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Premiere of "John Carter of Mars" Movie Moved Up

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Disney Director Andrew Stanton
Walt Disney Studios announced in January that they are moving up the release of the "John Carter of Mars" live-action motion picture from the earlier-announced date of June 8, 2012 to March 9, 2012. Director Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie" had been scheduled to open on that date, but is now pushed back to October 5, 2012. 

Century Fox Film Corporation had planned to release director Ridley Scott’s science-fiction film, "Prometheus," on March 9, 2012, which would have been a serious competitor to the rescheduled “John Carter of Mars.” However, Fox just announced that they are moving "Prometheus" to the original release date of "John Carter of Mars." This game of musical chairs may affect the current plans for the 2012 Dum-Dum.

During the 2010 Burroughs Bibliophiles Board of Directors meeting, ERB, Inc's president, Jim Sullos, offered to play a lead in the 2012 Dum-Dum. The Biblio-philes' Los Angeles-area chapter, the L.A. SubERBs, volunteered to help with the planning. The premiere of the "John Carter of Mars" movie was expected to be the centerpiece of the Dum-Dum. With the change in the release date from summer to spring, the impact on the scheduling of the 2012 Dum-Dum is still being assessed.

In other news related to the movie, there are unconfirmed reports that Disney will "retrofit" the movie to 3D. Andrew Stanton, with Pixar Animation Studios, is the director of the "John Carter of Mars" live-action film.

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TARZAN REBOOTED

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The centennial of the first appearance of Tarzan of the Apes is 2012, and a number of events and special releases are planned on the road to the centennial celebration. It was announced in April 2010 that author and screenwriter Andy Briggs had been contracted to produce a new series of Tarzan novels, aimed at capturing a younger generation of readers. The first book, Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy, will be published as a 240-page paperback by Faber and Faber, with an expected release date in June 2011. While not yet available for preorder on Amazon.com in the U.S., Amazon.co.uk in England has now listed the book for preorder at £6.99. Briggs’ biography posted on Amazon. com opens with, “Andy is officially rebooting TARZAN – bringing a fresh take to the beloved Edgar Rice Burroughs character for a new generation of readers,” and reports that the second in the series will be released “during the Tarzan Centenary in 2012.” Details on the plot of the first novel vary. The Amazon.co.uk preorder page has this blurb: “What lies in the depths of the jungle? Escaping a dark secret, Robbie Canler joins an illegal logging team in the Congo jungle. Now they’re under siege from a sinister force. When the daughter of the camp’s boss, Jane Porter, goes missing, they assume bloodthirsty rebel soldiers have kidnapped her. Robbie sets out on a rescue mission – unaware he is being watched . . . Are the rumours of a feral man raised by wild apes true? If so, can the mysterious untamed savage be trusted to help them?”

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A New Illustrated Edition of "Beware!"

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Artist and writer Mike Hoffman, long a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, has recently published a new edition of ERB's novelette, "Beware!," along with an original painted color cover and eight pen-and-ink interior illustrations
created by Mike.

Mike explains how this project came about on the back of the book: "Way back in 1997 I was asked to illustrate an obscure tale penned by Edgar Rice Burroughs for a fanzine. I did the drawings, and a painting, but the project never materialized.

Burroughs wrote the story in 1922, and the tale only ever appeared in print in a drastically altered version in 1939, retitled 'The Scientist’s Revolt' by one SF editor, Ray Palmer." The owner of the original illustrations, Wesley Shepherd, had sent digital copies of the artwork to Mike, which inspired him to publish this edition himself.

The book is available in both a small-format (4¼” x 7”) paperback book of 104 pages (for $11.95 plus shipping) and as a 108-page digital download (for $2.99). Both can be ordered online at http://www.mikehoffman.com/shop/beware.html, payable with PayPal. 

Mike can be contacted at hoffmanintl@hotmail.com to confirm details, if necessary. Payment can also be made by check or money order to Mike Hoffman, 4461 N. Woodburn St, Shorewood, WI 53211-1557.

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15-Foot Thark Sculpture Opens Eyes

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The JCOM website has posted their August 2010 interview of John Cox, head of John Cox’s Creature Workshop (http://www.johncox.net/) in Australia, about a 15-foot Thark sculpture his workshop had created in 2005.

Cox underscored his desire to work on any incarnation of a John Carter of Mars film, and when Paramount Pictures owned the property, he had secured the rights with the film company to produce a full-size sculpture of a green warrior as described
by ERB. Art-directed by Cox and Iain McCaig (who was doing design work for the film at the time), it began as a 20-inch maquette crafted by sculptor David Renn at the workshop, scanned into a computer, and the data used to run a five-axis
milling machine to create sections of the full-size sculpture in polystyrofoam. 

These were then assembled on a steel frame and finished in fiberglass by Renn and fellow sculptor Richard Mueck. Work was done in June through August 2005. The assembly process is shown in a video at http://www.johncox.net/5-axis-video.php.
Sculptor Richard Mueck shows the contrast in scale between an adult human and a 15-foot Thark.

Sculptor Richard Mueck shows the contrast in scale between an adult human and a 15-foot Thark

As Cox explained, “Tars Tarkas is 15 feet tall in the books. I felt he was too tall for many practical reasons. The great white apes are 21 feet tall. The feedback I got from Paramount was that they felt he was too tall! People read 15 feet in a book, but probably imagine 12 feet, and believe me the three feet make a big difference to the overall scale. Other problems were that John
Carter’s head would have been at Tars' groin position, which wouldn't make for a pleasing two-shot [in the film]. Also, with proportionately sized swords, the Thark’s slice-and-dice range was too great. No one could have gotten within striking range of him. His feet were huge and could have kicked you from one side of Mars to the other. At 10 to 12 feet tall, the Tharks become a more feasible adversary.” Go to the website http://www.johncartermovie.com for the complete interview.