Ohhhh... What the 'John Carter' Franchise Could Have Been.... Well, Titled At Least !!!

The 'John Carter' movie from Disney a few years back is considered one of the worst bombs in the history of movies. But it is truly unwarranted. The movie has its flaws, certainly, but it is overall a good film. Disney just shit the bed in terms of marketing. They dropped the "... Of Mars" part of the title!!!! It is based on a series of books called John Carter of Mars series... good lord, why make it sound like a period piece featuring Julia Roberts & George Clooney? Not to mention it starred Captain Curse himself, Taylor Kitsch. This movie had no chance. But director Andrew Stanton laments what might have been, and if the film would have done well than there is no doubt The House of Mouse would have franchised the shit out of it. Anyway, Stanton tweeted out the proposed next two title cards of the film. #2 would have been called John Carter: Gods of Mars, and #3 would have been John Carter: Warlord of Mars. Damn, I still can't understand how it took so long to adapt the book that inspired almost every idea you have ever seen in Sci Fi as you know it... and then they promptly fucked up. Damn. Check out the title cards after the jump...

 

A To Z Blogger Challenge: Day 10 - J Is For John Carter

Day 10! Milestone Day, only 16 more to go... And today the A To Z Blogger Challenge gets one of my most anticiapted movies of 2012, one that hit with much more of a thud than many expected. John Carter came to us from the genius that is Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and Walt Disney, so it had to be good... right? Well, according to the box office numbers and reviews, no... not at all. It is widely considered one of the biggest flops in the history of cinema. I see it as a poorly marketed movie... not a bad movie (I actually thought it was great) but one that is mismanaged by the studio. It happens. Scott Pilgrim. Observe & Report. The list of good movies that fail because the studios fuck it up is long, but Crater sits firmly at the top. But at the end of the day it is a pretty cool film, based on the grand daddy of all sci-fi stories (the Martian Chronicles by Edgar Rice Burroughs), and features the ever lovely Lynn Collins in the role of Dejah Thoris. Love this woman. Love her to death. loved her as Silverfox in a terrible Wolverine: Origins movie. But really loved her as the titular Princess of Mars. So even if you though this movie sucked (why would you, it was awesome!) at least you can marvel at the sexiness of Lynn Collins. You can see others participating in the 2013 A To Z Blogger Challenge by clicking here, and you can check out the Lynn Collins pics after the jump...

 

Even Though It Is Meant For Europe, Promotions Like These Scare Me...

I am looking forward to this summers Spider-Man reboot from director Marc Webb that is starring Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone. It looks to have been done very well, and the action scenes seem to be right on the money. But sometimes a films success is won or lost with the marketing campaign... just ask the people behind John Carter (a great movie that got smacked around cause it was promoted wrong). So far the gang controlling Spider-Man promotion here in the USA seem to be doing a great job... but how about their overseas counterparts? Check out this video after the jump featuring Garfield & Stone and make that decision for yourself... freaky ass Europeans!!!

Skottie Young's 'John Carter' Comic Covers Give Us Something To Smile About In Spite Of The Disaster That Is The Film Adapation

The Disney Corporation owns Marvel, so you know the cross overs are going to start rolling out eventually. With 'The Avengers' set to hit theaters and the super heroes riding higher than ever, Disney seems to be hitching its wagon to the comic book producer. But one of the first moves they made as a team was an adaption of the 'John Carter: Princess of Mars' novel in a 5 issue mini series. The series was released in Sept 2011 and just finished up in January. It came out in lieu of the John Carter film (released by Disney... ya see what I'm getting at here) and sports covers by one of my favorite artists, Skottie Young. Skottie does a great job applying his own style to the cast of Barsoom and the results are great. I have not bought this series yet, but once it is collected in graphic novel form I will cop it instantly! The sequel series, a Warlord of Mars, is set to hit stores this month. Keep an eye out for it, because it may be the only sequel we see due to the underwhelming performance of the proposed blockbuster film. That makes me sad, but Skottie Young covers always bring a smile to my face. Click after the jump for all 5 covers...

John Carter: A Retrospective Rant On Originality by Mike D

Damn, damn, damn!!! Why? Why?? Why??? How come people couldn't just bite the bullet and go out to see John Carter last week? Where is the blind faith that propels shit movies to record breaking numbers at the box office and makes Avatar the highest ranked box office film of all time? How can a company that is as seasoned and well respected as Disney not generate the build up necessary to get Carter going in the right direction? Especially since the movie is pretty fucking good.... why? If any of these things would have happened, I wouldn't be sitting here about to bitch and moan about one of my favorite fictional properties of all time. But since Carter only made 30 mil this week at the box office, it looks like it's rant time... so here goes nothing!!!

