I saw JOHN CARTER last night. I went with a certain amount of trepidation but I was completely blindsided at how damned good the movie was. It was not a perfect adaptation of A PRINCESS OF MARS. Elements from the later books have been brought in to flesh out the story, but most everything that I loved about Burroughs' novel was up there on the screen and more!
Aside from a slightly annoying "character Arc" that has been grafted onto John Carter himself, all of the characters were there exactly as they are in the book, particularly the tharks. Far from being merely skinny versions of Shrek, they come across a real beings with emotions from a real culture. Tars Tarkas and Sola in particular are there on the screen exactly as they were in the book.
The filmmakers have had to make concessions to the modern filmgoing audience (hence John Carter having more in common with Clint Eastwood than with earlier heroes in whose mold John Carter was originally written) but they have translated the story so wonderfully and so powerfully upon the screen that it was not onerous at all.
It is an amazing and wonderful film, even in a 2D version, which is all our local theater is showing. (It must have rocked in 3D).
So why is it doing so poorly? Why is it doing better outside the US than it is domestically? Others have posited that a change in studio executives is behind it all. A new studio head has made it his mission to scuttle this film which was given the green light by his predecessor. Disney itself is responsible for its poor performance, not the poor schmucks in the marketing department. They had the marketing right at first. The film was even called John Carter of Mars originally, but it all changed to the marketing campaign that had everyone scratching their heads.
Whatever the reason, I'm afraid that I contributed to that negative buzz with my misgivings and now I must take back anything negative I have previously blogged about this film. All my misgivings have been melted away.
Except for one thing...
As I said, I really loved this movie but there is one thing that has nagged at me and that is that, as a Disney production, Dejah Thoris would necessarily join the ranks of the Disney Princesses. Can you imagine it? Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Princess Jasmine and... Dejah Thoris?
I shudder at the very thought. I think I'd rather drink a cup of hemlock than see that happen.
So if the film does not generate enough money or interest to let that nightmare become a reality, I'm really okay with that. It is a beautiful film and nothing will take that away. A sequel would have been nice, the film becoming a runaway hit would have been nice, but I honestly couldn't face a world where John Carter and Tars Tarkas join Mickey and Minnie on parade through the streets of Disneyland.
I'd rather die in the Warhoon arena.
Still, the film deserves to be seen.
Do yourself a favor: GO SEE JOHN CARTER!
I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio
Well, the results are in and it was a landslide victory for the lovely Lady Leprechaun! I will be celebrating her victory (and the venerable Saint's Day) with a fine bottle of Irish whiskey.
Thanks to all who voted! Check back around Easter for two more lovelies to vote for.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio
I am a bit of an emotional wreck at the moment. I just spent the weekend packing my daughter off on her trip to Europe. It's the first time that she has been so far away from home and at two weeks it will be the longest she's been away.
To top it all off one of the greatest artists in the world, Jean Giraud -- "Moebius" -- passed away. Moebius was one of my early influences as an artist. His inking - his lines -- had few equals. I was introduced to his work, as were most North Americans, through Heavy Metal Magazine. His work was breathtaking and so striking, it had a big impact on myself and my fellow artists at the time. Since then his work has become much better known.
I was fortunate to meet him once in Vancouver and spend a few hours with him. I've been so preoccupied that I have not had time to process what his passing means to me. I had hoped to post the two little drawings that he did for me that day but they are packed away somewhere and I don't have the energy to go hunting for them.
Nevertheless, I know my daughter will have a marvelous time in Paris despite the fact that it is a sadder city today.
I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio
I really wish that I had figured this out myself, because then I would sit back and give you all my "extra smug" look. Alas, I swiped it from the always interesting Eclectic Banana. Where he got it from I know not, but it really appeals to me because all of this 2012 doomsday nonsense really ticks me off.
I look forward to wishing you all a Merry and non-apocalyptic Christmas this December 24th.
I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio
I am so saddened to hear about the passing of Ralph McQuarrie today. He was one of the artists who had the greatest influence on me personally as an artist as well as on the whole look of science fiction today.
It was McQuarrie who got me excited about this "Star Wars" movie that was coming up. It was his pre-production work that I saw first and it was that, more than anything else, that ignited my imagination.
As you can see from these pre-production paintings. McQarrie, more than anyone else, in some ways even more than George Lucas, was responsible for the way STAR WARS ended up. It was his vision that made Star Wars transcend the "children's movie" that it could have ended up as. The whole feel of Star Wars was drawn from George Lucas's imagination but also in a profound way from the brush of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie was 82.
I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio
