John Carter
Lost in our world, found in another.
John Carter (2012)
Production
Budget
$250 000 000
Revenue
$284 139 100
Director
Scenario
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Author
Composer
Producer
Colin Wilson
Actors
Taylor Kitsch
John Carter
Lynn Collins
Dejah Thoris
Samantha Morton
Sola
Mark Strong
Matai Shang
Ciarán Hinds
Tardos Mors
Dominic West
Sab Than
James Purefoy
Kantos Kan
Bryan Cranston
Powell
Short description
Based on the first book in Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom series, John Carter follows a former Confederate captain who is transported from Earth to Mars, a world the inhabitants call Barsoom. There he encounters warring tribes and strange creatures, and becomes caught up in a conflict that threatens the planet's survival. Among those he meets are the warrior Tars Tarkas and the princess Dejah Thoris of Helium. The film is Walt Disney Pictures' adaptation of a story that had long resisted attempts to bring it to the screen.
Andrew Stanton directed, working from a screenplay he wrote with Michael Chabon and Mark Andrews, with Colin Wilson, Jim Morris and Lindsey Collins producing. Taylor Kitsch plays the title role, alongside Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds and Dominic West. It was Stanton's third feature as director, following Finding Nemo and WALL·E, and his first live-action production.
Released in March 2012, the film had a budget of 264 million US dollars and returned 284 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6 out of 10 from around 298,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.4 from roughly 6,300 votes. A critics' rating of 5.8 from 234 reviews places it below the audience scores. The large gap between its cost and its box office made it a notable financial disappointment for the studio.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film crew had to work in challenging climatic conditions – in Hanksville, the temperature rose to almost +50°C. During filming in the desert, the cast and crew consumed over 1360 liters of water daily.
- However, in September 2005, Kerry Conran left the project, and on October 5, 2005, it was announced that Jon Favreau would direct the film.
- The film's premiere was scheduled for 2012, exactly one hundred years after the first story from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian cycle, “Under Martian Moons,” was first published in the magazine “All-Story” (February 1912); and eighty years after plans to adapt the book were announced.
- To bring his vision for the film to a full script, Favreau brought in Mark Fergus.
- After Disney announced that Pixar would produce the film, rumors immediately spread that the adaptation of the book would be realized as computer animation.
- However, at the same time, Paramount was actively developing another high-budget science fiction project – a reboot of “Star Trek.” Ultimately, the studio favored J.J. Abrams’ film, once again shelving “John Carter of Mars.” Despite the project's cancellation, Jon Favreau and Paramount remained on good terms: Favreau was entrusted with directing “Iron Man” (2008), for which Mark Fergus was one of the screenwriters.
- In August 2007, Disney registered several domains: johncarterofmarsthemovie.
- Jon Favreau stated: 1) To remain faithful to the spirit of the book. 2) Despite the abundance of planned CGI effects, to use optical effects, shoot on location and on sets, thereby moving away from the idea of filming the entire movie against a blue screen. 3) To build the film's plot in a completely different vein, focusing first on the character and only then on the adventures. Favreau cited “Planet of the Apes” (1968) as an example, telling the story of a character’s personal journey in an unusual world, learning about the culture and society of another civilization, ultimately understanding them and beginning to interact with them. He planned to apply the same approach to the adaptation of “John Carter of Mars.” 4) To use mechanical effects alongside CGI effects extensively. 5) To move the action from the twenty-first century back to the time of the Civil War. 6) To adhere to the book regarding the creation of the image of the three/four-meter-tall Martians (previously it was assumed that the Martians would be the same height as Earthlings).
- In the late 1950s, Ray Harryhausen expressed interest in directing the film.
- In March 2008, Andrew Stanton completed the first draft of the screenplay.
- Clampett and Burroughs enthusiastically immersed themselves in pre-production of the film, creating sketches, miniature sculptures of the characters, drafting the screenplay, and even making black-and-white test footage intended to demonstrate their vision for the book's adaptation. Burroughs and Clampett envisioned the future film as serious science fiction. However, MGM Studios saw the film in a completely different light – as a light comedy with a mischievous hero. This clash of visions led to the project being shelved after a year.
- The film is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel "A Princess of Mars" (1911).
- "John Carter of Mars" resurfaced on the cinematic horizon in the 2000s, when the colossal success of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" prompted many studios to revive old projects in the fantasy genre.
- Having convinced Paramount Pictures to buy back the rights to the adaptation, James Jacks and Sean Daniel hired Mark Protosevich to write the screenplay.
- In the 1970s, before 'Star Wars,' George Lucas was interested in directing the film.
- Kerry Conran brought in Ehren Kruger to work on a new version of the script. Kerry and Ehren planned to modernize the story, making the plot more contemporary.
- During the battle scene in the arena, the protagonist John Carter could have easily freed himself from his shackles, as the ring embedded in the stone to which John was chained was not closed.
- Throughout 2005, pre-production of the film was actively underway: concept art was created, and locations were scouted, with most of the filming planned to take place in Australia.
- In April 2006, Mark Fergus completed the script, and Jon Favreau created a blog on MySpace specifically dedicated to the future film. It was under Favreau's leadership that the project came closest to finally being realized on the big screen.
- Serious discussion of the project resumed only in the 1980s, when Disney decided to make a live-action film on the wave of success of "Star Wars" and "Conan." Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were tasked with writing the screenplay. Mario Kassar and Andrew J. Vajna were to produce the film at their Carolco studio. John McTiernan was offered to direct, and Tom Cruise was planned for the lead role. However, the significant production scale and the imperfection of special effects at the time prevented the project from moving forward.
- After Rodriguez's departure, the studio hired Kerry Conran as director, who had recently filmed "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (2004) using similar technology to "Sin City" (2005).
- In 2006, rumors circulated that Robert Zemeckis might direct the film, using the technology he employed in “Beowulf” (2007) and “The Polar Express” (2004).
- In 2004, a scandal erupted during the filming of "Sin City" (2005) when Robert Rodriguez decided to withdraw from membership in the "Directors Guild of America." After Robert left the guild, Paramount had no choice but to remove him from directorial duties, which they did in May 2004.
- In 2003, Robert Rodriguez joined their team, agreeing to direct the film and, along with his wife Elizabeth Avellan, to serve as one of the producers. According to Rodriguez, he planned to begin filming in early 2005 with a possible title of "Princess of Mars" or "John Carter of Mars." Robert wanted to film using the same technology as "Sin City" (2005) – digital cameras against a blue screen.
- In the 1990s, Jeffrey Katzenberg expressed interest in the project, but it didn't progress beyond discussion.
- In 2006, Paramount decided not to renew its rights to adapt the book, which were reacquired by Disney in 2007.
- In October 2007, it was officially announced that Andrew Stanton would direct the film, and if it was commercially successful, the studio intended to make a trilogy.
- In early 1931, Robert Clampett – the creator of Porky Pig and many Looney Tunes cartoons – proposed to Edgar Burroughs to adapt "John Carter of Mars" into the first full-length animated feature film in history. Burroughs accepted the offer.
- The film is dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
