The Disney adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of novels, John Carter of Mars, and hopeful trilogy of films said to be comparable in scale to Pirates of the Caribbean, has finally entered production.  I say finally not because of scheduling issues but because this property has been close to development for several decades but no one could make it happen till now. Thank you, Disney.

If you think about it, John Carter first appeared in “A Princess of Mars” back in 1912 – nearly a full century ago. With the big budget adventure/fantasy set to be a mix of CGI and live-action epic proportions, the recent success and acceptance of Avatar can help make this popular. Or has it simply stolen its thunder?

John Carter of Mars will be rated PG-13 and directing the film is Andrew Stanton who will be making his debut into live-action with this project. The film will be absolutely littered with CGI effects to bring to life the various creatures depicted in the stories so he won’t be straying too far off the track he set with Wall-E and Finding Nemo.

I am very excited for this project, especially seeing the talented cast selected for key roles: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Dominic West, Thomas Haden Church, Samantha Morton, Polly Walker, James Purefoy and Bryan Cranston.

IESB had a chance to speak with Bryan Cranston, who has won an Emmy for best leading actors two years straight for his series Breaking Bad, and they touched on his part in John Carter of Mars. Cranston says in the discussion that he plays the Colonel fighting alongside the title character John Carter for the Confederacy in the American Civil War when Carter finds the portal that sends him off to the red planet. He’ll be joining the production once he wraps filming on the third season of his series.

Here are some of Cranston’s responses which include what drew him into the film in the first place:

“With John Carter of Mars, I was taken in by the story and the enthusiasm of the director, Andrew [Stanton], and what he was looking to do. It’s a fantastic story that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote. I think he started writing it in 1913.”

“I play the Colonel who John Carter (Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch) is with, at the time he finds the portal to Mars. It’s going to be exciting.”

“I’m going to be wearing a wig. We haven’t talked about what he is seeing, as far as this character. But, I got fitted for a wig and I don’t know what the facial hair situation will be. We’ll see.”

And for more details on the production start for John Carter of Mars, here’s the official press release:

WALT 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”).

OHN CARTER OF MARS
WALT DISNEY PICTURES

Genre: 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 Burroughs

From 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).

Are you excited for John Carter of Mars coming to life on the silver screen?

Directed by Andrew Stanton, John Carter of Mars is tentatively scheduled to debut in 2012.

Source: IESB

Avatar makes it four in a row; Willem Dafoe heads to Mars next week; Maggie Grace and Billy Bob Thornton move Faster with Dwayne Johnson; The Sitter makes it to the big screen; Polanski’s The Ghost Writer gets a release date and James Franco finds that there isn’t a mountain high enough to stop him working with Danny Boyle in 127 Hours.

Box Office

James Cameron’s Avatar was number one for the fourth weekend in a row with a mighty take of $48.5 million. With a huge $429 million in the bank domestically, the film is now the highest grossing film of 2009 and is already on its way to being the second biggest of all time (domestic) after Cameron’s own Titanic. On a worldwide level the film has now banked $1.3 billion and it looks like it might just beat Titanic’s final gross of $1.8 billion.

Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes was second with another $16.6 million. The 21st Century update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective has now grossed a huge $165 million.

Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeaquel banked a smidgen less than Holmes for a $178 million total. $200 million is on the cards.

Ethan Hawk’s vampire thriller Daybreakers was fourth with an opening gross of $15 million. Not a bad start, but I doubt it’ll have legs.

It’s Complicated rung up another $11 million giving it a $76 million total. It looks like $100 million is still on the cards.

Comedy Leap Year had a middling debut with $9 million, while The Blind Side grossed just under $8 million for a terrific $219 million cumulative gross.

George Clooney’s Up In The Air brought in another $7 million for a $54 million total gross  –  if the expected Oscar nods come then the sky really is the limit.

Youth in Revolt also banked $7 million in its opening while Princess And The Frog brought in $4.5 million for a $92 million total. Disney is pushing the ‘toon flick so it hits the century mark.

Movie News

1. Whilst out promoting his latest flick Daybreakers, Willem Dafoe said that his next film John Cater of Mars would start shooting next week in London – with “official” production set to start on the 18th.

