Full Length "John Carter" Trailer

Disney have recently released a brand new full length trailer for the upcoming Sci-Fi adventure "John Carter" (formerly titled "John Carter From Mars"), based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Directed by Pixar's Andrew Stanton (Wall-E & Finding Nemo), this new trailer looks like the film has some promise. The original teaser trailer looked a little too Conan for my liking but this final trailer, whilst maybe still looking a bit Conan with a bit of Avatar thrown in, looks exciting and I can't wait for its release in March 2012.

John Carter Of Mars - First Trailer

Walt Disney Studios have just released the first teaser trailer for "John Carter of Mars", due for release 2012. 

John Carter of Mars is inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet Mars, and becomes embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions and discovers that the survival of the planet and its people rests in his hands.


Visit the official website at http://www.disney.co.uk/john-carter


John Carter is a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. 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.

I featured the teaser poster and concept art images a short while back but it's great to actually see what the film is going to look like although I am a little worried....

This is Pixar director Andrew Stanton's first foray into live action film making and although both Wall-E and Finding Nemo were brilliant films they were both Stanton stories but John Carter isn't. It's an Edgar Rice Burroughs story and one I never thought could be brought to the big screen.

Andrew Stanton in John Carter Production Meeting 

copyright Disney

Andrew Stanton is a very strong story man having been involved in story for all 3 Toy Story films along with A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and Wall-E but I am not sure from this trailer if it will match up to his animated work.

To me it looks like a cross between Prince of Persia and Conan The Barbarian and seems to offer nothing new, which is something Andrew Stanton normally delivers in spades. Lets hope I am wrong and to be fair this is just the teaser trailer and there is still a lot of post production to be done before it's release this time next year.

Eamon Butler, former Disney Animator, now Head of Animation 

@ Double Negative discussing some of the props from the film

Disney Revives Philip K Dick's "King of the Elves"

Disney have announced plans to revive a Philip K Dick short story titled "King of the Elves". They had previously shelved the animated feature way back in late 2009 but have today announced  "Horrible Bosses" writer Michael Markowitz will now be penning the script.

The story tells of a band of elves and one dwarf that live in the Mississippi Delta who name a human as their king after saving them from a troll.

"Bolt" Director Chris Williams will act as Producer for the project which has been revived, after many changes to both writers and directors over the past 2 years, thanks to John Lasseter. Disney have also confirmed that "King of the Elves" will be a computer animated feature and not hand drawn and is slated for release at the end of 2013. 

I look forward to Disney's take on a Dick short story. I am a huge fan of his work and I applaud Disney for taking what some may view as a bit of a gamble.

A 'Brave' Move for Pixar - Brand New Teaser Trailer Released

The trailer above is for Pixar's next animated feature, "Brave" which tells the story of 'Merida', a young Scottish Princess who defies her parents by defying an old age custom sacred to the lords of the land.

This film will be Pixar's first fairytale and its first film to feature a female lead. It was originally titled "The Bear and the Bow" and was also originally going to be directed by Brenda Chapman (Little Mermaid, Road to Eldorado) but has now been replaced by Mark Andrews (One Man Band, Jack Jack Attack) and although Brenda Chapman is no longer working on the movie she will be credited as co-director.

It's good to see Pixar giving the lead to a female character. Kelly McDonald is supplying the voice of Merida. She has replaced Reese Witherspoon. The official line from Disney/Pixar with regard to the replacing of Reece was due to scheduling conflicts but I am not so sure. Recording voice characters is not quite the same as filming is it ? I think it was more of a case of Reese not being able to portray a believable Scottish accent. Regardless of that the cast list looks strong featuring the acting talents of Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Emma Thompson and Billy Connolly.

Brave is released in June 2011. Keep an eye out here at 'The Production Diaries' for more information and art as we receive it. So far though it looks pretty good to me.

