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‘Ishtar’ Lands on Mars ('John Carter' a colossal bomb for Disney, $165M writeoff, layoffs...)
NY Times ^ | 3/11/12 | BROOKS BARNES

Posted on 03/11/2012 1:32:54 PM PDT by jimbo123

-snip-

“John Carter,” a big-budget science fiction epic from Walt Disney Studios that opened Friday and flopped over the weekend. Disney spent lavishly (some say foolishly) on the movie in large part to keep one of its most important creative talents happy: Andrew Stanton, the Pixar-based director of “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E.”

“John Carter,” which cost an estimated $350 million to make and market, and was directed by Mr. Stanton, took in about $30.6 million at the North American box office, according to Rentrak, which compiles box-office data. That result is so poor, even when factoring in about $71 million in overseas ticket sales, that analysts estimate that Disney will be forced to take a quarterly write-down of $100 million to $165 million.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: andrewstanton; barsoom; disney; edgarriceburroughs; findingnemo; hollyweird; johncarter; pixar; walle; waltdisneystudios
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To: jimbo123

I just saw it this afternoon, the NYT is wrong as usual, they are treating it like it starred Sarah Palin.

it was good, it was nearly faithful to the original script from almost a century ago and where they did some changes it felt right, the special effects are original and the costumes should win awards.

Here is my take, liberals hate it and thus the bad reviews.

And it screams to become a trilogy, Disney did good on this, its Obamas fault for making it too expensive to leave home to go see this.

I again enjoyed it, not quite as good as Indiana Jones or Star Wars but its not a flop, they just want us to think it is.


161 posted on 03/11/2012 6:37:33 PM PDT by Eye of Unk (Liberals need not reply.)
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To: GOPsterinMA

Got knock down a 12 pack to get in that mode..


162 posted on 03/11/2012 6:50:08 PM PDT by GSP.FAN (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints.)
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To: GSP.FAN; Impy

PBR, my FRiend!


163 posted on 03/11/2012 6:51:51 PM PDT by GOPsterinMA (The Establishment is the establishment.)
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To: cripplecreek

Since they apparently went out of their way to make this movie just for a handful of us oldsters I’ll probably even go to the theater to see this one (which I don’t often do these days).


164 posted on 03/11/2012 7:06:12 PM PDT by The Duke
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To: cripplecreek

I saw that movie on Sci-Fi, and I remember just how angry it made me...

I’ve been dying to see this, especially after seeing the 10 minute “scene” on YouTube. It’s from the opening of the story, and while there are some minor story differences, it looks pretty cool, and I can’t wait to see it.

But it will have a lot to live up to. I learned to read on the John Carter of Mars books by ERB, and to this day (I’m 50 now) I’ve still got a HUGE crush on Thuvia!

Mark


165 posted on 03/11/2012 7:41:19 PM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: pjd
. It might be a little corny, but you have to remember that these stories were written more than 50 years ago and copied many, many times.

If I remember correctly, ERB died in the 1950s. "A Princess of Mars" was written about the time of WWI! So it's been darned near 100 years since the story was written!

As I mentioned before, I learned to read with those books, and hadn't read them since about the 5th grade, though I did go back and re-read the Pelucidar series back in high school. I'm now listening to the audio book at work.

Mark

166 posted on 03/11/2012 7:49:14 PM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: tarheelswamprat
Dejah Thoris appeared to be overdressed

Well, in the books, she wore some jewelery and very little, if anything else.

Mark

167 posted on 03/11/2012 8:03:55 PM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: Caipirabob
I'm seeing pretty good user reviews on Yahoo. If I had been picking a movie, I usually trust their user reviews, they almost always go against what the hollywood type say about a flick.

And the viewers' reviews are better than 70%. The 50% rating is from critics.

Mark

168 posted on 03/11/2012 8:06:21 PM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: jimbo123

Why don’t they just change the title real fast “ John Carter of Mars” or whatever...


