John Carter

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**Frazzled**

Evidently it did not do well, and the studio will have to write down a loss. Seems it missed the 17 year old target audience, and hit an older audience. Thats a slight surprise.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/03/box-office-john-carter-lorax-thousand-words.html

**Hulksmash**

It actually did alright for it's opening weekend. Even the Disney people said it did better than expected. Those numbers are friday/saturday (since they were released yesterday afternoon) and don't take into account outside the US. I guess it made something like another 70 million overseas. Disney/Pixar will easily get the money back and profit off it.

More on target I thought it was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will pick it up on Blu-ray when it comes out eventually

**Easy E**

I heard it did 30 mill domestic, and 70 mill overseas. The budget was 250 Million.

Domestically, it was number 2, following the Lorax (and family friendly movie, and 5 or ten top gorssing movies last year were kids flicks).

The movie is projected to make back budget, but the sequel has not been green-lit yet.

**Frazzled**

Hulksmash wrote:It actually did alright for it's opening weekend. Even the Disney people said it did better than expected. Those numbers are friday/saturday (since they were released yesterday afternoon) and don't take into account outside the US. I guess it made something like another 70 million overseas. Disney/Pixar will easily get the money back and profit off it.

More on target I thought it was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will pick it up on Blu-ray when it comes out eventually

Actually they noted the $70mm as well, but that, with the film costing $250mm to make, no way it breaks even. The reviews are panning it pretty badly.

**Kilkrazy**

Evening Standard gave it 2/5.

I would like to see it because I liked the original books and the visualisation of Barsoom looks pretty good from the trailers.

**Bran Dawri**

Melissia wrote:"The Last Samurai".

That's really all there is to say on the matter.

Don't you mean "Dances with Wolves" ?

Though I liked Samurai better, Dances did that particular plot first.
Let's not bother with 3D CGI and blue-skinned aliens, shall we?

**Manchu**

Archaeo wrote:Will we be subject to the "white guy (hero) comes in and saves the day from the native inhabitants that apparently can't win by themselves" argument that has come up from the last few films like this one again (ie Avatar)?

No, this is not the plot at all.

This movie has some great excitement but it's by no means a perfect movie.

For people who like sci-fi action, this is a big winner. It has genuinely thrilling moments.

**Mannahnin**

Yup.

And on a quality scale, way better than Avatar. Avatar has better technology but utterly crap writing.

**Death Gear**

I'll probably see it, just because it was filmed in Utah....lame excuse, I know.

**Zakiriel**

I Agree totally with these, and besides movie critics consistently pan sci-fi and comic book movies.
Also I never go by the critics say so I decide for myself, you might try it some time.

**TheCustomLime**

There is a difference between an enjoyable movie and an "Oscar worthy movie". A lot of movies are made with the sole purpose with winning an Oscar that perform poor to mediocre in the box office, bore the gak out of most people but can't stop critics from loving it. So, I'll watch it. Sounds like an enjoyable movie to watch.

**Mannahnin**

IME most movies which win awards are good. Some are not great, but are being recognized for some particular achievement, like Avatar. Some Oscar-bait movies win more because of politicking and lobbying by the makers than on pure quality. I really enjoyed Braveheart, but there's no way it was the Best Picture of 1995.

**Frazzled**

funny. I am watching Braveheart as we speak.

**Mannahnin**

It's great fun, but it's not a better film than Richard III, Apollo 13, or Leaving Las Vegas. Il Postino is supposed to be great too, though I still haven't seen it.

**Frazzled**

Mannahnin wrote:It's great fun, but it's not a better film than Richard III, Apollo 13, or Leaving Last Vegas. Il Postino is supposed to be great too, though I still haven't seen it.

You mean Ian McKellan's RIchard III? Now THAT was a great film!
Apollo 13 was also righteous. You have good taste boyo!

**Mannahnin**

[tips hat] I could very happily spend a couple of hours watching McKellan and drinking rum with you, sir.

PS: I have been advised in very strong terms that if you like McKellan doing Shakespeare, that this is awesome:
http://www.amazon.com/Tempest-Naxos-AudioBooks-William-Shakespeare/dp/9626343087/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331605169&sr=8-3

**Frazzled**

Mannahnin wrote:[tips hat] I could very happily spend a couple of hours watching McKellan and drinking rum with you, sir.

PS: I have been advised in very strong terms that if you like McKellan doing Shakespeare, that this is awesome:
http://www.amazon.com/Tempest-Naxos-AudioBooks-William-Shakespeare/dp/9626343087/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331605169&sr=8-3

Muchas gracias senor! And my Bday is conveniently just around the corner.

**Mannahnin**

Nice! Seriously; that was recommended to me as the best version of The Tempest available in any recorded media, by a serious Shakespeare snob. (One who is also a big D&D nerd and so our kind of people).

**Frazzled**

Mannahnin wrote:Nice! Seriously; that was recommended to me as the best version of The Tempest available in any recorded media, by a serious Shakespeare snob. (One who is also a big D&D nerd and so our kind of people).

I actually haven't seen the Tempest so its perfect. A nice present idea from the kids.

**Mannahnin**

Well that's an audiobook, bear in mind. If you want a fun version to watch, maybe with the kids, the new one with Helen Mirren as a female Prospera (as opposed to Prospero) is pretty awesome. I bought it as soon as it came out.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tempest-Helen-Mirren/dp/B004M9ZI0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1331605898&sr=1-1

I really like Julie Taymor's take. Her version of Titus Andronicus, with Anthony Hopkins, was great too (though possibly a bit dark and bloody for the kids).