John Carter Of Mars - First Images

Andrew Stanton is a two time Oscar winning Director from Pixar. Both Wall-E and Finding Nemo won Oscars for best animated feature and he was also co-wrote Toy Story 1, 2 & 3, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Wall-E and Finding Nemo. He was the second animator to be hired at Pixar (after John Lasseter) and is part of Pixar's Brain Trust, which often review and participate in the film making process of non-Pixar films made by Walt Disney Pictures. To say the man is a talented film maker would be an understatement, but Disney are taking somewhat of a gamble with Andrew's next project.

Mr Stanton is currently on loan to Disney and is in the director's chair for his first live action film, "John Carter of Mars", based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs serialisation from 1912. This film is based on the first story to feature the character John Carter from the novel "The Princess of Mars". This is one story that film makers have wanted to bring to the big screen for decades and has its roots as far back as 1931 when MGM tried to turn it into animated rotoscoped cartoons but they failed to impress test audiences.

The rights to the story have been banded about since the 1980's between Disney, Paramount and back to Disney in 2007 again. As recently as 2005 Robert Rodriguez was lined up to direct the story using digital sets from his Sin City movie.

With Disney back in the frame in 2007 they 'loaned' both Andrew Stanton as director and Mark Andrews as writer from Pixar. Principal photography started in January 2010 at Shepperton Studios and finished in Utah in July the same year. The film stars Taylor Kitsch as 'John Carter', Lynn Collins as 'Dejah Thoris' and a strong supporting cast including James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe, Dominic West and Samantha Morton. Michael Giacchino will be composing the score.

This will be a heavy effects laden movie, as you can see from the concept art below but even I was surprised at how long this one is taking to make. The official release date is March 9th 2012 in the US so that gives Disney plenty of time to get it right.....and they will need to as this story is one that Burroughs fan-boys will be keen to see and, if not done right, will certainly make their opinions known !

Here is the official press release from Disney:

From Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter”—a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). “John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. 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.

Click on the Book Cover to read an excellent interview with Andrew Stanton in the LA Times. 

Digital Domain.......the new Pixar ???

Digital Domain, co founded in 1993 by creatures effects god Stan Winston and academy award winning director James Cameron are probably one of the biggest effects houses in the world today. Along with the other big two effects companies ILM and Weta Digital, they are responsible for stunning imagery in films such as "Titanic", "Speed Racer", "The Day After Tomorrow" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Not content with that they are now branching out into film making in their own right with plans to build a $40 million dollar studio in Florida with the aim of following in Sony Imageworks and ILM's recent foray into the world of animation. 

ILM had some recent success with "Rango", which marked their very first attempt at an animated movie. Sony Imageworks on the other hand have more than proved they can compete with the likes of Pixar and Dreamworks with successful films such as "Open Season" and "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs." 

Can Digital Domain capture what these other studios have done.....to be honest the jury is still out with me. Whilst I have admired Digital Domain's work for many years, for me they have always just lagged behind ILM and Weta when it comes to innovation. Also their recent attempt to create a realistic 'young' looking Jeff Bridges in "Tron Legacy" just didn't pay off and left me feeling a bit creeped out with it all, despite all the other effects blowing me away. 

Creepy Jeff

Creepy 'Dead Eyed' Jeff

As you can see from these two pictures there is something a little "Uncanny Valley" about them.

Ok, so a creepy looking Jeff Bridges isn't enough evidence to suggest Digital Domain are not up to the job of creating some stunning looking CGI animated films I will admit but there is more to making an animated film than just making it look good.

Take London based effects house Framestore for example. Aside from supplying some awesome effects work for films such as Avatar, they have also gone down the complete film production route with films including "Harry Brown", "Triangle" and "Me and Orson Welles". However their attempt at animation was the incredibly dire "Tale of Despereaux". A film that starred a very cute big eared mouse but lacked story, script, heart and characterisation. It was one of the worst films of 2008 despite having big names attached to it. It was no Pixar, that's for sure.

Digital Domain are laying all their hopes on their employment of two ex-Disney employees. Animator Aaron Blaise, whose credits include animating "Pocahontas", "The Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast" and directing "Brother Bear" has been hired along with "Brother Bear's" executive producer Chuck Williams. Chuck has been quoted as saying.

