Stanton Starts Shooting John Carter for Disney
By: Thomas J. Mclean
Disney’s feature film adaptation John Carter of Mars, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs books and marking the live-action directing debut of Finding Nemo and WALL•E helmer Andrew Stanton, has begun principal photography in London.
The film features a lot of crossover from animation into live action. Among the crew are producers Jim Morris (WALL•E, Ratatouille) and Colin Wilson (Avatar, War of the Worlds). Pixar alumnus Stanton also has worked as a screenwriter or executive producer on Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille and Up.
"I have been waiting my whole life to see the characters and worlds of John Carter of Mars realized on the big screen,” says Stanton. “It is just a wonderful bonus that I have anything to do with it."
The cast is led by Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the title role, Lynn Collins (50 First Dates, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as the warrior princess Dejah Thoris and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man 3, Shadow of a Vampire) as Martian inhabitant Tars Tarkas.
The cast also includes Thomas Haden Church, Polly Walker, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, British actor Dominic West, James Purefoy and Bryan Cranston. Daryl Sabara takes the role of John Carter’s teenaged nephew, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The creative team includes Oscar-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (Public Enemies, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins), costume designer Mayes Rubeo (Avatar, Apocalypto), cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III, Spygame) and video effects supervisor Peter Chiang (The Reader, The Bourne Ultimatum).