History Trivia / JohnCarter

* SocietyMarchesOn: The film presents John Carter as a former Confederate captain. It was released in 2012, a few short years before the Charleston church shootings.

** Disney predicted a $200 million dollar loss on the film, which could either be including home media sales or just be downright ''optimistic''. Without the actual books it's impossible to be sure. The upper figure on the estimate is ''$209 million'', which (if correct) makes it ''the'' biggest bomb of all time, beating ''WesternAnimation/SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' by $46 million.

** There were reservations at Disney about letting Stanton direct the film, despite his obvious sentimental attachment to the material, because he'd never directed a live-action feature before. However, since he'd made ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' into hits, they let him do it. Predictably, throughout production, Stanton ignored the advice of the crew members who were live-action veterans in favor of his Pixar friends back in their offices, and to make things worse, Rich Ross and the other studio executives at Disney likewise had little experience with feature films, since most of them had come from television. Ironically, despite all of this, it seems Stanton was aware it would not be an easy work, as he warned the execs, "I'm not gonna get it right the first time, I'll tell you that right now." Indeed, the film required extensive double reshoots.
** Then, it came time to market the film, which was already handicapped in that department by having no big stars in the cast. A trailer shown at a Disney convention did not go over well, and Stanton refused to take any advice from the studio's marketing department. He insisted on using Music/LedZeppelin's "Kashmir" in the trailer even after it was pointed out to him that a 30-year-old classic-rock song was not likely to resonate with the younger male audience the film was intended for, in addition to all the titling problems noted above. (It didn't help that Stanton, who practically worshiped the books, was under the impression that John Carter was a name on the same level as Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter, and that everyone would instantly recognize the name- and thus the trailer wouldn't need to explain that much. Suffice to say, he was very wrong.)

** Granted, once one remembers that film journalists get much of their information from executives, perhaps the above should be taken with a massive grain of salt as [[ScapegoatCreator an attempt to throw Stanton under the bus]]. As [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/john-carters-commentary-track-showcases-three-film,86634/ Commentary Tracks of the Damned states out of]] Stanton's DVD commentary, part of the problems came simply from a first-time live action director being “drunk with power” after receiving too much money and creative control.

* BoxOfficeBomb: One of the biggest in recent memory. It cost an absurd $250 million to make and pulled in an anemic $73 million at the domestic box office. Overseas was much much better at $211 million. A big part of this was coming out at the same time as ''Film/TheHungerGames''. [[labelnote: what?]] If this math seems funny to you ($73 million domestic plus $211 million international not equaling a $250 million budget?), then it's important to remember that marketing adds at least another $100 million to the production costs. Additionally, the studio doesn't receive all of the domestic box office money, it splits about half with theater chains. International returns are even lower because some nations (like China) don't allow more than 25% of a film gross to leave the country. Also, major individuals like directors often have a cut of the gross, which (depending on how famous the person is) can be up to ''20 percent''.[[/labelnote]]

** The rights to the novels have since [[http://variety.com/2014/film/news/new-john-carter-movie-planned-as-rights-revert-to-edgar-rice-burroughs-inc-1201335891/ reverted]] back to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, who are still open to turning the books into a successful movie franchise.

** Director Andrew Stanton disappeared from the live action scene and focused on his Pixar output. His career has possibly survived after directing ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' in 2016 and working on some episodes of ''Series/StrangerThings''.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The film was titled ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' at first, but the 'Mars' was dropped, leaving the film with a nondescript name as the title. The fact that the movie even takes place on Mars was downplayed in marketing, along with any mention of creator Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs.
** The studio also refused to use the book's title ''A Princess of Mars'', fearing it would make the movie sound like a chick flick. As many critics pointed out, they exchanged a title that appealed only to women for a title that appealed to ''literally no one''.
** As detailed in John Carter and the Gods of Mars, a combination of executives being replaced and fighting with one another caused the studio to essentially sabotage the film out of internal pettiness. This infighting ultimately ended with Walt Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross and marketing helm M.T. Carney being on the losing end of the infighting; Ross managed to turn himself into a bitter enemy for Lasseter and was fired from his job over the movie (he had the shortest tenure of any studio chief since 1984, when Katzenberg arrived and started his 10 year tenure, the longest for the studio chiefs), with Carney following Ross out the gate.

* StillbornFranchise: After all the trouble to get the film on a big screen, its massive failure and the acrimony at Disney that came with it ended ideas of any sequels or serious franchise plans regarding this film, much to the regret of Andrew Stanton, who was planning a trilogy.