  “As Pixar is struggling with sequels and Disney’s struggling to find itself, I think it’s a good time for us to come in with a different point of view with great family films.” 
I reckon most companies wished they were 'struggling' as much as Pixar. Toy Story 3 grossed over $1 billion in 2010 which is no mean feat for any film, let alone an animated sequel. Pixar have not had a failure yet. Despite "Cars" being their least popular film to date, they are gambling on its sequel "Cars 2" and I think it will be a huge success worldwide, plus the marketing side including the toys alone will probably rake in ten times more that what the film will make, so I'm guessing Pixar are a long way from 'struggling' just yet !

Time will tell I suppose and I really do wish them well but please don't try and knock really, really successful companies when you haven't even dipped your toe in the water first.

From Priesthood to Hollywood

In early May Ubisoft games announced they were creating their own film studio: Ubisoft Motion Pictures. To be totally correct it won't be a fully fledged movie studio but more of a production company but there will be an awful lot of potential in this new kid on the block.

Ubisoft are responsible for games such as Assasins Creed, Prince of Persia (already a motion picture released by Disney), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and those wonderful but annoying Raving Rabbids. Although the movie version of Prince of Persia was classed as a flop, it did bring in over £350 million for Disney but that wasn't enough profit for them from a £200 million budget, and to date they have no plans for a sequel, which is a shame because I actually really enjoyed the film and thought it was a great Arabian romp in the same vein as the Pirates trilogy. So will Ubisoft release a sequel through another studio? Who knows, but I hope so. There is a lot of life in the characters and a lot more story to tell.

More importantly though is whether Ubisoft will be able to make any successful films based on video games at all. In the last decade there have some reasonable adaptations such as Tomb Raider and Resident Evil, but along the way there have been some stinkers such as Hitman, Tekken and Dead or Alive (DOA), so Ubisoft have their work cut out if they want to be taken seriously.

So what should they attempt first? Well, the most obvious title in my view would be a movie adaptation of one of the stand out PS3 release titles, Assassins Creed.  The series spawned multiple sequels for various consoles and has sold millions worldwide. There was also a mini movie/series that only had an official release in France and Canada. Called Assassins Creed: Lineage the film is a prequel to the second game and can be viewed on YouTube.

The film actually has a very polished and professional look as you will see from the video so if Ubisoft can create this from a very modest budget I look forward to seeing what they can do with a few dollars more !

Pixar Gets Motoring Again

When it comes to Pixar releases most people agree they are head and shoulders above the rest. Not one of their films has ever bombed but it would be fair to say that the weakest film from them was Cars...and even that was better than most of Dreamworks efforts.

Despite this Pixar have decided to visit the motoring world again with Cars 2. This time the action takes place away from Radiator Springs and heads overseas where Lightning McQueen and Mater compete in the first World Grand Prix. Add in some spying and espionage and I think this could be a lot better and funnier than the original.

With a cast that includes Owen Wilson, Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer and a release date of 24th June for the US and 22nd July for the UK, get a taste of what's in store with these two trailers. The first is the second trailer released by Pixar and the second is the same trailer, scene by scene...but animated in Lego......and why not ?

It's all MARVEL-lous

As anyone reading this site may already know, Marvel (now owned by Disney) are planning something bigger that any other production company has ever planned before. Many characters from the Marvel Universe are coming together from previous films to unite in 'The Avengers', written and directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy). This is known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will resemble a lot from the comics but with some notable omissions.

So lets take it one step at a time, break it down, take a look at some the links and see where we are, shall we ?

WARNING - MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS

The film will feature the following in pivotal roles:

Iron Man - Robert Downney Jnr. plays Tony Stark/Iron Man. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) makes an appearance after the end credits and lays down the foundations of what's to come.

The Incredible Hulk - the second Hulk film sees Ed Norton playing Bruce Banner/The Hulk. At the end of the film Tony Stark (Robert Downney Jnr.) approaches General Ross in a bar regarding S.H.I.E.L.D / Avengers initiative and a possible partnership together. Also worth pointing out that in an alternate opening found on the DVD/Blu Ray Captain America can be seen frozen in ice.

