Official Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine
Since 1996 ~ Over 10,000 Webpages in Archive
Volume 3609

ECLECTICA v.2011.08

Andrew Stanton and Cast from John Carter

Entertainment Weekly's Take On JC

John Carter in Imax Imax Corporation and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will be releasing the action-adventure film John Carter, from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton in Imax theatres simultaneously with the film's worldwide release on 9 March, 2012 http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=18868

 

Follow all the news on the John Carter Film at: www.cartermovie.com

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Eve Brent, Prolific Character Actress, Dies at 82
Hollywood Reporter
Eve Brent, whose steady work over 60 years in show business included playing Jane opposite Gordon Scott in two Tarzan films of the 1950s, died Aug. 27 of natural causes at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, Calif. She was 82. The character actress appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, from 1955 pic Female Jungle (as Jean Lewis) to the indie film Hit List, which is scheduled for release in 2012.

Maverick director Samuel Fuller changed her name to Eve Brent when she appeared in Forty Guns, his 1977 Western that starred Barbara Stanwyck. A native of Houston, Brent also had stints in such recent films as The Green Mile (1999), Garfield (2004) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).

She played Jane in Tarzan and the Trappers and Tarzan’s Fight for Life, both from 1958, and was a hooker in Clint Eastwood starrer Coogan’s Bluff (1968). Other film credits include Gun Girls (1957), The Bride and the Beast (1958) and Fade to Black (1980), for which she won a Saturn Award.

Brent’s multiple TV appearances include Death Valley Days, Adventures of Superman, Dragnet, Family Affair, thirtysomething, Highway to Heaven, Roswell, Scrubs and Community. Survivors include a son, Jack Lewis.

Linda Christian Dies at 87
Associated Press/NY Times ~  July 25, 2011
PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Linda Christian, a Hollywood starlet of the 1940s and ’50s who was in Johnny Weissmuller’s last Tarzan movie and the first adaptation of a James Bond novel, but who was probably best known for her marriage to her fellow heartthrob Tyrone Power, died here on Friday. She was 87. The cause was colon cancer, her daughter Romina Power said.

Born Blanca Rosa Welter (some sources say Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer) in Mexico on Nov. 13, 1923, Ms. Christian pursued an acting career in Los Angeles and eventually signed a contract with MGM. Her stunning figure led Life magazine to nickname her the “anatomic bomb.” She made her film debut alongside Danny Kaye in the 1944 musical comedy “Up in Arms.”

Ms. Christian married Power, one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men, in 1949, a year after appearing in “Tarzan and the Mermaids.” Their wedding was held in the Santa Francesca Romana church in Rome, near the Colosseum, and they were later received by Pope Pius XII.  The marriage ended in divorce in 1956. Ms. Christian later married another actor, Edmund Purdom. In 1954, eight years before the first James Bond movie, “Dr. No,” she starred as James Bond’s love interest in the television adaptation of “Casino Royale.” Barry Nelson played Bond. In addition to her daughter, Ms. Christian is survived by another daughter, Taryn Power, and eight grandchildren.

Germany's Constantin Film is swinging into "Tarzan," launching development of a 3D animated feature. The English-language pic will be produced inhouse by Robert Kulzer and  Reinhard Klooss.

Constantin acquired animation rights to the "Tarzan" novels from the estate of author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first book in the series, "Tarzan of the Apes," was published in 1912 and spawned numerous sequels and related works. The character became strongly identified with Johnny Weismuller after he starred as Tarzan in a series of MGM features in the 1930s, helping the Ape Man become one of the world's best-known literary figures.

In "Tarzan of the Apes," Tarzan is born in the jungles of Africa to a stranded English aristocratic couple. When they are killed, the infant is adopted and raised by a clan of apes. He discovers his true origins when he comes upon the cabin of his late parents.

Martin Moszkowicz, Constantin Film's head of film and TV, will exec produce. Ambient Entertainment, which did the animation for "Animals United," will work on "Tarzan."

In 1999, Disney's animated "Tarzan" grossed $448 million worldwide. Warner Bros. and Jerry Weintraub have been developing a live-action "Tarzan" since 2003 and have negotiated with Guillermo del Toro and Stephen Sommers to direct at various points.