** There were reservations at Disney about letting Stanton direct the film, despite his obvious sentimental attachment to the material, because he'd never directed a live-action feature before. However, since he'd made ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' into hits, they let him do it even though he warned them, "I'm not gonna get it right the first time, I'll tell you that right now." Indeed, the film required extensive double reshoots. Throughout production, he ignored the advice of the crew members who were live-action veterans in favor of his Pixar friends, back in their offices. Rich Ross and the other studio executives at Disney likewise had little experience with feature films, since most of them had come from television.

** Granted, once one remembers that film journalists get much of their information from executives, perhaps the above should be taken with a massive grain of salt as [[ScapegoatCreator an attempt to throw Stanton under the bus]].
** Though as [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/john-carters-commentary-track-showcases-three-film,86634/ Commentary Tracks of the Damned states out of]] Stanton's DVD commentary, part of the problems came from a first-time live action director being “drunk with power” after receiving too much money and creative control.
** The film's budget qualifies all on its own. A $250 million dollar budget is some $20 million more than Creator/JamesCameron spent on ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', and unlike the man behind the then [[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} highest grossing film in history]], director Stanton had never made a live action picture before.

* BoxOfficeBomb: One of the biggest in recent memory. It cost an absurd $250 million to make and pulled in an anemic $73 million at the domestic box office. Overseas was much much better at $211 million. A big part of this was coming out at the same time as ''Film/TheHungerGames''.
** If this math [[note]] $73 million domestic, plus $211 million international, not equaling a $250 million budget?[[/note]] seems funny to you first consider marketing is good for at least another $100 million. Secondly the studio does not receive all of that box office money, it splits about half with theater chains domestically. Overseas returns are even lower, where some nations like China don't allow more than 25% of a film gross to leave the country. Also major individuals like directors often have a cut of the gross.
** Disney predicted a $200 million dollar loss on the film and this could be optimistic or counting on DVD/Blu-ray sales. Without the actual books its impossible to be sure. The upper figure on the estimate is ''$209 million'', if that's correct it ''is'' the biggest bomb of all time, beating ''WesternAnimation/SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' by $46 million.
** The rights to the novels have since [[http://variety.com/2014/film/news/new-john-carter-movie-planned-as-rights-revert-to-edgar-rice-burroughs-inc-1201335891/ reverted]] back to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, who are still game to try and turn the books into a successful movie franchise.

** Studio executive Rich Ross was fired from his position as Disney Studios leader weeks after Disney predicted they'd lose $200 million on the project and Pixar supremo John Lasseter, who is best friends with director Andrew Stanton, ripped him a new asshole and supposedly threatened to leave Disney himself if Ross didn't; Ross holds the MedalOfDishonor of being the only Disney Studios chairman since Ron Miller's ousting to have lost his job thanks to being simply incompetent in command, with the four chairmen before him (the first of which was Jeffrey Katzenberg, who exited on the back of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' and is really the only chairman to get involved with the animation department as well[[note]]Katzenberg had attempted to get the ''John Carter'' novels filmed during his tenure as well, but nothing came of it [[/note]]) leaving for creative differences (the executive who helmed the marketing campaign also got the boot). The failure of ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' the following year ensured Ross won't likely climb back from network television anytime soon.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The film was titled ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' at first, but the 'Mars' was dropped, leaving the film with a nondescript name as the title. That the movie even takes place on Mars was downplayed in marketing, along with any mention of creator Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs.
** The studio also refused to use the book's title ''A Princess of Mars'', fearing it would make the movie sound like a chick flick. As many critics pointed out, they exchanged a title that appealed only to women for a title that appealed to ''no one''.
** As detailed in John Carter and the Gods of Mars, a combination of executives being replaced and fighting with one another caused the studio to essentially sabotage the film out of internal pettiness. This infighting ultimately ended with Walt Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross and marketing helmer M.T. Carney being on the losing end of the infighting; Ross managed to turn himself into a bitter enemy for Lasseter and was fired from his job over the movie (he had the shortest tenure of any studio chief since 1984, when Katzenberg arrived and started his 10 year tenure, the longest for the studio chiefs), with Carney following Ross out the gate.

* OldShame: Andrew Stanton has already confessed that he isn't too satisfied with how the movie turned out.

