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Andrew Stanton Reflects on John Carter

Andrew Stanton, Director John Carter

Director Andrew Stanton is back in Emeryville working on a sequel to Finding Nemo, but he took some time to talk to the LA Times to reflect on the box office disappointment that was John Carter. My initial review of the movie was positive, even glowing. I’ve since backed down, finding the DVD a bit difficult to watch through in its entirety.

Reading the article makes the way this project was produced sound a bit unusual, but that’s Hollywood for you. Disney essentially gave Stanton a green light and no further supervision, notes or interference. Stanton said that the Carter sequel he had planned won’t happen and that he got caught in the differences between how Pixar did things and how Hollywood does things.

The Times article says Stanton is “proud of his film and hopes, optimistically, that it joins the ranks of movies such as “Blade Runner” and “The Wizard of Oz,” which took years to find their audiences.” I’m not as optimistic, what about you?

5 thoughts on “Andrew Stanton Reflects on John Carter”

  1. I watched it for the first time on DVD last night. I thought it was OK, just too long. After reading the LA Times article, I wonder why he didn’t make it an animated film?

  2. Well, since you asked, I would like to say, and as with Stanton’s last interview with the LA Times, not once does Stanton say that he is doing a Finding Nemo 2 (whether he is or isn’t, this was never mentioned), and Stanton nor Disney has NEVER mentioned that there will not be a John carter Sequel. In fact, the previous interview, Stanton tweeted….”Don’t believe everything you read….” Writers seem to put their own spin on these interviews. In fact, if you were aware of the John Carter and Back To Barsoom community, you would all know differently. The fact now is, this film has made approx $300 million (and climbing) between box-office and DVD sales. And, there are thousands and thousands of fans all over the world who are supporting John Carter. I won’t try and talk you in to seeing, buying, or renting this film, but it would be nice if people, writers and others did some research and got their facts straight (even the LA Times!).

    1. This makes my heart happy. I did not enjoy the movie, however. Not only do I hope this finds its own “cult-like” audience in the future, but I hope I like it in the future. I am going to intentionally not watch it for a few years.

      Also, I’m on your side with FN2. I say that we instead generate rumors that NEWT is back in the pipeline and see if we can get some critical mass going. Then, maybe Pixar will reconsider it!

  3. I saw it once – it was pretty interesting. Don’t get me wrong, it was precisely what I looked for in an intense live-action film. Sure, the violence is rather high, but all else is pretty much kept to a minimum, unlike most PG-13 films, which have a high abundance of foul language from time to time.

  4. If John Carter was a terrible movie and failed miserably, and all the Pixar films you took part in were huge sucesses, why make a JC2? It just yells ‘FAIL’. GO BACK TO PIXAR!! :)

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