Originally published: June 6, 2006 at 3:13am PST

Pictured: While visions of mankind’s enslavement danced in his head….

(The Omen 2006)

Ever since Prometheus brought us fire we’ve been sitting around its glowing warmth, telling tales. From campfire to written word to the big screen, whichever medium you prefer, some of those stories never die. During the reign of the Roman Empire, such a story about an apocalypse, was written by a man named Paul. Apocalypse is the Greek word for revelation, which is the title for his story found within one of the most published books, worldwide - the Bible.

For two thousand years we’ve been hearing and telling the same story. In 1976 we saw it in the theaters. (Read our review by clicking HERE) Today we see it again, one man rising to world domination and the eventual ruin of civilization. What could possibly be so different that we would need to see it again? Let’s find out…

Pictured: The Omen (1976) on DVD

John Moore, director of The Omen (2006), found out that the Twentieth Century Fox Corporation was going to produce a re-make of the 1976 movie. Fox knew he was interested. John had always liked The Omen since he saw it in the 70’s. Once his position was entrenched, he had a goal: to reach a younger audience with the same story he too enjoyed thirty years ago.

In this film you’ll see Mia Farrow (Rosemary’s Baby), Liev Schreiber (Scream 1, 2 & 3 ), Julia Stiles (Wicked) who was recommended by Mia Farrow, David Thewlis (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick (the little guy who was in Flinstones’ vitamin commercials), and finally, the original Damien - Harvey Stephens (who you’ll see in the role of a reporter in the re-make).

The Omen started filming on October 12, 2005 with an estimated budget of $60,000,000. In 30 years it had leapt nearly 20 times the amount of the original film ($2.8 million)…. Maybe that’s an omen. With this new version of the film they journeyed to Croatia; Dublin, Ireland; Prague, Czech Republic; Matera and Rome, Italy.

Pictured: Banner flown over certain areas to advertise The Omen (2006) A marketing campaign was planned and executed. Banners were flown over spring break cities reading "You have been warned 6-6-06" (which reminds me of the seemingly legit website used to promote Godsend), Myspace.com was utilized, billboards in major metropolitan areas and you can find ads on just about every site on the interweb, almost all capitalizing on todays date, as well.

"My intention was to get people’s attention, and to posit the notion that the time is ripe for a great evil to get the world in its grasp," John Moore has been quoted as saying.

The Omen has gone through its share of struggles to be made. The filmmakers were forced out of Croatia by the church and John Moore was yelled at by an angry New Yorker during a Question and Answer session with theologian Michael White (for controversial footage which you’ll see during the movie). Who knows how many more post-release hurdles the filmmakers, cast and copyright holders of The Omen will have to jump over in the coming days.

What’s different? The cast, music, time, audience and experience. If you haven’t seen it yet, I hope you will. I know I’m going to and you can read about my viewing as soon as I’m back!

Happy 6-6-6 for those of you who celebrate!

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