** There were reservations at Disney about letting Stanton direct the film, despite his obvious sentimental attachment to the material, because he'd never directed a live-action feature before. However, since he'd made ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' into hits, they let him do it even though he warned them, "I'm not gonna get it right the first time, I'll tell you that right now." Indeed, the film required extensive double reshoots. Throughout production, he ignored the advice of the crewmembers who were live-action veterans in favor of his Pixar friends, back in their offices. Rich Ross and the other studio executives at Disney likewise had little experience with feature films, since most of them had come from television.
** Then, it came time to market the film, which was already handicapped in that department by having no big stars in the cast. A trailer shown at a Disney con did not go over well, and Stanton refused to take any advice from the studio's marketing department. He insisted on using Music/LedZeppelin's "Kashmir" in the trailer even after it was pointed out to him that a 30-year-old classic-rock song was not likely to resonate with the younger male audience the film was intended for, in addition to all the titling problems noted above. (It didn't help that Stanton, who practically worshipped the books, was under the impression that John Carter was a name on the same level as Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter, and that everyone would instantly recognise the name- and thus the trailer wouldn't need to explain that much. Suffice to say, he was very wrong.)

** Director Andrew Stanton has possibly survived after directing ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' in 2016.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In 1936, WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes director Creator/BobClampett created pencil tests for an animated feature of the novel. 70 years later, Paramount was developing a much lower-budgeted version of the film that would have been produced using the "digital backlot" method, with Creator/RobertRodriguez and then Kerry Conran attached to direct. However, Rodriguez dropped out to direct ''Film/SinCity'', while Conran was ruthlessly fired only a few days after the underwhelming opening of his previous film, ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow''. The project then sat in DevelopmentHell for a couple of years, before Paramount let the license expire, and Disney picked it up.

** If this math[[note $73 million domestic, plus $211 million international, not equaling a $250 million budget?[[/note]] seems funny to you first consider marketing is good for at least another $100 million. Secondly the studio does not receive all of that box office money, it splits about half with theater chains domestically. Overseas returns are even lower, where some nations like China don't allow more than 25% of a film gross to leave the country. Also major individuals like directors often have a cut of the gross.

** If this math seems funny to you first consider marketing is good for at least another $100 million. Secondly the studio does not receive all of that box office money, it splits about half with theater chains domestically. Overseas returns are even lower, where some nations like China don't allow more than 25% of a film gross to leave the country. Also major individuals like directors often have a cut of the gross.

** Disney predicted a $200 million dollar loss on the film and this could be optimistic or counting on DVD/Blu-ray sales. Without the actual books its impossible to be sure. The upper figure on the estimate is ''$209 million'', if that's correct it ''is'' be the biggest bomb of all time, beating ''WesternAnimation/SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' by $46 million.

** Disney predicted a $200 million dollar loss on the film and this could be optimistic or counting on DVD/Blu-ray sales. Without the actual books its impossible to be sure.

** Versions of this movie had been in production since the 1930's. Many different studios tried to make it but never got out of pre-production...

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In 1931, LooneyTunes director Creator/BobClampett created pencil tests for an animated feature of the novel. In the early-mid [=2000s=], Paramount were developing a much lower-budgeted version of the film that would have been produced using the "digital backlot" method, with Creator/RobertRodriguez and then Kerry Conran attached to direct. However, Rodriguez dropped out to direct ''Film/SinCity'', while Conran was ruthlessly fired only a few days after the underwhelming opening of his previous film, ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow''. The project then sat in DevelopmentHell for a couple of years, before Paramount let the license expire, and Disney picked it up.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the early-mid [=2000s=], Paramount were developing a much lower-budgeted version of the film that would have been produced using the "digital backlot" method, with Creator/RobertRodriguez and then Kerry Conran attached to direct. However, Rodriguez dropped out to direct ''Film/SinCity'', while Conran was ruthlessly fired only a few days after the underwhelming opening of his previous film, ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow''. The project then sat in DevelopmentHell for a couple of years, before Paramount let the license expire, and Disney picked it up.

** Then, it came time to market the film, which was already handicapped in that department by having no big stars in the cast. A trailer shown at a Disney con did not go over well, and Stanton refused to take any advice from the studio's marketing department. He insisted on using Music/LedZeppelin's "Kashmir" in the trailer even after it was pointed out to him that a 30-year-old classic-rock song was not likely to resonate with the younger male audience the film was intended for, in addition to all the titling problems noted above.
*** It didn't help that Stanton, who practically worshipped the books, was under the impression that John Carter was a name on the same level as Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter, and that everyone would instantly recognise the name- and thus the trailer wouldn't need to explain that much. Suffice to say, he was very wrong.

* InMemoriam: Dedicated to Steve Jobs, director Andrew Stanton's former boss at {{Pixar}}, who died several months before the film was released.