Tarzan art from the Holland Meets ERB site:

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COMIC-CON 2011 NEWS

The line up for the Frank Frazetta Tribute Panel
at the 2011 Comic-Con International in San Diego, L-R:
Alex Horley - World of Warcraft and Heavy Metal artist
Thomas Yeates - Edgar Rice Burroughs illustrator
Richard A. Lupoff - Author and Frazetta's Canaveral Press editor
J. David Spurlock - author and Vanguard founder
Greg Spalenka - and award-winning illustrator
The 2011 panel also discussed Frazetta's recently-departed contemporary Jeffrey Catherine Jones.
The first Frazetta Tribute panel at Comic-Con was in 2010 and
featured Mark Schultz, Bill Stout, J. David Spurlock, and Arnie Fenner.
Discussions in 2010 also included Frazetta's long-time friend and collaborator Al Williamson.

J. David Spurlock and Bill Frazetta at Comic-Con International,
promoting the new Vanguard Frazetta Classics line of books.

SALT WATER ON MARS NASA Science News ~ August 4, 2011 A new study of images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggests that salt water may be actively flowing across the surface of the Red Planet. NASA scientists say they have found indications of seasonal salt-water flows on Mars, a sign that water may exist in liquid form during the red planet's warmest seasons.  These results are the closest scientists have come to finding evidence of liquid water on the planet's surface. Frozen water, however has been detected near the surface of Mars. More>>>

Hollywood's apes: monkey puzzle or intelligent design?
Primate directive

Phoenix.com ~ August 3, 2011 Once again, Hollywood is making monkeys of us. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which opens this weekend, marks the seventh in the canon of Ape movies that began with Franklin Schaffner's classic 1968 adaptation of Pierre Boulle's novel Planet of the Apes, a film immortalized by its haunting final image and Charlton Heston's line, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" . . .

Me Cheeta, you Tarzan
It all begins with the prelapsarian paradise of the aforementioned 1918 Tarzan of the Apes. The first of many adaptations of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel about a child raised by apes who would become a "noble savage," at one with his fellow primates, the film opens with the juvenile Tarzan romping stark naked with his simian playmates. In these less innocent times, the sequence might be construed as child pornography.

Followed by Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), the tale inspired scores of movies and will endure until at least 2013, when Warner Bros. plans to release a new version. Meanwhile, other "Simple Simians" films paralleled the Tarzan-Cheeta prototype, often with stories that degraded both the human and primate participants. They included Ronald Reagan and Bonzo the lab chimp in Bedtime for Bonzo (1951); Clint Eastwood and Clyde the orangutan in Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and in Any Which Way You Can (1980); and most recently, The Hangover, Part II, in which the only character to escape with any dignity intact is Crystal the cigarette-smoking capuchin monkey.

But despite this fraternization, all was not rosy in movie-monkey-land. In the same year that Tarzan the Ape Man was released, the man-ape relationship took a fall in Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). Based loosely on the Edgar Allan Poe story, this moody thriller features a homicidal orangutan perverted into its criminal behavior by a mad scientist.
More>>>

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Chimpanzee looks after tiger cubs in Thai zoo
BBC News ~ July 30, 2011
A young chimpanzee has become the unlikely substitute mother for a group of tiger cubs in a Thai zoo.

Dodo, the two-and-a-half-year-old chimpanzee, was trained to feed the cubs from a bottle of milk, and has been doing the job for about a year. But keepers say the cubs will soon outgrow Dodo and they will have to be separated.

Mandrill makes 'pedicuring' tool
A crude "pedicure" carried out by a mandrill at Chester Zoo suggests the monkeys are capable of more advanced tool use than previously thought. Scientists from Durham University, UK, filmed the mandrill stripping a twig and using the resulting tool to clean under its toenails. They published the findings in the journal Behavioural Processes. Mandrills are the fifth species of Old World monkey seen deliberately modifying tools.

Submitted by James O'Brien

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IT'S CATCHING . . .

Rare "Edgar Rice Burrows" Signature ~ Ed must have had a mental lapse.