Click after the jump to see the rest of the article:

John Carter & Deja Thoris  by Franz  Frazetta

Here is the thing: I never hid the fact that I was excited for this movie.  I have read 7 of the 11 Martian Chronicle books from Edgar Rice Burroughs and they are some of the best written stories that I have ever read. But to me the thing that always blows my mind is that Burroughs did this way back in the day... like 100 years ago! When you take this into consideration, it is absolutely mind blowing. Burroughs wrote a sci fi tale about space travel that involved space ships, time travel, and all other types of advanced technology long before cars and television were even common in anybodies home!!! Given the technology we posses today, it is easier for a sci fi author to "take it to the next level" when they are writing their stories. But to make this stuff up out of thin air with relatively no real life things to base them on... now that is impressive!!!  In my eyes this makes the Carter stories that much cooler.

This brings us to the next point: John Carter rips off sci fi movies like Aliens, Avatar, Star Trek, Total Recall, and Star Wars. This is so fucked up. How can something that is OVER 100 YEARS OLD be stealing from movies written in the past 30 years? Yet this is the general opinion that is being pushed in movie reviews across the 'Net and in mainstream media publications. That is a travesty that a bit of fact checking and a quick trip to Wikipedia could have prevented. In actuality, John Carter is the property that was stolen from... repeatedly!!! Need some proof? Ok, here are a few general examples:

1.  Green Men from Mars in 100s of Sci Fi movies like Mars Attacks & many more
2. Avatar has an Earthling who goes to a planet and has encounters with a colorful alien species that is much taller and physically dominating than him. The other animals on the planet in Avatar seem strikingly similar to the animals animals in the Martian Chronicles.
3. Beneath the Planet of the Apes takes the mutated human enemies from the Martian Chronicles (The Therns) and makes exact replicas of them in a lazy sequel.
4. In Enemy Mine Dennis Quaid has an uneasy friendship with an alien who originally want to kill him ... hmmmm, that sounds a bit like Tars Tarkas & Carter's relationship to me, just 80 years prior!!!
5. The death cults and human slavery/sacrifice of the later John Carter tales wre easy picking for the guys who wrote Indian Jones & The Temple of Doom, a series that borrowed heavily from the pulp serials of the 1920's & 1930's.
6. The Scorpion King was an ancient Egyptian/Greek mythological creature, but was also a central character in a Carter story long before The Rock brought him to the big screen.
7. How about all the sword fighting in Star Wars despite the fact that technology is extremely advanced in the films? You got aall these space ships, Death Stars, droids, clones, etc.... yet you are telling me the best way to fight someone is with a laser sword that has a range of two feet, tops? Sword fighting played a huge part in ALL of the Carter stories. His superior swordsmanship is the only thing that made him a viable fighter on the foreign planet. And don't even get me started on the desert planet of Tattooine being an exact replica of Barsoom, and some of the creatures of the Star Wars univers being EXACT replicas of creatures from Carter's Mars (The Taun Tauns/Thoats & the White Apes/Wampa comes to mind) 
8. What about Superman? Supes has been around for quite a while, but not nearly as long as Carter. He is the exact replica of Carter. Carter is a regular human who gains super like powers due to the different atmosphere on Mars. Supes is an Alien whose powers become immense due to the power of Earth's atmosphere. It's exactly the same.... just flipping the planet of origin of the hero. 
9. Teleporting has always been the most recognizable part of Star Trek, with the "Beam Me Up Scotty" catchphrase burnt into the mind of everyone in the world. Yet Carter gets to Mars and travels back & forth from Mars to Earth in future books using this very same method of travel. Must just be another coincidence, right?
10. In George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice & Fire' series the Stark children all posses a Dire Wolf puppy that grows into a fierce beast that is their companion. The pets that are protective over their owners are one thing, but the fact that they are traditional vicious and untameable animals that become completely subservient to their masters is exactly like Woola the Calot in the Mars Chronicles. Way to much of a coincidence for me....  

