JOHN CARTER - it's about time!

[Rip Rokken]

Been waiting YEARS for this film to get made, and in two weeks I'll be in Los Angeles for a special early preview at Disney Studios. It's going to rock and I get to hang out with movie stars. Most people don't have a clue who JOHN CARTER of MARS is, but as a long time fan from childhood, I knew that many of our best-known sci-fi franchises would never have existed without him... Created by the author of Tarzan back in 1912, tons of people have ripped off J.C. - especially George Lucas.



Found this great article explaining all this...

http://movies.ign.com/articles/121/1219006p1.html

Without John Carter There Would Be No Star Wars
Just how much of a debt do today's sci-fi heroes owe to JC?
February 17, 2012

Star Wars. Avatar. Star Trek. These are some of the titans when it comes to popular science fiction franchises. But 100 years ago, science fiction was still in its infancy, and a hero named John Carter enjoyed the sort of popularity that characters like Luke Skywalker and Captain Kirk do today.

Carter is the hero of many of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels, which explore life on a dying version of Mars. Burroughs (who also created Tarzan) may not have invented the science fiction genre, but his books played a monumental role in building and shaping what fans expect from it. It's rare to see a sci-fi story that isn't influenced in some way by the Barsoom novels. And with a John Carter movie hitting theaters early next month, we figured now was the perfect time to explore how various sci-fi films have been influenced by and continued the legacy of John Carter.

Interstellar Romance

Love knows no bounds for science fiction heroes, even across the cold depths of space. A major focus of the first Barsoom novel, A Princess of Mars (and the upcoming movie adaptation), is the growing bond between Earthman John Carter and Martian princess Dejah Thoris.

Many sci-fi adventures provide the hero with a woman to fight for, or at least focus plenty of attention on Earthmen wooing pretty ladies with unusual skin tones. That's pretty much Captain Kirk's secondary mission in Star Trek.

However, the John Carter/Dejah Thoris relationship most reminds us of the romance in James Cameron's Avatar. As in Avatar, it's a relationship that builds from two strangers (one of them a soldier from another world) attempting to understand one another, and it grows during the looming threat of war. Various physical and existential divides threaten to keep the two apart, but in the end, love prevails.

The Space Western

Even as Burroughs was doing his part to build the science fiction genre, he was also becoming the first author to merge science fiction and Western elements. John Carter is a hero who wouldn't be out of place in a Wild West movie. He's an ex-Confederate soldier who headed west after the Civil War to seek his fortune as a gold prospector. He even battles a tribe of Apache warriors before his fateful journey to Barsoom.

Well, shit... this is a hell of a long article. Not going to paste it all, but the link is above. Educate thyselves!

[Rip Rokken]

[Don]

I enjoyed the Carson Of Venus series, never got too far into the John Carter books.

[artist4perry]

Been waiting YEARS for this film to get made, and in two weeks I'll be in Los Angeles for a special early preview at Disney Studios. It's going to rock and I get to hang out with movie stars. Most people don't have a clue who JOHN CARTER of MARS is, but as a long time fan from childhood, I knew that many of our best-known sci-fi franchises would never have existed without him... Created by the author of Tarzan back in 1912, tons of people have ripped off J.C. - especially George Lucas.



Found this great article explaining all this...

http://movies.ign.com/articles/121/1219006p1.html

Without John Carter There Would Be No Star Wars
Just how much of a debt do today's sci-fi heroes owe to JC?
February 17, 2012

Star Wars. Avatar. Star Trek. These are some of the titans when it comes to popular science fiction franchises. But 100 years ago, science fiction was still in its infancy, and a hero named John Carter enjoyed the sort of popularity that characters like Luke Skywalker and Captain Kirk do today.

Carter is the hero of many of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels, which explore life on a dying version of Mars. Burroughs (who also created Tarzan) may not have invented the science fiction genre, but his books played a monumental role in building and shaping what fans expect from it. It's rare to see a sci-fi story that isn't influenced in some way by the Barsoom novels. And with a John Carter movie hitting theaters early next month, we figured now was the perfect time to explore how various sci-fi films have been influenced by and continued the legacy of John Carter.

Interstellar Romance

Love knows no bounds for science fiction heroes, even across the cold depths of space. A major focus of the first Barsoom novel, A Princess of Mars (and the upcoming movie adaptation), is the growing bond between Earthman John Carter and Martian princess Dejah Thoris.

Many sci-fi adventures provide the hero with a woman to fight for, or at least focus plenty of attention on Earthmen wooing pretty ladies with unusual skin tones. That's pretty much Captain Kirk's secondary mission in Star Trek.