Dafoe said:

“I saw [ director Andrew Stanton] recently because we start in London, for studio stuff. I start next week. I think officially production starts the 18th”, “[Stanton] showed me the different variations of how they will shoot it, the kind of equipment I’ll have to wear, the different times I won’t have to wear certain kinds of equipment and all that”.

Get ready to see some behind-the-scenes snaps soon!

Source: /Film

2. Taken actress Maggie Grace has joined the cast of Dwayne Johnson’s action film Faster.

“The Story centers on an ex-con looking to avenge his brother’s murder, who is trailed by a veteran policeman.”

Salma Hayek is also in negotiations to join the film that also stars Billy Bob Thornton. At least the artist fomerly known as The Rock is straying away from kid films.

Source: Variety

3. The kid-lit craze strikes again!

Furst Films has big up the rights to R.L. Stine’s The Sitter.

According to Variety:

“The Sitter is focused on a young woman who takes a summer job as a nanny to a 4-year-old who hasn’t spoken for months and is seemingly haunted by something too horrible for words.”

I can only imagine that there are franchise opportunities here. Why make one kids film when you can have a series!

Source: Variety

4. Roman Polanski’s thriller The Ghost Writer will open in the US on February 19th with a limited run.

The Pierce Brosnan/ Ewan McGregor starrer will then expand on March 5 and again on March 19th.

I’m guessing that Polanski’s hoping not to be present for the US pemiere!

Source: Variety

5. James Franco will star as Aron Ralston in director Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours.

“The True-life story centers on Ralston, who spent five days with his right forearm pinned under a boulder during a climb in May 2003. He used a dull knife to amputate the limb, then scaled a 65-foot sheer wall and hiked out before flagging a family that gave him water and food. He was finally rescued by helicopter.”

The film starts shooting in Utah in March with the hope that the film is ready for release during awards season later this year.

Apparently Franco was quoted as saying that he’d give his right arm to work with Oscar winner Boyle. Just a bit of ‘armless fun! Sorry.

Source: Variety

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

Not long after the announcement that Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins were cast in the lead roles in the upcoming adaptation of John Carter of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of novels, we found out the talented Willem Dafoe would be playing an important character in the film(s) as well.

At the time, we knew that Dafoe would be playing the role of Tars Tarkas, a big green Martian who eventually befriends the Kitsch’s John Carter, after an unfriendly beginning to their relationship. Tarkas is a warrior and leader of his people and a very unique one at that because he, against the laws and norms of his society, shows compassion and sympathy, and even had a child secretly with the woman he loved (child bearing is a major criminal offense of his people) – he actually believes war isn’t the answer for his kind.

Dafoe spoke recently about the early stages of development for the production and his character – check it out after the jump.

Capone at Ain’t It Cool News spoke with Dafoe recently and they touched on the topic of John Carter. Here are some highlights of what was said, starting with their thoughts on Disney, Pixar and director Andrew Stanton:

“But, you’ve heard about it [Pixar Studios]. You must go. Get an excuse to go! I mean, I guess everything’s changing for them. This is Disney, anyway, but it’s Andrew Stanton. And, I’ve seen a lot of the designs and things, and I’ve just started to do prep work now. I’m doing a play in New York, so I’m kind of preoccupied by that, but I’m starting doing scans and things like that, but it’s going to be a real full-on… Well, I’m nine feet tall with four arms, but, just from the scheduling, I’m going to do the stuff.”

A nine-foot tall four-armed green alien… believe it or not, that ain’t weird for Dafoe.

Will the CGI and make-up capture his facial expressions and allow him to emote?

“Well, we hope. And, also, they’ll use my face, but they’ll enhance it in a way–both after and before–in a way that I may not be recognizable. But, I’m good with that. It’s particularly cool, because he’s a creature, but he’s got this huge range of character. And, he does cool things in the movies.”

Will he be talking Alien? Have they figured out what voice or dialect will be used for the Thark people?

“No, but there’s a whole period where we’re going to work with the language and the movement, and find out how I’m going to be nine feet tall, and all that stuff…like, a long period of time where we’re going to go to Thark school, you know what I mean? We’re going to create our culture. So, it’s going to be very cool. These guys know how to do this, and they’ve got great people. And, the designs and things are just mind-blowing.”

