Harry Knowles is a very shrewd guy. He didn’t post the Kerry Conran John Carter Presentation video for his simple amusement. Recall, if you will, that Knowles was attached as a producer to the Conran/Paramount version, and is a huge fan of the underlying Edgar Rice Burroughs source material. He’s about as influential in geek circles as anyone, and a great ally to all who treasure Burroughs and Barsoom…and to a lesser extent, to those who treasure Barsoom a la Stanton.
So did he put this showreel out there now just to lament what might have been?
My thought: No.
If you journey around the web and look at all the sites that have picked this up, one thing you will note is that yes, while there is a lot of “this would have been a lot better than Disney’s version” lamenting going on, what may be more significant is what is not there, in the articles or the comments.
What’s significant is the absence of the kind of delirious schadenfreude driven hating that was so much a part of the coverage of the release and aftermath of Disney’s John Carter. If you cruise around and read, while there is some bashing of Disney, there is no bashing of ERB and the whole idea of a John Carter film enterprise is treated with respect. And by the way — boy did Harry Knowles ever get bashed on his own site about his obsession with John Carter. Worse than what I get here from MCR The Crusty But Lovable Contrarian.
So my thought is … posting this luscious video in HD is quite possibly (probably) the first salvo in the discussion, in broader circles than here on this site or within the ERB universe, of the future of John Carter.
Has the rehabilitation of John Carter as a viable film enterprise begun?
Something like that.
I see is the beginning of a conversation about how good John Carter (of Mars, dammit) could have been, and that leads naturally to — how good a future John Carter (of Mars, dammit), shorn of the Disney shackels could be.
Knowles is interested in having that conversation happen.
So am I, obviously.
So thanks, Harry. I think you quite possible have sent out a little ripple that will have an impact. It might take time, but you have breathed some life into the franchise that could be…..
