Taylor Kitsch Interview: Being John Carter

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The Sydney Morning Herald has an extensive interview with Taylor Kitsch.  I’m not sure exactly when Kitsch gave this interview, but it just appeared today at SMH.

Widely and wildly maligned, John Carter was neither the box office nor filmic failure that it has been held out to be.

John Carter is an action-adventure that moves in location from the wild west of North America to Mars, known to its inhabitants as Barsoom. The title character, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), is a war-weary, former military captain who’s inexplicably transported to Mars and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It’s a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

With a production budget estimated at a quarter of a billion dollars, and the additional expectations of Disney positioning the film to help them break into an audience demographic they have always struggled to fill, the film always had a mountain to climb. A heavily criticised marketing campaign resulted in a weak North American box office return ($75 million) however internationally the film was a success making more than $200 million and earning a number of positive reviews.

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John Carter will go down in history as a box-office bomb.

Taylor Kitsch sat down with us to relive his experience in the title to promote the film’s home entertainment release, which Disney hopes will gives the film a new reputation.

Taylor, what was it like to work on an epic project like John Carter?

Working on this movie was incredibly demanding, but it was also incredibly rewarding. I had tons of action scenes in the movie and it was exhausting because I had long, very physical days for four months straight. However, it was all worth it.

How would you describe your average day on the set of John Carter?

In the beginning, I’d start training at 4.30am in the morning before going to work on set all day and way into the night. Sometimes I’d get home at 10pm – but I’d be doing this all week. It was tough, but it was also fun. I feel like I had to put all of that energy into my character to portray what John Carter is like as a person because he’s a hero and a warrior. It’s amazing to see everything come to life in the finished film.

What went through your mind when you saw the finished movie for the first time?

I thought it was awesome! It’s tough to watch myself on the screen – but I’m very proud of this movie. I’m also proud of the movie’s director, Andrew Stanton. I’m proud of [co-star] Lynn Collins and everyone that’s been part of the movie. We’ve had so many great actors involved in the project, from Willem Dafoe to Dominic West, as well as an incredible crew and stunt team.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/blogs/get-flickd/in-defence-of-john-carter-20120623-20vnl.html#ixzz1yxHN0ROT

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/blogs/get-flickd/in-defence-of-john-carter-20120623-20vnl.html#ixzz1yxHJcdNm

Read the full interview at SMH

5 comments

  • I think he’ll get much better treatment for “Savages”…..coming July 6.

  • Man I love this movie! It arose from the depths, where the doomsayers threw it, and really gave us what movies are all about, escapism! What a great cast. You can really feel the emotion they put into their characters and the love they have for the story. This Taylor kitsch was spot on and a genius pick for John carter. I will do all I can as a meger fan to help get John carter two and three thundering onto that movie screen. C’mon Disney, Stanton’s got magic here you better do something about it!

  • He seems to have a very down-to-earth personality, that’s great. I hope his career will not suffer and that he will be able to showcase his talent in other productions (and John Carter 2 and 3 of course). 🙂

  • Right on. Having just discovered the books and read the first three straight through while on holiday, I just had to see the movie and wasn’t disappointed. Luxurious production values bringing ERB’s vision to life. Guess the accountants will decide if we get to see a sequel or not but Warlord of Mars would transfer just great to the silver screen IMHO.
    //Paul

  • I, for one certainly enjoyed Kitsch bring the character of John Carter to the screen. I thought he did an excellent job portraying a man who having lost everything he holds dear is world weary and yet does in fact does what he can for a cause of freedom. I certainly hope there is a sequel, I want to see more of the character development of John Carter and Kitsch instilling life into a much beloved epic character.

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