“Last Trip to Barsoom” — A Night to Remember

Michael Sellers Other Stuff

UPDATE 1AM — It was a WONDERFUL night with a terrific turnout. Q: When has a film had a bigger crowd on closing night than it did on opening night? A: Tonight! Thanks to all the more than 200 people at El Capitan and countless more there in spirit or taking their own “Last Trip to Barsoom” in 20 cities around the world. More tomorrow — basking in the afterglow now.

Welcome to the update log for the “Last Trip to Barsoom” at El Capitan Theater on April 19th at 7pm.  For the full original story, go to this link. 

SHORT SUMMARY (FOR ANYONE HEARING ABOUT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME)

Every once in awhile, people come together in extraordinary ways.   Who would have thought that a film labeled as the “biggest flop in cinema history” could actually make history by having the first ever closing night fan/cast/crew gathering at a landmark Hollywood theater (and in other cities around the world)?

“Last Trip to Barsoom” started as one fan, Daria Brooks, announcing on Facebook “I want to go to El Capitan for the final showing of John Carter”.  It would be her 15th viewing of the film.  But then other fans caught the idea, and “Last Trip to Barsoom” was born.  Andrew Stanton, the film’s director, tweeted about it, bringing more attention to the endeavor. More fans signed up.  Then today, Michael Giachinno, the composer for the film, tweeted about it and Daryl Sabara, who plays Edgar Rice Burroughs in the film, tweeted that he’s coming to the event.

It remains to be seen how big the grassroots gathering will be — but one thing for sure, it will be a sweet farewell to Barsoom on the big screen by fans who have seen the film many times in the six weeks it’s been in theaters.  How many?  The most admitted to thus for is 18 times; many have seen it more than 10, and among fans, anything less than 5 gets no respect.

Following are updates — newest at the top, oldest below: 

UPDATE 4PM: Thanks @AndrewStanton for the tweet – everything is looking good:


THURSDAY 9AM UPDATE

  • El Capitan management advises they’ve procured “cool giveaways” and will be raffling them off tonight at the screening.
  • Latest list of  groups who have confirmed that they are going tonight in various cities include the following locations:
    • New York
    • St. Louis
    • El Cajon, CA
    • San Diego
    • Orlando
    • Helsinki
    • Manila
    • Philadelphia
    • Fargo
    • Houston
    • Oklahoma City
    • Columbus
    • Nashville
Also, Jan Austin who is running the Petition drive on Facebook has taken an inventory of all the countries represented among those who have signed the petition.  Countries represented on the petition: Pakistan, Russia, France, Italy, Bosnia, Brazil, Kuwait, the UK, Australia, Poland, Canada, Austria, Singapore, Norway, Spain, Germany, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Switzerland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Belarus, Sweden, India, Argentina, Portugal, New Zealand, Iceland, Netherlands, Venezuela, Bulgaria, Egypt, Barbados, Malta, Croatia, Ukraine, Haiti..

UPDATE WED  5:05 PM — John Carter composer Michael Giacchino just tweeted a link to the event. It’s being picked up and retweeted a lot.  Thanks Michael! Hope to see you there!

UPDATE WED 3:45 — Evelyn Dubuc, who plays a council member and is a member in John Carter has confirmed she will attend.   UPDATE WED 12:30 — Here is the info for the New York Group:

AMC Loew’s 19th street East 6

890 Broadway New York, New York 10003 7:30 P  April 19 Contact: Frank Starrett
fstarrett@optonline.net

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 12 NOON:  Daryl Sabara who plays Edgar Rice Burroughs has tweeted he’s got his tickets and will attend!

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 9AM: Fans from other cities are joining in by attending the last screening in their cities — from New York to Fargo to Helsinki.  More on this later!

HOW TO BUY TICKETS

  • Go to http://elcapitan.go.com and buy the $16 General Admission tickets.  No need to buy VIP tickets for $26 — General Admission tickets will admit you to the Orchestra VIP seating area.
  • If you want to score a discounted $12 ticket, email baedergarland@aol.com for instructions.  You will need to do a paypal transaction with Rebecca.
  • Take your chances and buy at the box office.

 

Stanton has also thanked fans:

“Thanks to the fans for the Herculean efforts to garner support for the movie. You’ve gone way beyond the call of duty and have proven to be be passionate and unwavering, and that’s a tremendous gift for a filmmaker. You simply make movies in the hopes that it will satisfy the people who choose to watch. All of us who worked so hard on the film are eternally grateful for your voices. I will unfortunately be traveling on 4/19 but will be with you in spirit and will help spread the word about the screening. Thanks for all your efforts.”

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