John Carter was a film which in many ways, suffered from an unprecedented amount of bad press and industry back-lash. This is a subject that's been dissected numerous times before so I'll avoid that here. Instead, we'll hear from actor Willem Dafoe about what he thinks derailed the film and what he thinks about a possible sequel---
On the film's inability to capture a wide-spread audience:
Dafoe: "You don’t like to publicly lament disappointments too much, but I’m still kind of scratching my head over it. For me, I thought ‘John Carter’ really captured something. It was very pure in its approach. It was classical. It wasn’t hip and cool. It was really from the source, and I appreciate that.”
A possible reason why:
Dafoe; "“In my experience, sometimes a movie just hits at the wrong time, gets the wrong press, or gets the wrong representation, and it gets misunderstood. Sometimes it’s hard for people to really decide, too. There’s so much reporting about the business and that other stuff, that they really get distracted by some of those things, and then it influences some of the weaker-willed people to not have their own opinion.”
On the likelihood of a sequel:
Dafoe: "It sure doesn’t seem like [there will be a sequel], which is a shame. This was the set-up for what could be a great series of movies. . . I was looking forward to doing a sequel, though, because I know something of where the story goes and the character of Tars Tarkas. He’s big, and the relationship with John gets more intense.”
There are some who point the blame at lead Taylor Kitsch and now have the relatively unsuccessful Battleship to support their argument. Others will point the finger at a fairly large budget or at a change at the top of the studio regime. Regardless, I believe John Carter deserved better and hopefully Disney can decide to continue on with some changes to the cast and budget. What do you guys think, should Disney try again with John Carter?
[Source:
IFC via
IndieWire]
Running Time: 2 hours and 3 minutes
Release Date: 9 March 2012 (USA)
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Thomas Haden Church and Willem Dafoe
Directed By:Andrew Stanton
Written by: Andrew Stanton (screenplay), Mark Andrews (screenplay, )Michael Chabon (screenplay) and Edgar Rice Burroughs (story "A Princess of Mars")
John Carter is a 2012 Disney-made epic science fiction film featuring John Carter, the heroic protagonist of Edgar Rice Burroughs' 11-volume Barsoom series. The film marks the centennial of the character's first appearance in 1912.
Former Confederate captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is mysteriously transported to Mars ("Barsoom") where he becomes part of a conflict between the various nations of the planet, whose leaders include Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). Carter takes it upon himself to save Barsoom and its people.
The film is the live-action debut of director/writer Andrew Stanton and is co-written by Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon. It is produced by Jim Morris, Colin Wilson, and Lindsey Collins, and scored by Michael Giacchino.
Upon release, John Carter received a mixed critical reception and performed poorly at the domestic box office, although it did show strength overseas, particularly in Russia where it set box office records. Disney attributed the $160 million swing from profit to loss in its Studio Entertainment division in the quarter ending March 2012 "primarily" to the performance of John Carter.