Over at Aint it Cool News, Harry has posted the official press release that the film adaptation of John Carter of Mars has begun filming.
I confess I’m not a fan of John Carter. I’ve tried to read that first book three or four times, and just can’t get past the first fifty pages or so. But it is a book with tremendous influence on the early D&D game, and the original Castle Greyhawk went so far as to include magical gates to the Mars of the books, so the film is most definitely relevant. And the fact that their creative team (listed in the press release) seems top-notch, the film itself might not be that bad.
I’ve not really been following its development; it’s possible the script will suck. For those who want to follow all the twists and turns, there’s a fan site that is covering it on a daily basis. But who am I fooling? I’ll probably end up seeing the film one way or the other.
The first book was actually about the fifth or sixth one I read (as a twelve-year-old I made my purchasing decision based on which Whelan cover was most evocative for me), and ERB makes it rather easy to figure out what's happening; the stories are quite episodic.
John Carter of Mars – Disney/Pixar. Is it me or is there a slight problem here? Never read ERB but read all the Conan I could find as a kid. There are certain story elements that just don't say 'Disney/Pixar to me.