Taylor Kitsch & Thomas Haden Church Joining ‘John Carter of Mars’ Cast?

Suddenly the John Carter of Mars news is flowing like crazy. Thomas Haden Church said on Reel Talk with Jeffrey Lyons that he’d be joining the film, in what he calls a ‘very dramatic role’. He’ll work alongside Taylor Kitsch (as John Carter) and Lynn Collins (as Dejah Thoris, heir to the Martian kingdom). Andrew Stanton will make his live-action directing debut with the film, which is written by Stanton and Mark Andrews, with additional recent work by Michael Chabon.

The actor said specifically that he was “probably going to do a huge science fiction drama at Disney called John Carter of Mars.” We’ve wondered exactly where on the Disney/Pixar line this project would fall, as it hasn’t been anywhere on Pixar’s announced slate. Increasingly, as reports of impending work in Utah have come out, it seems that this is primarily a Disney picture, even if it has Pixar talent. (Stanton and Andrews and, since we still understand that it will feature animation, possibly some other Pixar staff?) Work is set to begin in Utah in November, and Haden Church said that he’d be working on the film in the spring, so that gives some idea of the production timeline.

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‘John Carter Of Mars’ Begins Shooting This November In Utah

After many years in development, it appears that John Carter of Mars is gearing up to begin production. As you know by now, Finding Nemo and WALL-E director Andrew Stanton will be making his live action feature debut with an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1917 sci-fi fantasy novel A Princess of Mars. KLS is reporting that Disney has signed a deal to shoot part of the film in Utah. After the jump I also have exclusive info that Tom Cruise was circling the project for a short period of time.

The screenplay was written by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews with some revisions from Michael Chabon (Spider-Man 2). Stanton began interviewing prospective actors in January, and I even heard rumblings from two good sources that Tom Cruise was seriously considering the project at one point (although I’ve been unable to confirm these rumors apart from knowing he had meetings at Pixar about being part of a potential trilogy of films). Tom Cruise’s representative was unwilling to comment on the matter. Whatever it was that Cruise was brewing over at Pixar’s Emeryville campus, the actor decided it was best to move on to something else — James Mangold’s Wichita.

Back to the shoot, Utah approved up to $5.5 million in tax credits, as Disney expects to spend $28 million in Utah when production begins in November. Stanton has previously stated that he wants to avoid the look and feel of Star Wars or any of its derivatives, and was seeking a “more naturalistic aesthetic.” Utah definitely fits the bill.

Governor’s Office of Economic Development Director Jason Perry says that the production will employ over 400 people full-time for seven-straight months, and that Disney believes the film could become its next big movie series, akin to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Thanks to Matt B and Dan H for the tip.

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Pixar Working on a ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Sequel

I talked to Up director Pete Docter about a month ago and asked him specifically about a Monsters, Inc. sequel. It had been rumored a few weeks prior, so I thought I’d see if I could pin him down on it. The answer was pretty vague: "Basically, the way we approach all the films at Pixar is if we feel like we come upon a story worth telling, we’ll do it. If we don’t, we won’t. So, we’re still looking."

But now Pixar has announced we will see a sequel to Monsters, Inc., and that Docter will be the back in the saddle. The studio didn’t issue a press release, but rather made its intentions known at the recent Licensing International Expo, and "several" attendees notified Disney-centric blogger Jim Hill that they were thrilled to hear the news.

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John Carter of Mars To Begin Casting Phase

Production on the big screen adaptation of John Carter of Mars is progressing. Pixar director Andrew Stanton tells Scifi that they have begun to look at potential actors for the live-action project.

“I’m on my next draft of it. We’re in preproduction art-wise, and we’re starting to talk to actors. So it’s full bore,” Stanton said at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award ceremony on Monday.

And for the first time ever, Stanton admitted that the film will probably be done in live action. This has pretty much been known, but Stanton has remained cagey about the idea in public interviews until now. For example, Stanton told me in June that “I certainly have to keep [live action] an option because that’s one of the avenues on the table that exists.” Of course, the film’s many creatures will be created using CG.

“But it will feel real, Stanton insists. “The whole thing will feel very, very believable.”

Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull told attendees of the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in August that Pixar will not be entering the special effects business.

“We’ve got two projects coming where there’s a live action element. But our view is not that we’re trying to diversify; it’s more that we’ve got a creative vision to try something different, and we want to support that vision,” Catmull said. “Whether or not it goes beyond that we don’t know, but we don’t want to turn Pixar into a live action studio. In fact, the intent is that the special effects will not be done at Pixar… We are not trying to become a special effects company.”

Stanton confirms that ideal, clarifying that the film will be a Disney production, despite much of the pre production process taking place in the Pixar environment. But that doesn’t mean the film will be a dumbed down family film.

“This story of John Carter is not going to be an all-ages film,” says Stanton, who claims the film will at least be PG-13. “If you do the story right, there’s no way you couldn’t.”

Head on over to SciFi to read the full interview. Stanton is saying all the right things, and hey, it helps that he’s created two of the best films of the last decade – WALL-E and Finding Nemo.

Source: /film