Indulge me for a moment. When my parents split up, my dad left behind a whole bunch of books and records. I spent a lot of my younger years going through those and absorbing things, finding stuff that appealed to me, and discovering literature and music that would change the direction of my life. One box contained a bunch of scifi paperbacks, and among them were John Carter of Mars novels, staring with A Princess of Mars and extending on for a couple more books. I read those and then began getting the rest of the series from my public library.
I loved them. The word pulp gets tossed around today to mean ‘Not very good but we’re okay with that,’ but it’s not what pulp always meant. John Carter of Mars was pulp. Swashbuckling, weird creatures, sexy women, big heroics, all played with the straightest of faces. The Edgar Rice Burroughs books are the kinds of sweeping, imaginative adventure that the movies often aspired to but never reached.
Over the years there have been a number of attempts to bring John Carter and his exploits on Barsoom to the big screen, but it took Andrew Stanton and the folks at Disney to actually get it started. Today filming began on John Carter of Mars, an adaptation of A Princess of Mars, the first book in the series that saw a Civil War vet transported to a bizarre Mars where he became an adventurer and power player.
I never thought I’d see the day, and I’m hoping for the best. Ironically, the biggest stumbling block for Stanton et al is the fact that James Cameron more or less ripped off John Carter of Mars in Avatar, which may lead many people to think that Stanton’s movie is a cash in on The Blockbusteriest Blockbuster Of All. But nothing could be farther from the truth; when John Carter of Mars hits theaters in the next two years, it will be the culmination of a journey that began in 1917, and that inspired not just Avatar but huge chunks of what we know as science fiction and fantasy today. To me, this film is as much a milestone as The Lord of the Rings was. Let’s hope Stanton hits those lofty heights.
26 comments
Did Michael Chabon end up having a hand in writing the script? Because that would be tits.
I actually was thinking this as I watched Avatar. Crap now people are going to think Cameron is being ripped off! Cameron and his innovative original stories! Damnit, I sure hope Stanton can wipe that from everyones minds. I so want this to work.
Then maybe someone can do a good Doc Savage movie and I can die happy.
Let's not forget the just-released adaptation from The Asylum.
….wait, on second thought…. yes, let's forget it.
Please let this film work to become a series and then get someone working on The Mucker. ERB wrote some exciting, racist stuff. He's no Lovecraft in that regard (c'mon, named a cat N****r!)but still reflected the mindset at the time.
Let's also not forget that the movie is being co-written by Mark Andrews, who was Brad Bird's right-hand story guy for IRON GIANT, INCREDIBLES, and RATATOUILLE. Very, VERY capable hands. This should be fun. 🙂
The key difference will hopefully be that Avatar is garbage and JCOM is sweeping entertainment combined with rich characters, something COMPLETELY lacking from the insipid (I think its safe to use that word now) Avatar. Im terrified of Tyler Kitcsh as the star, he made a laughably bad Gambit.
It's just as much the script's fault for Gambit being lame.
I'm with you Devin, I hope this turns out great. Nervous about the cast though..
I'm really excited for this. Genuinely share your enthusiasm Devin. I never read any of the JC books when I was a kid, but I did read a few of the Tarzan books and loved them.
Actually, the cast is awesome: Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Thomas Haden Church, Samantha Morton, I'm even intrigued by Daryl Sabara as Edgar Rice Burroughs. I'm mostly just concerned about the leads, BOTH of them X-Men Origins: Wolverine alum.
I dont think it wil be seen as a rip off by that many people…I think John Carter of Mars can stand alone and be quite successful…I surely hope so anyway…I remember well reading this kind of stuff while growing up…
This is really great to see another classic property in good hands. @#4: Dude, you don't know Racism if you think that's Racism. That's merely insensitivity. Like me calling you a "retarded cunt" or even an "idiot".
Haven't read past Warlord of Mars, I wonder if I will ever get to see the golden locked tomb again on Earth again. Favorite chapter title from Princess…Making love on Mars
Maybe if Devin shut the fuck up about Avatar, everyone else would shut the fuck up about Devin shutting the fuck up about Avatar. Just a thought.
@ #14
Actually, so far, you seem to be the only one who's telling Devin to shut up. And blimey, he's completly right about this- how many people have a clue what John Carter of Mars actually is? Lots of people are going to see the trailers for this and think 'rip-off'.
… But, whatever. Very excited about this one. Hopefully it'll be everything that Avatar wasn't =)
I've not known about the whole John Carter Mythology until I once read about it on chud or aicn. Aesthetics-wise this doesn't look like my cup of tea. Still, the fact that there's so much love for it around here kinda intrigues me.I'd love to hear/read from you guys or Devin what exactly it is you find so compelling about those stories.
Avatar reminded me a lot of certain aspects in Miyazaki's stories, a comparison that doesn't do Cameron any good of course. (I still basically enjoyed the movie, though)
The word cheap shot gets tossed around today to mean 'Snide comment about Nick's opinion of Avatar', but… well, that's exactly what cheap shot means, actually.
Has anyone seen the 2009 version of Princess of Mars?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531911/
I think Devin is turning into Harry Knowles.
Everything I need to know I learned reading Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Have'nt seen Avatar,I think there may be one or two more of us left on Earth. Having said that, based on various reviews and synopses a faithful adaptation of A princess of Mars would have little resemblance to that movie.
@#16 – I'd love to hear/read from you guys or Devin what exactly it is you find so compelling about those stories – I think he already did – "Swashbuckling, weird creatures, sexy women, big heroics, all played with the straightest of faces." Spot on imo, not a hard formula to fuck up, but this is hollywood, they already had to go change the fuckn name!
It'll be a rip-off! Fail! Morons will swoon at anything these days, even their droopy ass. But here's the sweet irony…the epic copy will overshadow and bury the cliche original.
Of course Cameron ripped off ERB, but ERB ripped off someone else who had, in turn, ripped someone else off.
That story is by no means new.
I am really excited about the John Carter movie. I was reading Burroughs books from the age of 12 and got swept away by his story telling. There has never been a movie made that truly reflected his imagination, including any of the Tarzan movies. I am the other guy in the world that hasn't seen Avatar. I thought it looked really cool at first… but then as they continually shoved it down everyone's throats… and the masses ate it up… I have no real desire to see it now. If people think JCOM is ripping off Cameron, so be it. Burrough's fans will know who the 'Grandfather of Science Fiction' really is! Long Live Barsoom!
I am really excited about the John Carter movie. I was reading Burroughs books from the age of 12 and got swept away by his story telling. There has never been a movie made that truly reflected his imagination, including any of the Tarzan movies. I am the other guy in the world that hasn't seen Avatar. I thought it looked really cool at first… but then as they continually shoved it down everyone's throats… and the masses ate it up… I have no real desire to see it now. If people think JCOM is ripping off Cameron, so be it. Burrough's fans will know who the 'Grandfather of Science Fiction' really is! Long Live Barsoom!
I am really excited about the John Carter movie. I was reading Burroughs books from the age of 12 and got swept away by his story telling. There has never been a movie made that truly reflected his imagination, including any of the Tarzan movies. I am the other guy in the world that hasn't seen Avatar. I thought it looked really cool at first… but then as they continually shoved it down everyone's throats… and the masses ate it up… I have no real desire to see it now. If people think JCOM is ripping off Cameron, so be it. Burrough's fans will know who the 'Grandfather of Science Fiction' really is! Long Live Barsoom!
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