Dafoe also confirmed that the movie will be a combination of live-action and heavy CGI, something that was already hinted at during the casting announcements.

The films are said to mesh live-action and computer-based animation together in a way similar to what James Cameron has done with his eagerly anticipated Avatar. With Disney and Pixar behind the project and the promise of a series of movies on the same scale of Pirates of the Caribbean, I have high hopes for John Carter of Mars and what it will eventually look like on screen.

The Disney adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of novels, John Carter of Mars, and hopeful trilogy of films said to be comparable in scale to Pirates of the Caribbean, has added another three major members to its cast.

If you’re excited about this project already then you should be ecstatic to hear that Mark Strong, James Purefoy and Thomas Haden Church have all signed on for the film.

Let’s go through the cast members we know of so far…

Back in June after the success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine at the box office, two of its supporting actors were picked up to play the leading lad and lady for the upcoming epic trilogy of John Carter of Mars movies.

Those two actors were of course Taylor Kitsch who will be playing the title character and Lynn Collins will play Dejah Thoris, the damsel in distress and heir to the throne of Mars’ Helium kingdom.

A mere two days later, Thomas Haden Church hinted on a talk show that he was in talks for the project and now that speculation has come to fruition.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, three talented men have officially joined the cast of John Carter of Mars: Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes), James Purefoy (Solomon Kane), and of course, Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3).

Thomas Haden Church will reportedly play Tal Hajus, a Thark warrior who’s ambitious to take over and rule himself. Purefoy will play Kantos Kan, the captain of the Xavarian, the kingdom of Helium’s grand warship and Strong will play Matai Shang, the godlike ruler of the Thems.

I’m huge fan of all three of these actors and their additions to the cast make me very excited for the movie. They also join another one of my favorites in Willem Dafoe who was also announced as part of the cast back in June in the same week as the other two announcements mentioned above.

This growing group of talent will also share screen time with Dominic West, Samantha Morton and Polly Walker who joined the cast a few weeks back.

What do you think of the cast of John Carter of Mars?

Directed by Andrew Stanton, John Carter of Mars is tentatively scheduled to debut in 2012.

Source: THR

The cast of Disney’s big-screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars keeps on growing, adding three English (read: talented) actors to the roster. Joining John Carter of Mars will be Dominic West (The Wire, 300), Samantha Morton (In America) and Polly Walker (HBO’s Rome).

The three English actors join Willem DaFoe, (supposedly) Thomas Hayden Church and Wolverine stars Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins (Gambit and Silver Fox), who will be playing lead characters John Carter and his love interest, Mars princess Dejah Thoris.

According to The Hollywood Reporter: “Morton will play Sola, the daughter of Tars Tarkas (DaFoe), who must hide her softer side from her warmongering race. West plays Sab Than, prince of the Zodangans who believes he is entitled to rule Mars. Walker plays Sarkoja, a merciless, tyrannical Thark.”

Writer/Producer/Director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall-E) will be making his live-action directorial debut; the script was co-written by Stanton and Mark Andrews, with acclaimed novelist Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys) turning in a recent rewrite. John Carter of Mars is expected to mix live-action and CGI Martian creatures, and will be a PG-13 epic adventure/fantasy, which is expected to (hopefully) kick-off a trilogy.

Morton, West & Walker

So far I’m good with the cast of this film. The casting agents have successfully managed to avoid “Channing Tatum Syndrome” – i.e., casting an actor and/or actress that immediately lowers the stock of the film in people’s minds. HBO fans are especially familiar with West and Walker from their stints on The Wire and Rome respectively, and the strong impressions both actors made on those shows. (I still remember the first seconds of Rome’s first episode featuring Walker in the buff. Ooo la la!)

John Carter of Mars is reportedly set to start filming this November for release in 2012.

Source: THR via Slash Film

Another casting announcement for the upcoming film adaptation of John Carter of Mars was released today, adding Willem Dafoe’s name to the cast.

Last month we heard the first big casting decisions for the movie which included Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch alongside Lynn Collins (both of whom were a part of X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this summer) as the leads.

Shortly after that, Thomas Haden Church openly revealed in a video interview that he’d probably be playing a “very dramatic role” in John Carter of Mars which has yet to be confirmed.