Iron Man 2 - Captain America's prototype shield makes a prominent appearance and is crucial in helping Tony Stark. Nick Fury is featured heavily discussing S.H.I.E.L.D with Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) ends up working for Stark Industries so her character is flawlessly introduced. At the end of the film Nick Fury is seen with Tony Stark in a safe-house. There are multiple monitors featuring, amongst other things, a news report from the college campus featured in the Incredible Hulk (which suggests Iron Man 2 takes place slightly before The Incredible Hulk) and another monitor shows a crater which links very nicely into Thor.

After the credits there is a great scene in which Agent Coulson find's Thor's hammer in a huge crater.

Thor - Chris Hemsworth plays Thor and the basic premise is that Thor is banished to earth with his mighty Hammer. This is found by SHIELD (agent Coulson) and Thor tries to retrieve it. At the time of writing this Thor has yet to be released in the UK but as soon as I have the pleasure of seeing it I will post a full review including easter eggs and clues.

Captain America - Still yet to be released, this is set n 1942 during the second world war Steve Rogers(Chris Evans) is classed as physically unfit to enlist so volunteers for a secret military operation called Project Rebirth. He is transformed into Super Hero Captain America and takes on Hitler's head of advanced weaponry Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). Tony Stark's father Howard is a major character in this film. Joss Whedon has also confirmed that Captain America will arrive in the 21st Century in this episode and not in the Avengers.

So thats what we have so far and it's all looking great isn't it ? All of the actors from the previous films will be getting repeat fees (Samuel L Jackson has signed a 9 picture deal to play Nick Fury) with the exception of Ed Norton playing the Hulk. Rumour has it that Marvel didn't feel he was a team player (which is just a polite way of saying he's a nightmare to work with I suppose) so his role will now be played by Mark Ruffalo. A great choice I think. Mark is a very natural performer in my opinion and will add a lot to the role.I also understand that he will be doing his own motion capture and facial capture so this could be the best looking Hulk yet. The Avengers is set for release in 2012 and I cannot wait !

New Winnie the Pooh Clip on Youtube

Walt Disney Animation studios have recently posted a clip from the forthcoming Winnie The Pooh feature which opens April 15th 2011 in the UK whilst the US will have to wait until July (unusual for the UK to get a WD film first ??)

I think this is a brave move for Disney and I really hope it pays off. In a world of 3D CGI animation, going back to hand drawn for a second time after The Princess and the Frog is a gamble because although 'Princess' was a great film it suffered from being released at the same time as Avatar and we all know how well that did. Also Winnie the Pooh is nothing new and the techniques used are the same as the ones used on other Winnie the Pooh shorts but is this a bad thing ? Answer....No ! 

If is isn't broken, don't fix it. This promises to be classic Disney and I can't wait for it. I am most excited though about Bud Luckey voicing Eeyore. Bud Luckey is a legend in the world of animation. Working for Pixar for many years he was one of the main artists behind the creation of Toy Story's Woody and he also created and directed one of Pixar's best short films ever in the form of Boundin'.

Take a look at both the clip and the trailer (which features music from Keane to great effect) and I don't mind telling you I had a small tear forming in my eye at the end of it. Quite beautiful !

New Pirates Trailer - Johnny Depp Doll & 4 New Posters

Disney have recently released the latest trailer for "Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides" and I have to say it looks great. Don't get me wrong, I loved the previous trailers but they were a little too Depp heavy to get a real feel for the film itself but this one gives us it in spades.

On Stranger Tides will be released in 3D and thankfully it was actually shot in 3D and it won't be an awful conversion (see Clash of the the Titans) and I was lucky to see one of the first trailers in 3D and it looks like this could be one of the best 3D films released yet....even better than Avatar perhaps ?

To see the some superb one sheet posters and a strangely clean Captain Jack Sparrow/Authentic looking Johnny Depp doll continue reading after the jump