Related Sections: Movies News Top Stories
John Carter of Mars fires up in London! New details
John Carter of Mars, the upcoming live-action adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" books, has begun production in London, Walt Disney Pictures announced.
The movie, from WALL-E director Andrew Stanton, is slated for release sometime in 2012. Below is the full official announcement.
Cool! We can't wait to see this movie!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWALT DISNEY PICTURES' "JOHN CARTER OF MARS" BEGINS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN LONDON
BURBANK, Calif. (January 15, 2010) - Principal photography is underway in London for Walt Disney Pictures' "JOHN CARTER OF MARS." Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton brings this captivating hero to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and exotic desert beings. Based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom Series," the film chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter, who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants.
Produced for Walt Disney Pictures by Jim Morris ("WALL•E," "Ratatouille") and Colin Wilson ("Avatar," "War of the Worlds"), the live action/animation film marks Academy Award®-winning director/writer Andrew Stanton's ("Finding Nemo," "WALL•E") first foray into live action. Stanton directed and co-wrote the screenplay for Disney•Pixar's "WALL•E," which earned the Academy Award and Golden Globe® for Best Animated Feature (2008); Stanton was nominated for an Oscar® for the screenplay. He made his directorial debut with Disney•Pixar's "Finding Nemo," garnering an Academy Award-nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (2003). He has worked as a screenwriter and/or executive producer on Disney•Pixar's "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life" (which he also co-directed), "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc.," "Ratatouille" and "Up."
"I have been waiting my whole life to see the characters and worlds of 'John Carter of Mars' realized on the big screen," says Stanton. "It is just a wonderful bonus that I have anything to do with it."
The stellar ensemble cast is led by Taylor Kitsch (NBC'S "Friday Night Lights", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine") in the title role, Lynn Collins ("50 First Dates," "X-Men Origins: Wolverine") as the warrior princess Dejah Thoris and Oscar® nominee Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man 3," "Shadow of a Vampire") as Martian inhabitant Tars Tarkas. The cast also includes Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways," Spider-Man 3), Polly Walker (upcoming "Clash of the Titans," "Patriot Games"), Samantha Morton ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "In America"), Mark Strong ("Sherlock Holmes," "Body of Lies"), Ciaran Hinds ("Munich," "There Will Be Blood"), British actor Dominic West ("300," "Chicago"), James Purefoy ("Vanity Fair," "Resident Evil") and Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"). Daryl Sabara ("Disney's A Christmas Carol," "Spy Kids") takes the role of John Carter's teenaged nephew, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The creative team includes Oscar®-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley ("Public Enemies," "The Dark Knight," "Batman Begins"), costume designer Mayes Rubeo ("Avatar," "Apocalypto"), cinematographer Daniel Mindel ("Star Trek," "Mission Impossible III," "Spygame") and video effects supervisor Peter Chiang ("The Reader," "The Bourne Ultimatum").
JOHN CARTER OF MARS
WALT DISNEY PICTURESGenre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
Rating: TBD
Release Date: TBD
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, with Thomas Hayden Church and Willem Dafoe
Director: Andrew Stanton
Producers: Jim Morris and Colin Wilson
Screenplay by: Andrew Stanton & Mark Andrews (credit not final)
Based on the story by: Edgar Rice BurroughsFrom Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton ("Finding Nemo," "WALL-E"), JOHN CARTER OF MARS brings this captivating hero to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and exotic desert beings. Based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom Series," the film chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter (TAYLOR KITSCH), who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (WILLEM DAFOE) and Dejah Thoris (LYNN COLLINS).
Notes:
* Edgar Rice Burroughs was born in Chicago and is best known for writing and creating Tarzan - still one of the most successful and iconic fictional creations of all time. JOHN CARTER OF MARS is based on Burroughs' first novel, "A Princess of Mars."
* Academy Award®-winning director/writer Andrew Stanton directed and co-wrote the screenplay for "WALL•E," which earned the Academy Award® and Golden Globe Award® for Best Animated Feature of 2008. He was Oscar® nominated for the screenplay. He made his directorial debut with "Finding Nemo," garnering an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature Film of 2003. He was one of the four screenwriters to receive an Oscar® nomination in 1996 for his contribution to "Toy Story," and went on to receive credit as a screenwriter on subsequent Pixar films "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "WALL•E." He served as co-director on "A Bug's Life," and was the executive producer of "Monsters, Inc.," the 2006 Academy Award-winning "Ratatouille" and the 2009 smash hit "Up."Set in the wounded planet of Mars, JOHN CARTER OF MARS chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter (TAYLOR KITSCH), who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (WILLEM DAFOE) and Dejah Thoris (LYNN COLLINS).
