also claims his experience with Scientology has helped him to heal the sick. He is expecting a controversial debate about the film when it is released in the US next May. The story is set in the year 3000 when an alien race invades Earth. Travolta plays the leader of the Psychlos, Teri.
He said: "In the film, it is my face, but I put on this whole apparatus. I'll have four-foot stilts so I'll be walking and then the camera crew will shoot certain angles that will capture more difference between the heights.
"I also have a big, tall head with hair and these strange things. I have amber eyes and talons for hands. It is a quite remarkable and detailed production."
Travolta was originally supposed to direct the film, but stepped aside to allow veteran science fiction expert Roger Christian go behind the camera.
Travolta said: "You have to have someone who knows what they are doing and Roger did every Star Wars film with George Lucas." Godzilla creator Patrick Tatapoulos worked on the special effects, and with heavy use of digital effects, the cost of the film hit £40million.
In the trailer, a sinister-sounding Travolta is heard saying: "When we came to Earth, all your soldiers with all their technology could only put up a measly nine-minute fight. That is why man has become an endangered species."The film is being distributed by Warner Brothers.
© Express Newspapers, 1999
