OK really, you all went to see Captain America and no one mentions the John Carter from Mars trailer?
Well, it was the best spoiler of the day…so thanks.
Fixed stupid link
I saw a poster but no trailer, so yeah, I never mentioned it. Thanks for the link, though!
It should be John Carter of Mars but it isn’t. That seems like it would draw more people than just his name by itself.
Pfft, they probably didn’t even shoot it on Mars.
To be fair, the poster I saw has three stylized letters, J, C, and M–and not much else.
I agree, it seems like the trailer went out of it’s way not to explain what they movie was really about. Even the idea that it was another world, let alone mars, seemed almost … hidden.
That is the most humorously fail linking I’ve seen.
It looks interesting, but I have to wonder at how they will market this. The average moviegoer likely has no idea who “John Carter of Mars” is, or even Edgar Rice Burroughs for that matter. The trailer’s shift between late 19th century America period movie and what appears to be an Arabian inspired sci-fi fantasy movie could be too odd for some people. The trailer gives off a mild Flash Gordon vibe, which isn’t a bad thing neccessarily.
Perhaps with Cowboys and Aliens having warmed people to the idea of a sci-fi period piece this movie won’t have as much trouble luring in moviegoers. Still, I think it’s going to be a tough sell based on such an old IP with such a giant leap of plot logic. I’ll probably see it though if opening weekend reviews are kind.
Well, it is a March movie.
Just FYI since the trailer strangely makes no mention of it, this is the live-action directorial debut of Andrew Stanton, the Pixar alum behind Wall-E and Finding Nemo.
That actually makes it a lot more interesting, and I love Burroughs. Can Hollywood make a good John Carter movie? Probably not. But Andrew Stanton raises my eyebrows a little.
Geoff
Let’s see - largely not stars cast, Disney, been in post-production for quite a long time, 3D, was a summer 2012 film and now its set for March.
We can hope, but optimism should not be high.
It may not have huge names, but it’s still a great cast: Bryan Cranston, Samantha Morton, Thomas Haden Church, Ciarin Hinds, Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, James Purefoy, Dominic West.
Andrew Stanton directing, cowritten by Stanton and Michael Chabon.
I dunno, I feel pretty comfortable being optimistic.
I should be clear that while it may end up being a fine movie, all signs indicate that Disney doesn’t think it will be a financially successful movie. Pulling it from the summer to spring is a good indicator of lack of confidence, and my point with the lack of stars is that they can’t sell the movie based on that. And the John Carter background has a very limited appeal in 2011 (or 2012, as it were.)
That doesn’t mean it can’t be successful in March, just that history doesn’t favor it.
As far as how good it will be just as a film, your “great cast” list doesn’t include either of the leads. Flash Gordon, for example, had a pretty good cast outside the leads as well. That could sink it. Or bad effects. And Andrew Stanton makes it worth following, but hardly proves it will be good as he has no track record in live action films. Not to mention that what he’s actually directed were two films - A Bug’s Life as co-director and WALL-E as director. All his other Pixar stuff was in other duties.
We’ll see.
Disney is hoping for a repeat of Alice in Wonderland, a March release that cracked a billion globally.
After Cowboys and Aliens, I’m surprised to see someone could combine scifi and western aesthetics without coming off as silly.
Eh, A Princess Of Mars wasn’t a western at all, but more like space opera starring a character who came from the old west.
He is credited as director for Finding Nemo as well.
The first half of WALL-E was up there with the best movies I’ve ever seen, so I have high hopes for this.
Before I saw the trailer, I thought, “Hm. Disney. So much for DT being nude.”
Then I saw the trailer and thought, “Well, at least I can see her eyes kinda.”
DT? I puzzled over this for several minutes before I realized it was short for Dejah Thoris. You are setting the bar kind of high, Wand.