Tarzan of the Apes: The Adventures of Lord Greystoke, Book One Amazon.ca ~ CDN$9.95 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Fall River ISBN-10: 1435134478 | ISBN-13: 978-1435134478 Product Description The story that launched a thousand movies, TV shows, and plays! A mutiny on board their ship leaves Lord and Lady Greystoke stranded on a desolate African beach with their newborn son. Soon after, the aristocratic couple perishes, leaving the boy an orphan--until the she-ape Kala rescues the infant, names him "Tarzan" ("white skin"), and raises him as one of her own. As he grows, Tarzan schools himself in the ways of both man and beast and rises to become king of the jungle. But when he falls in love with Jane Porter, a beautiful American explorer, he is forced to choose between the two very different worlds. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the 20th century's most popular and prolific writers of science fiction and fantasy adventure tales, publishing nearly 70 novels and numerous short stories during his career. Well-known for his eleven-book John Carter of Mars series, Burroughs wrote 23 novels in the internationally successful Tarzan series.

The Return of Tarzan: The Adventures of Lord Greystoke, Book Two Amazon.ca ~ CDN$9.95 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Fall River ISBN-10: 1435134443  |  ISBN-13: 978-1435134447 Product Description The adventure continues across two continents as Tarzan travels back to England, where he becomes embroiled in royal intrigue and espionage. Later, returning to his African jungle home, he is proclaimed leader of the Waziri tribe--and told about a fabulous lost city full of treasure ruled by a beautiful priestess. The priestess falls in love with Tarzan, but he cares only for his fiancée, the American beauty Jane Porter--and when she's kidnapped by a dangerous tribe of apelike men, Tarzan must use all his powers as king of the jungle to rescue her. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the 20th century's most popular and prolific writers of science fiction and fantasy adventure tales, publishing nearly 70 novels and numerous short stories during his career. Well-known for his eleven-book John Carter of Mars series, Burroughs wrote 23 novels in the internationally successful Tarzan series.

Fall River Press Tarzan Editions Cover Art

Tarzan of the Apes and Return of Tarzan by Daryl Mandryk

A Princess of Mars: John Carter of Mars: Book One Amazon.ca ~ CDN$9.95 216 pages Publisher: Fall River ISBN-10: 1435134486 | ISBN-13: 978-1435134485 Product Description Let the adventures begin, as Captain John Carter finds himself transported to the alien landscape of Mars--where the low gravity increases his speed and strength exponentially. Taken prisoner by Martian warriors, he impresses them with his remarkable fighting skills, and quickly rises to a high-ranking chieftain. But the heroic Carter's powers thrust him right in the middle of a deadly war raging across the planet--and a dangerous romance with a divine princess. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the 20th century's most popular and prolific writers of science fiction and fantasy adventure tales, publishing nearly 70 novels and numerous short stories during his career. Best known for his Tarzan series, Burroughs also wrote eleven novels in the John Carter of Mars series.

The Gods of Mars: John Carter of Mars, Book Two Amazon.ca ~ CDN$9.95 264 pages Publisher: Fall River ISBN-10: 1435134451 | ISBN-13: 978-1435134454 Product Description After his death-defying feats in Princess of Mars, John Carter was forced to return to Earth--but 10 years later, he's finally sent back to the Red Planet. Carter dreams of reuniting with his beautiful wife Dejah Thoris, but first he must join his Martian ally Tars Tarkas to battle a wide array of enemies--including the deadly Pirates of Barsoom on their speeding aerial craft. Amidst all the thrilling swordplay and intrigue, Carter learns more about the ancient theological, racial, and political divisions that have kept Mars in strife for centuries. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the 20th century's most popular and prolific writers of science fiction and fantasy adventure tales, publishing nearly 70 novels and numerous short stories during his career. Best known for his Tarzan series, Burroughs also wrote eleven novels in the John Carter of Mars series.

The Warlord of Mars: John Carter of Mars, Book Three Amazon.ca ~ CDN$9.95 184 pages Publisher: Fall River Product Description The Gods of Mars ended on a cliffhanger, with John Carter's beloved wife, Dejah Thoris, and her former slave Thuvia caught in the clutches of the evil queen Issus. In order to free them, Carter journeys to the frozen wastelands of northern Mars, where new dangers and horrifying creatures confront him. Can Carter overcome the obstacles to rescue the woman he loves…and finally become the Warlord of Mars? About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the 20th century's most popular and prolific writers of science fiction and fantasy adventure tales, publishing nearly 70 novels and numerous short stories during his career. Best known for his Tarzan series, Burroughs also wrote eleven novels in the John Carter of Mars series.