**sebster**

Hulksmash wrote:It actually did alright for it's opening weekend. Even the Disney people said it did better than expected. Those numbers are friday/saturday (since they were released yesterday afternoon) and don't take into account outside the US. I guess it made something like another 70 million overseas. Disney/Pixar will easily get the money back and profit off it.

Buzz from Disney says they most certainly will not get their money back. They're saying they're looking at a loss of somewhere between $100 million and $150 million on John Carter. And those guys do this for a living, and they're shockingly good at telling forecasting total revenue from all formats after just a few days at the box office.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Frazzled wrote:You mean Ian McKellan's RIchard III? Now THAT was a great film!
Apollo 13 was also righteous. You have good taste boyo!

Then you share your taste with the Academy, or at least the Academy of 1995. And yeah, Richard III, Apollo 13 and Leaving Las Vegas were all far superior films to Braveheart.

That said, Braveheart is one of the best fantasy movies of the 90s. Among the worst historical movies ever made, but as a pure fantasy film it's really good.

**Frazzled**

Mannahnin wrote:Well that's an audiobook, bear in mind. If you want a fun version to watch, maybe with the kids, the new one with Helen Mirren as a female Prospera (as opposed to Prospero) is pretty awesome. I bought it as soon as it came out.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tempest-Helen-Mirren/dp/B004M9ZI0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1331605898&sr=1-1

I really like Julie Taymor's take. Her version of Titus Andronicus, with Anthony Hopkins, was great too (though possibly a bit dark and bloody for the kids).

Ayah that one was indeed bloody. The audio version you proffered is good as I drive weekly between cities.

**killykavekommando**

I liked the movie overall, but my big problem was some of the minor elements of the movie. For one, when John Carter decapitated the green guy leader, he swung downward, suggesting that he would have cut him in half or removed an arm. Also, there were some minor inconsistencies in the strength and characteristics of some of the 'original' creatures. Besides that, I loved the movie. The plot was well-planned and the cast was spot-on.

**warpcrafter**

Mannahnin wrote:Saw it tonight, and quite enjoyed it, despite:

A) Loving the books since I was a kid, so I couldn't entirely stifle the urge to compare.
B) Some misbehavior in the theater (sadly by other patrons, though I was somewhat insulated by my own misbehavior with a flask of whiskey).

Woola was great. The fliers were awesome. Dejah Thoris was gorgeous. Much of the stuff that looked a bit wooden and fake in the trailers looked much better in the finished film. The bits and pieces of dialogue which seemed a little cheesy or cliched in the trailers came off better in the movie too.

I'm not entirely a fan of some of the stuff they added and things they changed, but other alterations (like the Therns, and how JC gets back and forth to Mars) worked quite well, I thought.

Kilkrazy wrote:
Amaya wrote:It is a movie inspired by the Barsoom series. John Carter (film) is based on A Princess of Mars. I'm not terribly impressed with the subject matter, it is planetary romance pulp.

Of course it's a lot easier to bring pulp to the silver screen than to do a proper HP Lovecraft film or even miniseries, sadly I will probably die before I witness one.

You will die if you ever do witness one. Or else go mad.

http://cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/index.html

http://cthulhulives.org/Whisperer/index.html

I've seen the silent Cthulhu movie already and while is was alright, I would like to see a big budget literal translation of that movie to the big screen. By the way, thanks for the links, I've ordered a copy of Whisperer in the Darkness and will provide a review as soon as I've viewed it.

**Mannahnin**

**Locclo**

I should ask, am I going to be completely confused by this thing since I hadn't even heard of the source material until this movie came out? I'm planning to see it tomorrow when I've got a couple of hours to kill without a car, and I'd prefer it if I could at least understand what was going on.

**Catyrpelius**

killykavekommando wrote:I liked the movie overall, but my big problem was some of the minor elements of the movie. For one, when John Carter decapitated the green guy leader, he swung downward, suggesting that he would have cut him in half or removed an arm. Also, there were some minor inconsistencies in the strength and characteristics of some of the 'original' creatures. Besides that, I loved the movie. The plot was well-planned and the cast was spot-on.

The casting was great, except for Dejah. In the books she is supposed to be the most beautiful women on Barsoom, while I'll admit that the actress that played her is fantastic looking she isn't in my opinion the most beautiful women on a planet worthy.

I also felt that they did a great job depicting the different races of Mars, Wolla was fantastic and I want one! What I think they kind of missed was the Red Men of Mars not being red enough, this caused them to overcompensate and make John Carter redicously white, much whiter in fact then he is in the beggining of the movie.

And finally my biggest four grips with the movie...

Spoiler:

And finally, correct me if I'm wrong but the 9th ray is supposed to be the part of light that gives it the ability to travel. On Barsoom they use this to give their fliers bouyancey, much like we use helium or hot air in a balloon.

**Vulcan**

That's the '8th ray'. The 9th is used in the atmosphere plants, as I recall.

**Zakiriel**

As with any discussion on what is or isn't canon the phrase so oft run right past and not payed heed to is "Based on". A movie based on another ip ie novels there by becomes its own canon unto itself as it is "based on" but not a verbatum rendering of the original ip.

**Frazzled**

Studio taking a $200mm writedown on the movie. Wo.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d4e15530-720f-11e1-90b5-00144feab49a.html#axzz1pekYab2j