However, the John Carter/Dejah Thoris relationship most reminds us of the romance in James Cameron's Avatar. As in Avatar, it's a relationship that builds from two strangers (one of them a soldier from another world) attempting to understand one another, and it grows during the looming threat of war. Various physical and existential divides threaten to keep the two apart, but in the end, love prevails.

The Space Western

Even as Burroughs was doing his part to build the science fiction genre, he was also becoming the first author to merge science fiction and Western elements. John Carter is a hero who wouldn't be out of place in a Wild West movie. He's an ex-Confederate soldier who headed west after the Civil War to seek his fortune as a gold prospector. He even battles a tribe of Apache warriors before his fateful journey to Barsoom.

Well, shit... this is a hell of a long article. Not going to paste it all, but the link is above. Educate thyselves!

And they thought my ideas were weird...LOL! Love creative folks.

[verslibre]

Most people don't have a clue who JOHN CARTER of MARS is

Fewer people know who Karl Edward Wagner is. How badass would it be to see Kane on the big screen?

Anyway, the JC movie looks cool, buuuuuuut...I don't get why they had to drop the ...Of Mars.

It's like Hairy Pothead and calling the first movie ...And The Sorcerer's Stone here, when it was Philosopher's Stone everywhere else, i.e. the way it reads on the book.

[Rip Rokken]

I enjoyed the Carson Of Venus series, never got too far into the John Carter books.

The Carson books were great, too. Most of Burroughs' stories have the same basic formula, and his leading characters share a lot of traits in common. His physical description of Carter is much like Tarzan, down to the black hair and grey eyes.

From what I've seen of the trailers and clips, it looks like Disney and Pixar have paid a great deal of attention to the details in the book to get it right for the fans, and I'm really excited... and the timing is PERFECT... this is the 100th anniversary for both John Carter and Tarzan. Both were first published in serial form in the pulp magazine The All-Story in 1912.

[brandonx76]

dude, put some clothes on

[Rip Rokken]

And they thought my ideas were weird...LOL! Love creative folks.

JC has been drawn by some of the greatest sci-fi artists of our time, including Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta - here's one of Frazetta's:

[brandonx76]

And they thought my ideas were weird...LOL! Love creative folks.

JC has been drawn by some of the greatest sci-fi artists of our time, including Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta - here's one of Frazetta's:

Reminds me a heavy metal - how did Disney end up with this?

[Rip Rokken]

Anyway, the JC movie looks cool, buuuuuuut...I don't get why they had to drop the ...Of Mars.

The logo they use has the JC over the M (for Mars), but I think the reason they dropped it is because the film may draw from parts of all 3 of the first trilogy (yup... Burroughs created the sci-fi trilogy.) The first 3 books were called A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars.

The only book actually called John Carter of Mars was the 11th and final one, first published in 1964 after Burroughs had passed away. It's really just a combination of two separate stories put together in one volume.

Interesting fact... you know that C-movie grindhouse The Asylum? They are the ones who somehow seem to get away with copyright murder by putting out their own takes on upcoming blockbusters -- Sherlock Holmes, Universal Soldiers (note the added "s"), The Terminators, Transmorphers, Snakes on a Train, and the upcoming Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies are just a few of their masterpieces, lol. They created their own take on JC a few years back called A Princess of Mars (named after the first book), and low-budget and tongue-in-cheek as it was, I was really impressed that they gave so much respect to the original material. I really felt they did the best they could and it was pretty entertaining! Antonio Sabato, Jr. played John Carter, and Dejah Thoris was played by... Traci Lords!

LOVE this clip from that film, especially Antonio's shite-eating grin at 2:16 after the green martians get him to show off his jumping skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO5RC-qeGqY

[verslibre]

Anyway, the JC movie looks cool, buuuuuuut...I don't get why they had to drop the ...Of Mars.

The logo they use has the JC over the M (for Mars), but I think the reason they dropped it is because the film may draw from parts of all 3 of the first trilogy

It would seem that way, but they dropped it because they want the focus to be on John Carter "the man" (from Earth), not "the Martian," when John Carter Of Mars sounds way cooler. And the JCM logo looks good, so to have that and an oversimplified title doesn't make sense to me.

Interesting fact... you know that C-movie grindhouse The Asylum? They are the ones who somehow seem to get away with copyright murder by putting out their own takes on upcoming blockbusters -- Sherlock Holmes, Universal Soldiers (note the added "s"), The Terminators, Transmorphers, Snakes on a Train, and the upcoming Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies are just a few of their masterpieces, lol.