Now that was just 10 examples of blatant rip offs..... and there are tons more. To hear that Disney's Carter is ripping of these established films just hurts me to my heart. And now that the film is not performing well, people are just piling on and hating randomly, not even thinking about what they are saying. I'm not sitting here saying that everyone HAS to like John Carter.... shit, hate the film if you want! But don't say that you hate it or it's no good because it is rehashing ideas of other films. This is the BLUEPRINT for all the sci fi you have ever seen!!!

This sets up an interesting situation. Disney has to decide if they want to go forward with a Carter sequel. The second book, The Warlord of Mars, is an insane book that may very well be the best in the series. It is wild story and could make for a great movie. I see it as a chance at a film that could be a successful in it's storytelling as Empire Strikes Back. But will they even take the shot considering how expensive this film was and d the amount of money it hasn't made. It's sad. I hope it does well enough here in the US and internationally to justify a sequel, and maybe it will break through with round 2. I thought the film was great. Go see it. Or tell me you hate it.... but don't try to call it a carbon copy. Andrew Stanton has done quite well on this one.  What is your opinion? Tell us in the comment section below...

Hey World... Meet Woola!!!

I absolutely loved John Carter (check my review a few posts up from this), but the thing that impressed me
the most had to be the portrayal of Woola, John Carter's Calot (lizard dog for all of you guys who didn't read the books). Woola was always one of my favorite parts of the Carter books, probably because of how faithful he is to Carter and how viscous he can be when it's time to attack. Woola also seems to have been the inspiration for the Direwolves in George R.R. Martin's 'A Song Of Ice & Fire', just another in a long line of Carter inspired ideas that dummies will think are ripped off in this movie despite the fact that the Carter books are over 100 YEARS OLD!!! Disney is starting to realize that people like the lightning fast pup, so they are doing some post release marketing to help win some people over. Click after the jump for a cool info graphic and a short clip highlighting the Martian Hound ...

And here is a clip highlighting Woola's insane speed and love for his master John Carter:

Mondo Lends John Carter A Bit Of Credibility, And They Do It In True Cool Poster Fashion

March 9th. What a great day. Not only will I be celebrating the life of the greatest rapper of all time who died way to soon (R.I.P. Biggie!), but I will finally get to see Edgar Rice Burrough's classic Barsoom series on the big screen!!! Given that this is the characters 100 year anniversary and that these stories featuring John Carter are the building blocks for movies like Star Wars, Alien, and Avatar... Well, quite frankly ITS ABOUT TIME!!! In order to commemorate the event Mondo has teamed up with artist JC Richards to produce a poster for the event, but unlike most Mondo prints this one will not be on sale in a quick run... it will be GIVEN away at select IMAX screenings of the film. This poster is just stunning, and it really captures the vastness of the Barsoom world that I am hoping to see in Andrew Stanton's film. Now I am really in. See you guys on line March 8th at around 11 Pm.... click after the jump to see the poster.

Every Time I See Another "John Carter" Poster I Need An Ice Pack After Banging My Head During A Fainting Spell

O. MY. GODDDDDDDDDD!!! I really, really, REALLY have not been this excited for a fucking movie in a long time. I feel like a little kid all over again. March 9th will forever mark the day that my favorite rapper (Biggie) died, but hopefully it will also be the day that the movie franchise of the future is launched. In my opinion this film has the potential to be Star Wars to my son's generation. Let's hope Andrew Stanton comes through on this one. Check the new poster featuring Tars Tarkas, the great Thark warrior from the planet Mars. Oh shit son!!!!

John Carter Gets An International Poster... I Just Fainted & Hit My Head On The Coffee Table Again!!!!

I can not possibly be more excited for a movie than Disney's John Carter. Ever since I read the books about four years ago I have yearned for this story to make it to the big screen. I have said in the past, and I will say it again, that I think John Carter has the potential to be my son's generations (he is 8 years old, about to be 9) Star Wars. My thought process is that Disney will not skimp and truly bring the world of Barsoom (Mars) to life in a way that we have never seen before. The creatures, the aliens, the fighting, the chicks... good god, this is gonna be great! It has the potential to be an epic spectacle, and with the possible sequels it could be to the youngsters of today what Star Wars was to us children of the 70's/80's and Harry Potter was to children of the 2000's. Lets hope they don't fuck it up. The movie comes out on March 9th. View the full size International movie poster after the jump...

Thanks to Jeff for sending me this and causing me another passing out concussion... lol!

When Did The Full John Carter Trailer Drop???