169 posted on 03/11/2012 8:09:02 PM PDT by fabian (" And a new day will dawn for those who stand long, and the forests will echo with laughter")
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To: All
For all those interested a search for Edgar Rice Burroughs on line can bring you to several sites that will allow you to read the John Carter books for free. One such site is here . I loved the books when I first read them and still do. I hope the movie does them justice.
170 posted on 03/11/2012 10:05:51 PM PDT by calex59
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To: Frank_2001

While the review slamed it..people that i know saw it thought it was great..
so wait on word of mouth before calling it a bomb


171 posted on 03/11/2012 11:26:00 PM PDT by tophat9000 (American is Barack Oaken)
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To: longfellow

I agree “Act of Valor” showed our guys kicking butt and taking names. But then a day later, who remembers it? But you do remember a very similar movie, “Top Gun,” and not just because of Tom Cruise, but because there was a STORY there-—indeed, several good story lines about redemption (”Maverick’s,” “Iceman’s,” and so on). There is a big debate in Hollywood between the “image” directors and the “story” directors as to who makes the best movies. Obviously, the great movies (”Lord of the Rings,” “Rocky,” has all). But I think story is being far too much subordinated in the recent CGI “Transformers” junk.


172 posted on 03/12/2012 5:56:19 AM PDT by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually (Hendrix))
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To: LS

I can see why embedded socialists don’t like John Carter, he is a Civil War vet, he is straight, he is an independent thinker and a man of honor and action.

He is a warrior, he kills, he does not bow down to any false god image.

Oh yeah I can even imagine Obama himself calling up his MSM buddies and telling them that this film “John Carter” has to be given the treatment, its a movie that might give the sheeple wrong ideas, convince the people its not good for them.

Disney isn’t always right but they do have a long history of being patriotic.


173 posted on 03/12/2012 3:17:08 PM PDT by Eye of Unk (Liberals need not reply.)
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To: jimbo123

Saw the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it — as did the 5 folks who I attended with (various ages). I think it will do quiet well in box office, overseas & then BluRay & DVD sales.


174 posted on 03/12/2012 3:25:04 PM PDT by DollyCali (Don't tell God how big your storm is... tell your storm how BIG your God is!)
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To: Craftmore

I agree. Too many here just are negative on movies in general ... if you have seen it & down it, well, that is okay but to NOT see it & badmouth it? terrible.


175 posted on 03/12/2012 3:29:40 PM PDT by DollyCali (Don't tell God how big your storm is... tell your storm how BIG your God is!)
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To: LS

I thought there was a story there.. a significant one. Don’t want to give too much info to ruin it for those who will see it. There were several threads throughout the movie(We are talking Act of Valor here .. not John Carter).


176 posted on 03/12/2012 3:33:00 PM PDT by DollyCali (Don't tell God how big your storm is... tell your storm how BIG your God is!)
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To: exhaustguy

Good movie. Kitsch did a better job than I expected. Took lots of liberties with the Mars books but the characters were appropriate. The last fight scene bothered me because of what the Tharks were capable of doing - that reminded of Jar Jar Jinks taking out all the robots. Otherwise I would watch long before any of the last four Star Wars movies.


177 posted on 03/12/2012 5:13:54 PM PDT by exhaustguy
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To: Perdogg; KevinDavis

Thanks jimbo123. The preview looked impressive, and the existing series of books would make a splendid franchise; as the late P.J. Farmer said, a writer capable of producing the most widely recognized fictional character — Tarzan — should not be lightly dismissed.


178 posted on 03/12/2012 6:36:44 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him)
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To: SunkenCiv; KevinDavis

Unfortunately, most of the elements from the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series were already incorporated in earlier movies. Experts say that the movie is “true” to the books, except Martian women did not really wear anything in the books. I loved the soundtrack, but the score sounded like a cross between “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars”. I have to say though that I thought that the overall movie experience was good. I thought the CGI sets and costumes, including Dejah Thoris’ stunning wedding dress, gave the feel of the old serial movies of the 30s and 40s. I was pleasantly surprised that they allowed John Carter to be an Ex Confederate Captain without making any political statement in the movie at all. In fact, the reddish bronze skin hue of the Martians was the same description that Phillip K Dick had of the Martians in the short story “The Crystal Crypt”. I would like to see more movies based on the earlier works of Phillip K Dick and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Lynn Collins was a dead ringer for a young Catherine Zeta Jones


179 posted on 03/12/2012 6:47:03 PM PDT by Perdogg
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To: vetvetdoug; Pharmboy

Seeing Lynn Collins in that wedding dress was worth $15.50 alone.


180 posted on 03/12/2012 6:52:25 PM PDT by Perdogg
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