Yup! And don't forget Battle OF Los Angeles! Man, that had some of the most incredibly bad computer FX ever.

They created their own take on JC a few years back called A Princess of Mars (named after the first book), and low-budget and tongue-in-cheek as it was, I was really impressed that they gave so much respect to the original material. I really felt they did the best they could and it was pretty entertaining! Antonio Sabato, Jr. played John Carter, and Dejah Thoris was played by... Traci Lords!

I've never sought this out (because it's an Asylum production), and I've never run across it on cable, either.

[brandonx76]

these C List movies...any insight on who's buying this crap? people browsing the dollar bins at Fry's? drunk truckers? or are the more self financed for practice?

[artist4perry]

And they thought my ideas were weird...LOL! Love creative folks.

JC has been drawn by some of the greatest sci-fi artists of our time, including Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta - here's one of Frazetta's:

I am familiar with Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta's work. They are into well endowed characters with strong muscular frames. Little boys porno. LOL!

[verslibre]

I am familiar with Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta's work. They are into well endowed characters with strong muscular frames. Little boys porno. LOL!

Whoa, Nelly!

To dismiss the great Frank Frazetta's genre-defining works as "little boys' porno" makes about as much sense as, oh, I don't know...calling Journey "dumbshit rock"?

Frazetta (R.I.P.) was a master of atmosphere (mood) and shadow/light, and while many of his paintings do showcase buxom lasses wearing little more than palm-frond skirts (hehe), many also don't. But who am I to complain about a nekkid babe paying tribute to the sun god?

I can't say quite the same for Boris Vallejo, whose art tends to blur into one long homogenized flash if you view too many of his pieces in one sitting. His tones and highlights are just too consistent. Every man and woman has "the perfect body," whereas Frazetta's women are shapely and voluptuous.

And if you really want to see some endowed babes, check out the art of Richard Corben. He's like Frazetta, though, in that his work encompasses fantasy, SF, horror, landscapes, and portraiture/figure painting. Nobody's art looks like Corben's, either. He has some imitators, but they all fall short.

[artist4perry]

I am familiar with Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta's work. They are into well endowed characters with strong muscular frames. Little boys porno. LOL!

Whoa, Nelly!

To dismiss the great Frank Frazetta's genre-defining works as "little boys' porno" makes about as much sense as, oh, I don't know...calling Journey "dumbshit rock"?

Frazetta (R.I.P.) was a master of atmosphere (mood) and shadow/light, and while many of his paintings do showcase buxom lasses wearing little more than palm-frond skirts (hehe), many also don't. But who am I to complain about a nekkid babe paying tribute to the sun god?

I can't say quite the same for Boris Vallejo, whose art tends to blur into one long homogenized flash if you view too many of his pieces in one sitting. His tones and highlights are just too consistent. Every man and woman has "the perfect body," whereas Frazetta's women are shapely and voluptuous.

And if you really want to see some endowed babes, check out the art of Richard Corben. He's like Frazetta, though, in that his work encompasses fantasy, SF, horror, landscapes, and portraiture/figure painting. Nobody's art looks like Corben's, either. He has some imitators, but they all fall short.

Don't get me wrong Verslibre, they are masters of their crafts in SF. I admire their work. I just meant many a little boy who saw those covers got the closest thing to seeing fantasy cleavage they could get too without getting into trouble. I meant no disrespect to their work at all!

[jrnyman28]

No way this movie is a success....$250 million to make???

[Rip Rokken]

They created their own take on JC a few years back called A Princess of Mars (named after the first book), and low-budget and tongue-in-cheek as it was, I was really impressed that they gave so much respect to the original material. I really felt they did the best they could and it was pretty entertaining! Antonio Sabato, Jr. played John Carter, and Dejah Thoris was played by... Traci Lords!

I've never sought this out (because it's an Asylum production), and I've never run across it on cable, either.

It's one of the best they've put out in my opinion. That doesn't mean it's good, lol! Still low-budget, still cheesy, but all I can say is I really felt they put as much effort into it as they could for what they had to work with and it's pretty entertaining. And... they did beat everyone to the punch by putting John Carter in a live action movie for the first time ever. I have it on DVD, and still haven't watched the extras. May watch it again tonight.

[Rip Rokken]

these C List movies...any insight on who's buying this crap? people browsing the dollar bins at Fry's? drunk truckers? or are the more self financed for practice?

You'll find a ton of them in DVD bargain bins (like at Wal-Mart), and adding filler to the shelves of some brick-and-mortar movie rental shops (where they still exist).

