MOVIE PREVIEW - John Carter
Geek Syndicate were lucky enough to get a special invite to a sneak peek at John Carter staring Taylor Kitsch and have to agree that this is one film worth waiting for. The event was kicked off by the producer telling us about the history of Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian Adventures of John Carter. He then discussed the cast and the director Andrew Stanton whose background has up till now been in animation at Pixar. To be more precise he has been involved in all three Toy Story’s and has directed Finding Nemo and Wall e. It was while completing Wall e that he started to search for his next project and he looked to his past and his childhood which is where his love of John Carter started. The screening involved a few clips from the film which showcased various aspects of the story. The first was set during Carter’s time on Earth
Geek Syndicate
ment of a animation director stepping into real life filming and had nothing but praise for Stanton. There was talk about the location filming in Utah which I have to agree was an inspired choice as it looks vast and alien like on screen. Various other questions were asked including the change of title by dropping Mars but overall you can tell this is a movie that a lot of people have faith in and from what I saw they have good reason to. Initially I had reservations about this film but now I have hope that this could be the sleeper hit of the year.
before he arrives on Mars and shows us that there is more humour than first believed in the script. The other clips range from a first encounter to a prison break to a final stand and lastly a gladiatorial fight against the white apes. All o f these showed great promise for what could be a blockbuster with a heart and soul. At the end we were treated to the full trailer but in 3D which was a great idea as I was truly impressed by the 3D on display. I have seen quite a few 3D films some of which were filmed in the format and some that were converted post production all of which none have really grabbed me apart from animated films. John Carter, however looks like it could be a winner in 3D and I was suitably impressed. Finally we had a Q&A with the visual effects supervisor and animation supervisor and John Carter himself Taylor Kitsch They all discussed the appoint-
Christophe Montoya
67