Brothers of the Spear Archives Volume 1 [Hardcover] Gaylord DuBois (Author), Russ Manning (Author), Jesse Marsh (Author) Dark Horse Publication Date: January 31, 2012 List Price: USD 49.99 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Dark Horse (January 31, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1595828214  |  ISBN-13: 978-1595828217 A lost treasure of the Golden Age returns in this gorgeous new volume featuring the work of both Russ Manning and Jesse Marsh! Young Natongo and his adopted brother Dan-El share a bond much stronger than blood, so when they learn of Dan-El's true father and his lost people, they pledge to discover the secret of his birthright together.  Their journey across Africa reveals danger at every turn, but nothing to match the shock of finding Dan-El's home subjugated by an evil witchdoctor. With only each other to fall back on, can the brothers of the spear survive battle, exile, shipwreck, and more to overthrow the usurper so Dan-El can take his rightful place as king?

Scoop ~ August 4, 2011
With a long awaited feature film incarnation finally on the way, we thought we'd take a look at the roots of Edgar Rice Burroughs' favorite man-about-Mars. Despite plenty of novels featuring the maverick hero, did you know John Carter started as a pulp character? It's true. John Carter of Mars first appeared in the pulp publication, All-Story magazine in 1912. And like the character himself, no one's quite sure how long Carter will live.

Here are few interesting facts about the sci-fi and adventure icon:

In the first John Carter of Mars novel, The Princess of Mars, Carter is described as a native Virginian who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War before becoming a prospector in Arizona. Chased by Apaches into a cave, he asphyxiates on noxious gas and, while unconscious, moves toward a "bright red light" that turns out to be Mars.

Once there, Carter meets Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium, one of Mars' capital cities.

A total of 11 Burroughs-penned John Carter of Mars books were published. Marvel revived the character for a short, but well-received run in 1977 with John Carter, Warlord of Mars. Dark Horse also took a take on the character with Tarzan/John Carter: Warlord of Mars in 1996, bringing together for the first time two of Burrough's most famous heroes.

Due to the vagueries of copyright law, some of the John Carter material is in the public domain, which will explain how Dynamite has three Warlord of Mars titles while Marvel has just announced their officially sanctioned version and a movie tie-in. Dark Horse also has a collected edition the reprints the early comic book tales.

Long a dream of many Burroughs fans, it will be interesting to see if the new movie creates more fans for the old stories.

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Mike Hoffman's Latest ERB Project ~ Coming Soon!
Gods of Mars Illustrated
A few sample pages from Hoffman International Store:

John Carter of Mars

White Apes Attack

John Carter and Banth

Higher Truths
Mount Taishan: Mountain of Mountains
China Daily ~ August 10, 2011

                                                                                                                            Photo by Wang Dequan
The breathtaking sunrise over Mount Taishan.

Tarzan may have found his paradise in the African jungle, but he could well have felt at home in majestic Mount Taishan with its sacred temples and stone tablets. Not that 7,000 steep steps are easier to climb than treetops. You see, Tarzan in Chinese is identical to Mount Taishan, both called Taishan. I don't know who came up with the Chinese translation, but whoever did it must have conjured up the image of the archetypal feral child in the Chinese setting. "Taishan in Taishan" could be such a fitting and catchy movie title. I wonder why nobody ever thought about it.

One reason could be: He wears a loincloth and bares his muscular torso. That would have made the emperors very unhappy. While peering down from the top of the 1,600-step 18 Bends, I noticed a couple of young men taking off their T-shirts and letting their perspiring bodies take in as much fresh air as possible. Then again, they were not part of an imperial entourage, just regular tourists who wanted to show off their physical stamina and possibly attract the admiring eyes of beautiful women haplessly sporting high heels. If the men had chutzpah, they could have bowed and asked: "Can I carry you up?" That might have made the ladies into instant Jane Porter fill-ins.