Fuck me Freddie... when did the full John Carter of Mars trailer come out? I can't believe I missed this!!! I was over at my boy Cap'n Carrot's cool ass blog 'Xplosion of Awesomeness when I came across the full 2 minute clip... and lets just say that my mind is COMPLETELY BLOWN!!! Those of you who don't know the source material (novels by the great Edgar Rice Burroughs) are in for a dense story with some wild creatures and characters. The action in the books is always at a high pace and the story lines are really well written. Let's hope Disney sticks to the script and don't change to much. So far it doesn't look like they have deviated much. Check out the full trailer after the jump...





What do you guys think? Please leave some comments in the section below... I want to hear your thoughts!!!

John Carter Gets An Official Poster... I Promptly Faint!!!

I got into the John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice Burrough's kind of late in the game... I started reading them about three years ago and once I did, I couldn't stop. Given the fact that they were over 80 years old and supposedly the inspiration behind most of the Sci-Fi classics I love, I figured I should give it a shot. Boy was I glad that I did. each book was better than the previous, and after I finished the saga all i could wonder was why nobody had taken a crack at this franchise as a big budget feature. Come to find out, Disney was on the fast track to get it done. With a pretty solid cast (Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Bryan Cranston, Dominic West, and Thomas Hayden Church) and the power of the House of Mouse behind it, I have pretty high hopes for this one. This poster hearkens back to the old pulp novel covers that the movie is based on, so I'm even more pumped for it. John Carter hits theaters on March 9th, 2012.... Click after the jump for the full poster.

John Carter Looks Official... But Will People Go See It?

God I love this poster

As is common around this time of year (San Diego Comic Con time) lots of trailers are dropping for movies that don't come out until sometime next year. Also studios are scrambling to keep leaked trailers under wraps until they can be unveiled in Hall H some time later this week.This is the case with Disney's possible blockbuster franchise John Carter of Mars. Even though the trailer for John Carter was attached to Harry Potter last week, the embeddable version hadn't appeared online until yesterday. I was in one of the HP theaters that DID NOT show the John Carter trailer, so I didn't see it until yesterday as well. But once I did... all I could say is wow!!! Check out the trailer after the jump.

***Please click Read more below to see the John Carter trailer & the rest of the article***

 

 

Wow. If you have read any of the John Carter books then you must be as excited as I am. I loved these books when I read them, and I must say that the gang over at the Mouse House seem to have nailed the look and feel of Barsoom (that is what they call Mars in the books). Taylor Kitch also makes for a formidable looking Carter. All in all, I say it looks great. But we are still a long way away from the release of the movie (March 2011), so I am sure a lot will change in the next few months. But from the 2 minute clip that you just saw, what do you think? Is John Carter your cup of Sci-Fi tea? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.

Nothing Like Some "Behind The Scenes" Info To Make Me Want To See A Film Even More!!!

What do you get when you take three awesome bloggers (Peter Sciretta from /Film, Frosty from Collider, and Quint from Ain't It Cool News) and give them access to the editing room for the upcoming Disney tentpole film John Carter Of Mars from director Andrew Stanton? You get this awesome 20 minute video that talks about it from the differing perspectives of the highly qualified bloggers that makes me want to see this movie even more. See for yourself:


JOHN CARTER Video Blog from ColliderVideos on Vimeo.

Pete also included two still pictures with the video in his post. Here they are.

Helium at Dusk

Helium Airship

John Carter opens in March 2012. I will be the first online since I love the books so much. Hope the film is wonderful and does well enough to warrant a few sequels. I can't wait!!!

The John Carter of Mars Poster Is Causing Me Trouser Issues

Nerd Boner!!!! One of my favorite books series of all time would have to be the Edgar Rice Burrough's 'John Carter of Mars' collection. My god, these books were phenomenal. They are in public domain now, which means if you have a digital reader (Ipad, Kindle, etc) you can download them for FREE. I suggest you do.

Anyway, director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E) is tackling the first big budget film adaption of the books, with Taylor Kitsch (Gambit in the Wolverine:Origins movie) playing Carter. It's coming from Disney and everything that has been shot already is going to be coated with digital animated effects to give Mars the creepy feel that the Red Planet deserves. The whole film has been shot, and now they will take the WHOLE year of 2011 to treat it in Post Production.With the finished product just about a year away, we are finally getting the first look at the movie poster.

Wow... that looks awesome. I have high hopes for this one. If you are looking for some summer reading, this is the way to go. You will love these books. If not, the film opens on 3/9/2012. It features Kitsch plus Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, and Samantha Morton. I can't wait.