* StillbornFranchise: After all the trouble to get the film on a big screen, its massive failure and the acrimony at Disney that came with it ended ideas of any sequels or serious franchise plans regarding this film.

** Studio executive Rich Ross was fired from his position as Disney Studios leader weeks after Disney predicted they'd lose $200 million on the project and Pixar supremo John Lasseter, who is best friends with director Andrew Stanton, ripped him a new asshole and supposedly threatened to leave Disney himself if Ross didn't; Ross holds the MedalOfDishonor of being the only Disney Studios chairman since Ron Miller's ousting to have lost his job thanks to being simply incompetent in command, with the four chairmen before him (the first of which was Jeffrey Katzenberg, who exited on the back of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' and is really the only chairman to get involved with the animation department as well) leaving for creative differences (the executive who helmed the marketing campaign also got the boot). The failure of ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' the following year ensured Ross won't likely climb back from network television anytime soon.

** There were reservations at Disney about letting Stanton direct the film, despite his obvious sentimental attachment to the material, because he'd never directed a live-action feature before. But, since he'd made ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' into hits, they let him do it even though he warned them, "I'm not gonna get it right the first time, I'll tell you that right now." Indeed, the film required extensive double reshoots. Throughout production, he ignored the advice of the crewmembers who were live-action veterans in favor of his Pixar friends, back in their offices. Rich Ross and the other studio executives at Disney likewise had little experience with feature films, since most had come from television.
** Then, it came time to market the film, which was already handicapped in that department by having no big stars in the cast. A trailer shown at a Disney con did not go over well, and Stanton refused to take any advice from the studio's marketing department. He insisted on using Music/LedZeppelin's "Kashmir" in the trailer even after it was pointed out to him that a 30-year-old classic-rock song was not likely to resonate with the younger male audience the film was intended for. In addition to all the titling problems noted above.

** The film's budget qualifies all on its own. At $250 million dollar budget is some $20 million more then Creator/JamesCameron spent on ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. And unlike the man behind then [[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} highest grossing film in history]], Director Stanton had never made a live action picture.

* InkStainAdaptation: Don't expect anyone else to touch this franchise again for at least a few decades.

** As detailed in John Carter and the Gods of Mars, a combination of executives being replaced and fighting with one another caused the studio to essentially sabotage the film out of internal pettiness.

* CreatorKiller:

** Studio executive Rich Ross was fired from his position as Disney Studios leader weeks after Disney predicted they'd lose $200 million on the project and Pixar supremo John Lasseter, who is best friends with director Andrew Stanton, ripped him a new asshole and supposedly threatened to leave Disney himself if Ross didn't; Ross holds the MedalOfDishonor of being the only Disney Studios chairman since Ron Miller's ousting to have lost his job thanks to being simply incompetent in command, with the four chairmen before him (the first of which was Jeffrey Katzenberg, who exited on the back of ''Disney/TheLionKing'') leaving for creative differences (the executive who helmed the marketing campaign also got the boot). The failure of ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' the following year ensured Ross won't likely climb back from network television anytime soon.

* DuelingMovies: Fought for the same audience as ''Film/TheHungerGames''.
** Not very well.
** The two really weren't competing against each other as the films were aimed towards totally different audiences (this film for young males, ''The Hunger Games'' for teenagers). This film's actual rival was ''Film/WrathOfTheTitans'' (a similar literary concept with big action sequences, a buff male lead and releases in 3-D).
** Notably, ''The Hunger Games'' got a higher RottenTomatoes score than ''John Carter'' and ''Wrath of the Titans'' '''put together'''.

** The two really weren't competing against each other as the films were aimed towards totally different audiences (this film for young males, ''The Hunger Games'' for teenagers). This film's actual rival was ''[[ClashOfTheTitans Wrath Of The Titans]]'' (a similar literary concept with big action sequences, a buff male lead and releases in 3-D).

** Director Andrew Stanton has possibly survived after directiong ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' in 2016.

** Studio executive Rich Ross was fired from his position as Disney Studios leader weeks after Disney predicted they'd lose $200 million on the project and Pixar supremo John Lasseter, who is best friends with director Andrew Stanton, ripped him a new asshole and supposedly threatened to leave Disney himself if Ross didn't; Ross holds the MedalOfDishonor of being the only Disney Studios chairman since Ron Miller's ousting to lost his job thanks to being simply incompetent in command, with the four chairmen before him (the first of which was Jeffrey Katzenberg, who exited on the back of ''Disney/TheLionKing'') leaving for creative differences (the executive who helmed the marketing campaign also got the boot). The failure of ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' the following year ensured Ross won't likely climb back from network television anytime soon.