Higher truths

Before Mount Taishan was sanctified by UNESCO for its natural, cultural and ecological significance, it was endorsed by a legion of China's rulers, or those who reigned the small kingdoms that later commingled to become China. As many as 12 emperors, starting from the First Emperor of Qin, paid homage to Heaven and Earth in a ritual called "Fengshan Sacrifices". That's not including the 72 kings and emperors before Qin whose pilgrimages were only briefly noted in history books. This was the mountain favored by monarchs, and where the royal procession went the public followed en masse, to the tune of 3 million annually nowadays.

At 1,545 m above sea level, Mount Taishan is by no means the tallest of China's sacred mountains, but it rises the fastest and is close to the ocean on the east. When the sun's rays fall on the Central Plains, Mount Taishan is among the first to be blessed by its golden hues. No wonder ancient people felt they could touch the sky from its peak. And since emperors were the "sons of heaven", the summit of Mount Taishan was where they communicated with the source of their power.

Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty, who reigned from 140 BC to 87 BC, took the rites very seriously. Before each of his eight trips, he claimed he had to fulfill three prerequisites: first, keep the nation unified; second, maintain peace; third, receive auspicious signs. His entourage included an 180,000 army and his journey made multiple stops at several other mountains, snaking eastward from the then capital city of Chang'an. After he reached Mount Taishan, he would perform a ceremony at the foothill and then leave everyone behind except a few close ones, before embarking on the ascent.

Of the 800 stone tablets found all over the mountain, mostly on the summit, Wu Di left one that did not contain any word, leaving generations of scholars scratching their heads. Eventually people settled on the interpretation that Wu Di considered his own accomplishments, so all-encompassing and far-reaching, that no word could possibly sum it up. He must have had a George Costanza moment when hitting on the wordless tablet idea, something along the line of the Seinfeld character blurting out: "I am speechless. I have no speech."

The pomp and pageantry surrounding a royal procession and the absence of modern transport made it difficult for emperors to travel to Mount Taishan for the Fengshan rite. But to a certain extent, Fengshan is just like the State of the Union address that the president of the US makes annually to the joint session of Congress. It was to report on the condition of the nation and outline the future agenda. Since Chinese emperors were accountable only to Heaven, the ceremony was more than ceremonial; it really meant something.

Now a UNESCO sanctified site,
Taishan has been endorsed by a legion of China's rulers
Photo by Wang Dequan
Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty, who reigned from AD 712-756, broke from convention when he decided not to burn his address at the rite, but carve it in its entirety on a cliff. As he reasoned, he made his address public, so the omniscient Heaven would learn of it even without the transcendental experience of incineration. He said: "I'm here today to pray for the welfare of all the people, not for any personal motive." If you detected a spark of democratic persuasion, you're reading too much into it. His retinue included a cavalry tens of thousands strong, forming a matrix strategically arranged by the colors of the horses. At the end of the rite, the emperor bestowed the title of "King of Tianqi", meaning equal to heaven, on the god of the mountain. Mount Taishan has been personified. In everyday expressions, it implies such qualities as solidity, stability, and gravitas. It is considered the Confucius of all mountains while Confucius is said to be the Mount Taishan of all saints.

Confucius, born in the State of Lu, south of the mountain, in 551 BC, has bequeathed a wealth of wisdom, some of which was inspired by the mountain. One tale had him trekking in Mount Taishan with his disciples. They stumbled upon a woman weeping by the roadside. Asked why she was so sad, the woman answered: "My father-in-law was killed by a tiger. So were my husband and my son." "But why don't you leave this place?" asked one of Confucius' disciples. "Because there are no back-breaking taxes here," she said. From this encounter, Confucius uttered the line that has since become immortal: "Inhumane rule is worse than man-eating tigers."

There are several monuments at the summit marking the sage's visits. "The Platform for Viewing Lu" is where he watched his own kingdom and deplored the crumbling of rituals, a key component of the Confucian system. There is a stele with the inscription "Confucius found the world small".

LATEST INVENTION FROM RAS THAVAS! At last, a Cell Phone for all the aging ERB fans. No text, no photo, no video.