By Barsoomer at 5:03 PM ON 01/15/10
Wow! I first read those books when I was 13 years old. They turned me on to the fantasy book genre in a way Tolkien never could. I hope they do it right. Please do not destroy my fond memories of that series.
By Walter at 5:27 PM ON 01/15/10
I just watched a fairly crappy version of Burroughs' book called Princess of Mars. They could not even get the Tharks right. With this group doing it, it should be much better.
By RedFiveStandingBy at 5:30 PM ON 01/15/10
A solid production team with some solid credentials. There'll be people grumbling but I got faith in this with this line-up. People from "Avatar", "Dark Knight", "Monsters, Inc.", "Star Trek" and "Kingdom of Heaven" for that all-out Martian landscape battles. Sounds good...so far.
By Bluesman at 6:13 PM ON 01/15/10
@ Walter; I too have recently seen the crapfest from Asylum laughingly titled "A Princess of Mars". For a piece crap it did have some, (very little), of the elements of the ERB classic I grew up reading, but was so bad that not even having naked boobs bouncing around would have saved it, though I will admit that Traci Lords still looks good at age 42.
By BobJ at 6:15 PM ON 01/15/10
At long last. Really looking forward to this. A pity that the animated Bob Clampett version never got going back in the 30s. If so, animated movies may not have been pigeon-holed as kid movies.
By amigan at 6:23 PM ON 01/15/10
I also read the entire John Carter of Mars series as a young teen. It was the third series of books my dad introduced me to after EE Doc Smith's Lensmen and Skylark
By Falconer at 7:30 PM ON 01/15/10
If Disney ****s this up the way they did that abomination of a Tarzan animated movie, I will personally go to L.A. and kill all their executives. This could be done right and done spectularly. It could be Andrew Stanton's own "Avatar." BUT--he'd better tell those A-holes at Disney to back off and let him do it right, and not the way they think should be done. And no offense to Kitsch and Collins, but I already have trepidations over the choice of two relative unknowns to play the leads, both of whom JUST HAPPEN TO BE in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
By demoncat at 9:40 PM ON 01/15/10
given how long its taken holly wood to try and get John carter of mars on the screen lets hope Disney learned from the other attempts and will let it be done right other wise the project being cursed may play one last card having disney fail to do the thing right.
By Mischa Welsh at 4:28 AM ON 01/16/10
hahaha "British actor Dominic West ("300," "Chicago")"
I think he's kinda better known for playing McNulty in "The Wire"
By Token at 1:53 PM ON 01/16/10
Llana of Gathol [the 10th Burroughs Mars novel] was the FIRST SF/fantasy novel I ever bought as a pre-teen....I think I was 7 or 8. As quickly as I could, given my 25-cent weekly allowance at the time, I tracked down the others and devoured them over and over. These books set me on a course that has lasted my entire life. I'll look forward to this movie, but whether it is genius or a crapfest is immaterial beside what lives in my memory and imagination.
By Rob at 6:41 PM ON 01/16/10
Here's hoping it's not the travesty the wannabe Trek movie turned out to be.
By Omen at 7:01 PM ON 01/16/10
Barsoom is a helluva lot better then the Mars
we got now.
By AndrewVH at 8:49 PM ON 01/16/10
I'm an old fan of Barsoom myself. They're still fairly readable, much more so than say, EE Smith, another early favorite of mine. I'm a bit nervous about Disney handling this. But I have so say, "Wall E" was a pretty good kiddie targeted Sci Fi story,and "Finding Nemo" is really good too. So was "Ratatouille". I think he can do it. Oh, it'll be different, it won't be just like you remember the books, It'll be a bit "disnified", but I'm pretty hopeful.
By Spaceman Spiff at 7:40 PM ON 01/17/10
Big BIG Burroughs fan here! Specially the Barsoom stories. I too hope Stanton doesn't screw this up. He has made some statementsabout it however that have me a little nervous about how this might turn out. Here's hoping though. We can say at least with Disney's money bihind it the special effects should be doen right.
By Windog54 at 5:17 PM ON 02/15/10
Thank God for the success of Avatar or this would have never gotten the budget OR backing. Originally, they were thinking about an animated version of John Carter (think Tarzan) which would have sucked. I've been waiting for a great ERB movie my entire life and have been largely disappointed. Greystoke being the lone exception. I'm crossing my fingers and trusting in this unbelievable ensemble of creators.....
Visit mobile.syfy.com/wire on your mobile device.
Windog54:
Thank God for the success of Avatar or this would have never gotten the budget OR backing. Originally, they were t...More »