By all rights, the title character in Disney's John Carter should need no introduction.  After all, he is the central figure in a series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs that had a profound influence on some of the most popular entertainment of the last century.  The character first appeared in serialized form a hundred years ago, in a story that would be collected as the 1917 novel A Princess of Mars.  The collected Barsoom novels – so named for what Burroughs' Martian natives call their planet – have influenced virtually every science fiction story since, at least those stories more concerned with grand adventure than scientific rigor.

Many different creative teams have attempted to adapt A Princess of Mars over the decades, and at a certain point it began to seem impossible to do justice to the story.  Today, the film finally arrives at theater across the nation.  Andrew Stanton, the Pixar director behind Finding Nemo and WALL-E, is the helmer who finally made it happen.  His take on the material stars Taylor Kitsch as Carter, a Civil War veteran who finds himself inexplicably transported to Mars, where he finds warring city-states, nine-foot tall four-armed aliens called Tharks, all manner of alien creatures, and Dejah Thoris, the princess played by Lynn Collins. 

Stanton, Kitsch, and Collins were all present, along with actors Willem Dafoe and Dominic West, at the John Carter press junket in Scottsdale, Arizona.  While most junkets take place at posh hotels in Los Angeles, this one went down against an appropriately Mars-like desert backdrop, putting everyone into a Barsoom kind of mood.  IAR sat down for roundtable interviews with Stanton and his cast, who discussed the challenges of adapting Burroughs' stories, the need for physical stamina, the demands of epic adventure, big stunts, and acting whilst wearing stilts.

Opening in theaters on March 9th is the new 3D science fantasy film John Carter, which is based on an eleven volume series of novels entitled Barsoom by legendary author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie is helmed by Academy Award winning director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) and stars Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the title role. John Carter also features a supporting cast that includes Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man), Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3), Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Dominic West (300), Ciaran Hinds (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), Bryan Cranston (Drive), and Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).  

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had the rare chance to travel to Scottsdale, Arizona to speak with actors Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, and Dominic West about their work on John Carter. The actors discussed the new film, their characters, Kitsch's pressure to become John Carter, his first meeting with director Andrew Stanton, why Collins did not use the original source material to create her character, the film's use of visual effects, and West's attraction to playing villains.

Synopsis: The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Opening in theaters on March 9th is the new 3D science fantasy film John Carter, which is based on an eleven volume series of novels entitled Barsoom by legendary author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie is helmed by Academy Award winning director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) and stars Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the title role. John Carter also features a supporting cast that includes Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man), Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3), Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Dominic West (300), Ciaran Hinds (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), Bryan Cranston (Drive), and Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).  

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had the rare chance to travel to Scottsdale, Arizona to speak with two-time Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe about his work on John Carter. Dafoe discussed the new film, his unique character, how he prepared physically for the role, CGI versus live action, and director Andrew Stanton's passion for the project. 

Opening in theaters on March 9th is the new 3D science fantasy film John Carter, which is based on an eleven volume series of novels entitled Barsoom by legendary author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie is helmed by Academy Award winning director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) and stars Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the title role. John Carter also features a supporting cast that includes Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man), Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3), Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Dominic West (300), Ciaran Hinds (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), Bryan Cranston (Drive), and Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).  

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had the pleasure of traveling to Scottsdale, Arizona to speak with director Andrew Stanton about his work on John Carter. Stanton discussed the new movie, it's groundbreaking title, not compromising the original source material, making his dream project, casting Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, and the possibility of the film becoming a franchise. 

With just days until the movie actually arrives in two-dee, three-dee, and IMAX, Disney has unveiled no less than ten whole minutes of John Carter. 

It has taken almost a century to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs' incalculably influential tale to screens, but if you can't wait four or five more days to see one-thirteenth of Andrew Stanton's take on A Princess of Mars, then today just happens to be your lucky day.

There's been plenty of talk about the marketing efforts of Disney to sell John Carter, the theatrical adaptation of A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs's massively influential first novel of the epic happenings on Mars, aka Barsoom.  Whatever anybody's beef, it can't be a lack of effort, though.  Here we are with just over a week and a half until the film actually arrives, and Disney has thrown-down the most action-packed trailer yet.  This last theatrical trailer plays up the huge scope and Carter's leaping abilities, while also giving some sense of the conflict at work and allowing Mark Strong to some good growling as villainous Matai Sheng.

Just a few hairs under a hundred years since Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars first saw publication and kicked off the Barsoom series, influencing almost all subsequent science fiction, an adaptation is now only two weeks from hitting theaters.  With the release of John Carter just around the corner and the promotional machine running like mad, almost five minutes from the film have emerged online in the form of an extended clip and an accompanying sizzle reel.

Nobody likes being the subject of embarrassing or potentially damaging rumors, particularly when those rumors involve assertions that their own professional inexperience led directly to an excessive production on a major motion picture.  For the last half a year, stories have circulated suggesting that next month's John Carter was a money-hemorrhage for Disney, and that director Andrew Stanton's live action debut ended up costing almost twice as much as its original, already hefty, price tag.  Naturally, Stanton and his producers are looking to clarify the process and have denied those rumors.

Opening in theaters on March 9th is the new 3D science fantasy film John Carter, which is based on an eleven volume series of novels entitled Barsoom by legendary author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie is helmed by Academy Award winning director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) and stars Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the title role. John Carter also features a supporting cast that includes Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man), Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3), Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Dominic West (300), Ciaran Hinds (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), Bryan Cranston (Drive), and Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).  

IAR's very own Rocio Anica recently had a chance to speak with costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo (Avatar) about her work on John Carter. Rubeo discussed the new film, creating its exotic wardrobe, and she even gave Anica a tour of some of the fantastic costumes that she created for the upcoming film.