Dafoe will be playing the role of Tars Tarkas, a green Martian who eventually befriends the protagonist, John Carter, after an unfriendly beginning to their relationship. Tarkas is a warrior and leader of his people and a very unique one at that because he, against the laws and norms of his society, shows compassion and sympathy, and even had a child secretly with the woman he loved (child bearing is a major criminal offense).

A green Martian sounds perfect for the actor well-known for playing the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man film franchise. Speaking of Marvel film characters, four of the actors we’ve heard associated with the movie are all featured as prominent characters in recent Marvel films.

Continuing the trend of casting Marvel heroes and villains, we may now have two from Fox’s X-Men franchise and two from Sony’s Spider-Man franchise. All we need are two from Marvel Studios’ franchises and we’d have some balanced coverage.

I’m a big fan of Dafoe and I think he’s incredibly talented. Adding him to the cast of this movie only helps it in my opinion and from what I’ve read of the role he’ll be playing, he’s a perfect fit.

The film will be directed by Andrew Stanton and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic series of science fiction novels. Shooting begins in Utah this November.

What do you think of the cast thus far?

John Carter of Mars will likely open in 2012 and is set to start filming this November.

Source: THR

It’s just your average Marvel character party this week. Sandman, Gambit and Silver Fox who were featured in Spider-Man 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine respectively will probably be hanging out on Mars come November.

It appears that Thomas Haden Church will likely be playing a part in John Carter of Mars, the upcoming film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic series of science fiction novels. If confirmed, Church will be joining Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins who were just announced to be playing the lead roles in the movie.

According to Thomas Haden Church in a video interview with Reel Talk, he had this to say in response to a question about picking and choosing projects back and forth between dramatic roles and comedic ones:

“I’m probably going to do a huge science fiction drama at Disney called ‘John Carter of Mars’ and that’s a very dramatic role”

Sounds good to me.

Church is a great actor with a great voice and I’ll be happy to see him join the cast alongside Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins. There’s no word yet on who he’ll be playing in the film but as soon as we find out, we’ll let you know.

To see the full interview for yourself, head over to Reel Talk

As for the film’s production, we’ve continually heard that this is Disney’s next major franchise. The film is to be directed by Andrew Stanton and is set to start production this November. Shooting will take place in Utah thanks to a recently approved $5.5 million tax credit. Stanton is choosing this location for filming to have it feel more real and avoid the aesthetic set up in films like Star Wars.

What do you think of the cast of John Carter of Mars thus far?

Source: Reel Talk, /Film

Two X-mutants are heading to Mars!

Taylor Kitsch who played Gambit along with Lynn Collins who played Silver Fox in last month’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine have both been added to the cast of the upcoming John Carter of Mars film adaptation based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of novels.

It looks like playing Gambit was the young Canadian actor’s breakthrough performance as it helped land him the title role in this big budget film (and possible trilogy). Collins will be playing Dejah Thoris, the damsel in distress and heir to the throne of Mars’ Helium kingdom. She is of course the love interest of John Carter.

Directing the film is Andrew Stanton who will be making his debut into live-action with this project. The film will be absolutely littered with CGI effects to bring to life the various creatures depicted in the stories so he won’t be straying too far off the track he set with Wall-E and Finding Nemo.

The film will be rated PG-13 and is hoped to kick off a franchise of blockbusters similar to the size and scale of Pirates of the Caribbean. If this is a success (which I hope it is) Taylor will be hitting it big time and it will help build him a hefty profile which may lead to him getting that Gambit solo film that’s been widely speculated for some time. Up until this point, that film was the least likely of the potential spin-off films by Fox Studios because of Taylor not being very well-known or bankable as of yet. That looks to be changing with this news.

The last we heard on the John Carter of Mars film project prior to today was that screenwriter and novelist Michael Chabon had been hired to help do some revisions on the “already strong script.” With major casting announcements confirmed today, we can expect to see some more major movement on this project and maybe some updates at next month’s Comic-Con. For more information on the film and what the director had to say about it back in January, check out our article on Andrew Stanton discussing the project.

John Carter of Mars will likely open in 2012 and is set to start filming this November.

Source: THR

1. Matthew McConaughey’s production company J.K. Livin is producing a comedy called Exchange Student. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The story revolves around two exchange students, one who ships out from the U.S. and one who comes in, who experience new environments in very different ways: One has the time of his life, the other goes off the rails. The tenor of the project is described as a family comedy with wry overtones a la Wes Anderson.”

