Author: Michael Sellers
Jane Goodall Sees Tarzan as a potential global voice for the environment, talks of her childhood crush on the Edgar Rice Burroughs character
TweetSpeaking at the Centennial Celebration of the creation of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs on August 18, primatologist and global icon Jane Goodall recalled how […]
Q and A With Artist Gregory Manchess
TweetOne of my favorite pieces of Barsoom art that wasn’t done by St. John, Krenkel, Frazetta, or any of the “usual suspects” of Barsoomian artists is by Gregory Manchess, and […]
The Elusive, Impulsive Magic of Edgar Rice Burroughs
TweetI have been lately re-reading Irwin Porges massive biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs, one of the pleasures of which is the passionate introduction, written in 1975, by Ray Bradbury. In […]
A Split Screen Comparison of The Mars of Andrew Stanton in John Carter vs The Mars of Ridley Scott’s the Martian
TweetSo how do the last two movies about mars look side by side in terms of Mars is presented? Here’s what we did. First, I tried to get the images […]
Who or What IS John Carter of Virginia by Jerry Alan Kimbro
TweetA guest post by Jerry Alan Kimbro I am currently re-reading Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original Mars Trilogy (Published in three volumes: A Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, and Warlord […]
At last! A Tarzan 2016 Test Screening Viewer Gives David Yates a Solid Thumbs Up and Leaks Intriguing Details [Updates]
TweetAt last, it has finally happened — someone who saw a test screening of David Yates’ TARZAN has leaked some fascinating and detailed observations. There is of course no way to 100 […]
Move Over Tolkien, Conan Doyle: Edgar Rice Burroughs Fans Rule Facebook
TweetAs a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, I have enjoyed discovering other fans on Facebook, Twitter, etc — and enjoy the posts, the art, the discussion. A week or so […]
Overheard on FB: “Is ERB Now Just Masturbatory Fodder for Perennial Adolescents?”
TweetThe cosplay Dejah above is a huge favorite with ERB fans–and in fact, when it was posted a few hours ago on one of the ERB Facebook sites, it picked […]
“Very good!” — first comments on an advance viewing of the Tarzan 2016 trailer
TweetThis is pretty thin soup, but given the recent run of bad news for WB’s Tarzan, I figured this is worth sharing. On the Internet Movie Data Base message board […]
For our fantasy reboot of John Carter of Mars, we select for the role of Dejah Thoris . . . .
TweetSo if there’s fantasy football — why not a fantasy reboot of John Carter of Mars? To do this, it will be necessary to assemble a fantasy cast and crew. First […]
Margot Robbie Gets a LIttle Friendly Press for Tarzan
TweetIt’s not exactly a major breakthrough, but Margot Robbie has managed to create a minor bit of positivity by posting on her Instagram a video of her swinging on a […]
The Box Office Tragedy of WB’s last Tarzan Movie, Plus the Pan Box Office Disaster, Define WB’s Challenge for Tarzan 2016
TweetPan opened with a disastrous $15.5M in Domestic U.S. Box Office. How bad is that? Well, Pan cost $150M to make and did $15.5M; John Carter cost $267M to make […]
Uh oh, here it comes: The Tarzan Negativity Narrative has begun. What will WB do to Counter It?
TweetHere comes that sinking feeling again. In a flash, it suddenly looks like Warner Brothers’ efforts to have calm and positive rollout of Tarzan have just taken a significant hit with the […]
It’s official — Skarsgard: No loincloth for Tarzan 2016
TweetWhat’s your first thought when you hear that, per Alexander Skarsgard in a new interview, the Tarzan that he and David Yates have cooked up doesn’t end up wearing a […]
New Star Wars – The Force Awakens Trailer Logs 21 Million Views in First 24 Hours (Updates)
Tweet(I started this post 15 minutes after the trailer debuted….scroll down to see how fast it’s risen to 21 Million views.) The Star Wars — The Force Awakens trailer was […]
Influencing the Influencers: Is Warner Bros Falling Behind with the Promotion of David Yates’s Tarzan 2016?
TweetThere’s a cable TV news host out there who does a segment “Talk Me Down” in which the commentator does a rant about something that’s bothering her, and has a knowledgable […]
Fans Hoping For a Successful Tarzan 2016 Need to Go to These Negative Articles and Comment
TweetWarner Brothers and Tarzan have just taken a significant hit in the first battle to establish a favorable narrative for Tarzan 2016. Establishing a favorable narrative is hugely important; we […]
George R.R. Martin on our Long Obsession With Mars
TweetGeorge R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones, has written a lengthy and evocative article in The Guardian on the fascination that he, and we, have felt for Mars for […]
Interesting Anecdotal Evidence that John Carter is Gaining Cult Status
TweetIt’s been awhile since I’ve weighed into the universe of “Defending John Carter” … and so it was a real treat to come across this post and read the comments, […]
Top Ten Things Disney is Doing to Breathe New Life into the John Carter Franchise
TweetSomewhere out there on the vast internets that surround us, some enterprising Disney employee who is obviously a secret fan has sent us an anonymous email with a list of […]
Frank Westwood, Co-Founder of the British Edgar Rice Burroughs Society
Tweetby Laurence Dunn — Frank Westwood, one of the founders of the British Edgar Rice Burroughs Society and editor of the society’s journal The Fantastic Worlds of ERB, has sadly […]
Robert Abbett’s Stunning Dejah Thoris
TweetMy first exposure to A Princess of Mars was the Ballantine paperback edition, whose cover was graced with a painting by Robert Abbott which, reproduced as it was in a […]
WB’s Tarzan Showing Exciting Signs of Life: The Extraordinary Christoph Waltz Eyed for the Villain
TweetVariety and other entertainment outlets are reporting that the thoroughly amazing Christoph Waltz is in talks to play the villain in WB’s Tarzan, which had been slated to go into […]
Bruckheimer is leaving and Iger is Staying at Disney: Implications for John Carter?
TweetThe news broke this week that Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney are parting ways in the aftermath of The Lone Ranger, which turned out to be a John Carter sized misfire […]
The Edgar Rice Burroughs Centennial DVD “100 Years of Tarzan and John Carter” is Here
TweetThe Official Edgar Rice Burroughs Two Disk Centennial DVD Set, co-produced by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. and The John Carter Files, is now available (and two more disks are coming) […]
“Tarzan and the Light of Knowledge” — by Cynthia Sheppard is just brilliant
TweetEvery once in awhile you come across something that is so right and true and beautiful that it stops you in your tracks and gives you goosebumps. That just happened […]
Edgar Rice Burroughs — Origins and Influences (a deleted Chapter from John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood)
TweetI received an interesting email today from Olav Berge Aamodt discussing the influences on Edgar Rice Burroughs, particularly Helena Blavatsky, which I was familiar with, and Camille Flammarian, about which […]
Rus Wornom: Review of 100 Years of Tarzan and John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood
TweetRus Wornom, a frequent and cogent commenter here, has posted two reviews on his blog, which also has a lot of other interesting material on it.
Understanding Disney Accounting for John Carter (sort of) and what it would take to make a sequel make sense financially
TweetI noticed on the John Carter Facebook Group that there are a couple of threads where people are talking about the financial performance of John Carter and questioning whether Disney […]
If Disney Follows the John Carter Precedent, They Will Announce the Lone Ranger Writedown Tomorrow. Will it happen?
TweetOne of the many interesting aspects of Disney’s handling of John Carter was the decision to break with tradition and announce the writedown on the second Monday after release, rather […]