Here's their website, and I get a kick out of it because they know their movies are generally bad and they makes jokes about it themselves:

http://www.theasylum.cc/

Right now they're running a preview for 2-Headed Shark Attack and the trailer looks so cool it almost makes me want to watch it, lol.

[Rip Rokken]

I am familiar with Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta's work. They are into well endowed characters with strong muscular frames.

I have a few hand-signed Boris prints hanging on the walls in my office. Interesting fact that I once asked him about - his autograph is standard cursive and looks totally different from the well-known "Boris" signature that he puts on his paintings. He created that one just for use on the art.

[verslibre]

I am familiar with Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta's work. They are into well endowed characters with strong muscular frames.

I have a few hand-signed Boris prints hanging on the walls in my office. Interesting fact that I once asked him about - his autograph is standard cursive and looks totally different from the well-known "Boris" signature that he puts on his paintings. He created that one just for use on the art.

That's cool, but you should get some Frazetta pieces, too. I recommend "Cat Girl" and the one I alluded to, "Sun Goddess." Those are very juicy.

[Monker]

However, the John Carter/Dejah Thoris relationship most reminds us of the romance in James Cameron's Avatar. As in Avatar, it's a relationship that builds from two strangers (one of them a soldier from another world) attempting to understand one another, and it grows during the looming threat of war. Various physical and existential divides threaten to keep the two apart, but in the end, love prevails.

sounds like Farscape to me....nothing beats the banter between John and Aeryn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlS9GX4VccM

And, maybe this would have made a better TV series then movie. My first impression of the previews were they were just a bit cheesy. I'll probably go see it though. I expect it to be about as good as Imortals, which was OK.

[Monker]

No way this movie is a success....$250 million to make???

I don't have high hopes for it either...Feburary releases are generally average at best...If it were going to be huge, it would be released during the summer, or Winter holidays.

But, it doesn't look 'bad' either...just not as big as something like Avengers.

[verslibre]

However, the John Carter/Dejah Thoris relationship most reminds us of the romance in James Cameron's Avatar. As in Avatar, it's a relationship that builds from two strangers (one of them a soldier from another world) attempting to understand one another, and it grows during the looming threat of war. Various physical and existential divides threaten to keep the two apart, but in the end, love prevails.

sounds like Farscape to me

How about the TZ episode "Two," with Charles Bronson & Elizabeth Montgomery? Only the setting is postwar, and there is no "dialogue" because Bronson does all the talking, and Montgomery follows him around. Love that one.

[Rip Rokken]

And, maybe this would have made a better TV series then movie. My first impression of the previews were they were just a bit cheesy. I'll probably go see it though.

The dialogue in the trailer (especially the first one) is very stock - I can definitely see it coming off as unoriginal. I think it's purposeful though, because it reveals almost nothing about the story.

My prediction - the film will be huge, and it's Disney (and Pixar's first live action film). A film for the whole family means more ticket sales. Will be interesting to see what happens. As for February - maybe it was picked to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the character, but also good strategy - too much major competition coming up this summer.

[DavidWT]

Shows how clueless I am... when I first saw the poster for this at the train station, my first thought was, "They're making a movie about Noah Wylie's character from ER?" I knew it didn't seem likely, but still....

[Monker]

And, maybe this would have made a better TV series then movie. My first impression of the previews were they were just a bit cheesy. I'll probably go see it though.

The dialogue in the trailer (especially the first one) is very stock - I can definitely see it coming off as unoriginal. I think it's purposeful though, because it reveals almost nothing about the story.

My prediction - the film will be huge, and it's Disney (and Pixar's first live action film). A film for the whole family means more ticket sales. Will be interesting to see what happens. As for February - maybe it was picked to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the character, but also good strategy - too much major competition coming up this summer.

Well, to be honest, it reminds me a lot of Flash Gordon.

After reading the article, I do think a TV series would have been better. The entire "hero's journey" could have been told instead of pushing all of that into a 90min movie. All of the various 'super hero' type movies kind of prove that is a difficult thing to do. There just isn't enough time to do that in one movie.

[The_Noble_Cause]

This is a sci-fi property that is long overdue for a leap to the big screen. Unfortunately, since it was written, there's been so many knock-offs and homages, that the mass public will prolly think that JC is a rip-off. Kinda like The Shadow with Alec Baldwin. Great movie, great character, (even partially inspired Batman), but nobody gave a fuck. I'm still waiting for Hollywood to reboot Doc Savage - so many pulp books to mine for ideas and sequels.