In a series of recent interviews, actor Willem Dafoe discussed his role of Tars Tarkas in the forthcoming Disney film of John
Carter of Mars, directed by Andrew Stanton. He said he looked forward to playing a ten-foot tall green Martian with four
arms, especially since the “Pixar people” of the studio have done a thorough job of research and know how to protect the actors.

Dafoe has read the book, A Princess of Mars, and intends to read the rest of the Martian series before shooting begins.
He will probably be given two extra prosthetic arms and a special voice. He said that Tars Tarkas and the human actors will
be intermingled playing real scenes, not by computers. Although Dafoe’s actual face will be used, it will be “enhanced”
similar to James Cameron’s current film Avatar. He said that he and the other actors are now attending “Thark School” to
work out the details. They will have time, since the film is not scheduled to be released until 2012.

Meanwhile, Disney Studios contacted the Burroughs Memorial Collection in Louisville for permission to send researchers
to gather background material for John Carter of Mars. 

... "Ye Editor"

Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris), Taylor Kitsch (John Carter), and Willem Dafoe (Tars Tarkas)
in a composite against Frank Frazetta's background painting.

The actor best known for his portrayal of Tarzan won five Olympic gold medals in swimming, and he was an excellent golfer. 

He made five holes-in-one and once shot 63 at Lakeside. 

He was also a regular at Bel-Air, where he would sometimes run up onto the rocks to the left of the fourth hole and deliver his famous Tarzan roar.

(The creator of Tarzan, author Edgar Rice Burroughs, was also a keen golfer who briefly acquired a course during the Depression— what is now the El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif.)

For more see below:

When the 50th year of the Burroughs Bibliophiles arrived, I decided it was time to have a commemorative plaque made. When the Stephen Fossler Company of Crystal Lake, Illinois sent me a serendipitous offer, I jumped at the chance.

The plaque is pictured here, and will remain in the Burroughs Memorial Collection until a permanent home is established for Burroughs Bibliophiles, Inc.