Mike Vukadinovich will write a script from the idea that originated with “Bongos” McConaughey, who may also take a role in the film.

The Sahara star will next be seen in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past opposite Jennifer Garner.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Evan Spiliotopoulos will write the sequel to last years surprise smash Wanted.
The writer who previously wrote Pooh’s Heffalump Movie will take over writing duties from Michael Brandt and Derek Haas and Chris Morgan.

The Timur Bekmambetov directed film was based on a comic by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones.

The main question is will Angelina Jolie be written into the script or will it focus on James McAvoy’s blossoming hitman career?

I’d expect every effort be made to have Jolie return – but they might just have another actress star opposite McAvoy.

Megan Fox anyone?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

3. Speaking of Megan Fox, the actress will take the lead role in The Crossing.

“(In the film) a couple returning from a Mexican vacation is carjacked and the husband kidnapped. The wife (Fox) must smuggle heroin across the border in order to spring him.”

No director is yet attached to the Screen Gems production, but several directors have met with the producers. If one is hired soon then the film might start shooting by July.

Megan Fox has a busy year ahead with Passion Plays with Mickey Rourke; Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex and Fathom all on the way.

She’ll next be seen in low budget art house drama Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

4. Screenwriter and Novelist Michael Chabon is doing a rewrite on John Carter of Mars for Disney.
Chabon said:

“I’ve been hired to do some revisions to an already strong script by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews. I wrote my original screenplay The Martian Agent back in 1995 because I wished I could do (Edgar Rice) Burroughs’s Barsoom. So this is pretty much a dream come true for me.”

Andrew Stanton is slated to direct the film which could be released in 2012.

Source: Sugarbombs.com

5. Watchmen star Patrick Wilson has joined the cast of Morning Glory. Wilson will join the stellar line-up of Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Jeff Goldblum in the J.J Abrams produced comedy.

Morning Glory is the story of two warring television anchors (Ford and Keaton) who host a morning television show. McAdams is the producer brought in to try and sooth them and boost ratings. Wilson will play her romantic interest.

The Roger Michell directed comedy will start shooting in New York next month.

Abrams’ Star Trek opens on May 8th.

Source: Variety

That’s it for now. See you at the movies!

But things seem to now be steamrolling ahead as WALL-E director Andrew Stanton revealed in a recent interview with SciFi Wire.

[I'm] deep into it,” Stanton said in an exclusive interview at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award ceremony in Century City, Calif., on Monday, where he accepted the award for best picture of 2008 for WALL-E. “I’m on my next draft of it. We’re in pre-production art-wise, and we’re starting to talk to actors. So it’s full bore.

And as to the question of what form the film will take, Stanton has thankfully answered it:

Yeah, I think [live-action] that’s the only way,” he said. “I mean, there are so many creatures and characters that half of it’s going to be CG whether you want it to be [or not], just to realize some of these images that are in the book. But it will feel real. The whole thing will feel very, very believable.

Other information revealed by Stanton is that the film will most likely be PG-13 and that the script is intended to be no more than 120 pages (which constitutes roughly two hours of screen time).

It’s always great to see a project that has been in development hell for years finally moving forward into and beyond the development stages. And after reading the story outline for it (given below), John Carter of Mars has the potential to be one hell of a fun ride!

Civil War vet John Carter is transplanted to Mars, where he discovers a lush, wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are 12-foot tall green barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior.

Although the Mars novels written by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs have been around for years, I can honestly say that  I’ve never heard a plot for a movie quite like this in a long time (if ever!)…

What’s most interesting about these details is that it will be live-action and not animated, as expected. As Stanton mentions they’ll have to employ a truckload of CGI to bring this story to life – it’s almost like they want to set themselves a challenge by taking the route more difficult to achieve. But then, isn’t that how the best films end up getting made?

It’s also interesting to note that it’s not Pixar who’s behind the project alongside Stanton, but Disney. However, that doesn’t mean any less effort is going to be put into it – Stanton is known, as all of the Pixar directors are, for putting in a full effort; not just directing the project but helping to develop it from printed word and basic designs right up to its debut on the big-screen. And this is definitely a project that deserves a full effort, IMO.

John Carter of Mars is set for a 2012 release. Are you glad that it is finally getting made and that it’ll be live-action instead of animated? Or were you hoping the filmmakers would go in another direction?

Source: SciFiWire and IMDB

Andrew Stanton, the writer-director of the upcoming Wall-E says:

“Everybody’s asking that, and we are not going to make that decision for about a year.”

Man, how long has this thing been in development?

Robert Rodriguez, John Favreau and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’s Kerry Conran have all been attached to direct the film that would follow the adventures of John Carter, a Civil War hero who becomes transported to Mars.

Gee, I always wondered why they called it John Carter of Mars!

Will this film ever be made?

It’ll probably see the light of day at some point, but films like this take a long time to get right – just look at Speed Racer, that took about twenty years to hit the big screen. Okay, maybe that was a bad example but you see what I’m getting at.

Stanton also says :

“I’m definitely writing it … with Mark Andrews, and that’s all we’re doing right now, is just writing it.”

It looks like the film is moving ahead, but it does not bode well at this point if they don’t know what form the film will take. It’ll more than likely be animnation (not the traditional kind) or at the very least a mixture of live action and animation – going by Stanton’s track record. Which slightly irks me, as I would like to see this baby in live action.

Maybe, I’ll get my wish, but I’ll have to wait for a year to find out.

More details as we get them.

Source: Scfi.com

We knew it was in development. But according to our buddies at Jim Hill Media, Disney and Pixar are moving forward with a film-trilogy based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars series for 2012 at the earliest… if not sooner than that.

Mark Andrews (Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Ratatouille) has already written a draft that both Disney and Pixar executives went bonkers over; crazy enough that they’re seriously wanting this to become their next big franchise instead of adapting all seven Chronicles of Narnia books(!?!)

The second Narnia installment Prince Caspian will open this coming May with the third outing, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader slated for a May 2010 release. Beyond that, there are no current plans to bring the remaining four novels to the silver screen. In fact, Dawn Treader might even be in jeopardy unless Caspian does killer box-office.

Now I can’t comment on the John Carter of Mars novels since I’ve never read them (although I’ve only heard great things). But I do think placing Narnia in the summer instead of the more-reliable Christmas release is questionable… at best.

I don’t doubt there is some truth to this. The further they go along with the Narnia films; they’ll get more-and-more expensive. But as long as they make solid box-office numbers, Disney will continue to churn them out. This is the Mouse we’re talking about here, folks!

Source: Jim Hill Media

- Yahoo! Movies has a trailer up for Slipstream, a time travel movie directed by and starring Anthony Hopkins. It looks interesting but I’ll be damned if I can tell what the story is from the trailer. Maybe that’s the point…

- It seems that Brett Ratner will be directing the remake of Escape from New York. Uh oh.

- Vin Diesel as the Terminator directed by McG? I suppose that half of that is good news… And sorry, I just wasn’t in the mood to do one of those half Terminator/half Vin Diesel photoshop jobs that everyone else has attached to this story.

- The Heartbreak Kid is getting killed at the box office and by critics. It got it’s butt kicked by Disney’s The Game which is in it’s second week. As of right now it’s scoring about 30% positive over at Rotten Tomatoes. It’s from the same guys who brought us There’s Something About Mary, and no, the critics aren’t being high-brow on this: The latter scores 80% over at RT.

- The trailer for Sweeny Todd starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter is out. Call me a killjoy but I predict box office doom for this one, even if it turns out to be interesting. There was one brief scene in the trailer that indicated to me this might turn out to be a musical, which is the kiss of death for a modern movie. Audiences just don’t buy the concept any more.

- George Lucas says that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (yeesh, I had to look that title up because I can’t even remember it) will be as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Hey George, I think we’ll be the judge (cough, Phantom Menace, cough) of that.

- Pixar doing a CGI version of John Carter of Mars? Where do I sign up?

- The Thor movie as it is currently written would cost $300 million, and Marvel wants director Matthew Vaughn to trim half of that from the budget. Hmm… maybe they can just reuse styrofoam cups for coffee instead of getting a new cup every time? That should do it.

- Serenity 2? I doubt it, although I absolutely loved Serenity.