Willem Dafoe is a special man—a man deserving, like Tracy Morgan, of his own Oh Please Join Twitter campaign—and anything he has to say is intriguing to me. And it's especially intriguing if what he's talking about is "John Carter of Mars," Edgar Rice Burroughs' sci-fi series currently getting the big screen adaptation treatment from Pixar eye-candy guru Andrew Stanton ("WALL-E").

With shooting set to start in January, Dafoe's gearing up to play Tars Tarkas, a many-limbed green Martian warrior who befriends Carter (Taylor Kitsch) after he gets mysteriously transported from Civil War-era America to the Red Planet. And after getting a chance to see early takes on what his character will look like, Dafoe is pumped. Read more...

While "John Carter of Mars" was once considered a doubtful project -- if not a totally doomed one -- fate has seemingly turned in the film's favor with several major casting announcements, including the much beloved Willem Dafoe as Martian warrior Tars Tarkas.

Today, a trio of new actors are joining the "John Carter" cast, providing further proof that the long-gestating movie is picking up steam. Dominic West, Samantha Morton and Polly Walker are all signing up for the trip to "Mars," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Read more...

I think it's safe to say that everyone here at the MTV Movies Blog is pretty darn excited about Disney's adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars." The book is a sci-fi classic and the adaptation has Pixar's Andrew Stanton at the helm. It's an epic romance, and it's starring up-and-comers Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins. Now you have another reason to be excited about Stanton's adaptation, as the legendary Willem Dafoe has been cast.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dafoe is set to play Tars Tarkas. Tarkas is a great Martian warrior and leader, a member of a fairly brutal Martian society called the Tharks-- think Spartans, only with even less of a sense of humor. Read more...

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: While “Twilight” fends off “True Blood” for supremacy over the vampire romance market, the Stephanie Meyer-penned series might have an unlikely lovelorn competitor to contend with — the newly announced “John Carter of Mars” starring Taylor Kitsch could well be Hollywood’s next romantic hit.

Nothing can top the electric, blood-lusting chemistry of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, right? We’re not so sure about that — and you might not be either after you see “Carter.” After the jump, five reasons why the upcoming sci-fi adventure could dethrone “Twilight” as the king of the high-concept romance genre.

Continue reading ‘John Carter of Mars’: Will It Dethrone “Twilight” As The Best Romance Flick?

UPDATE: For those of you who don't follow the Twitter beat, actress Lynn Collins has posted an interesting comment: celebrating john carter of mars!!!!!!!. Does this mean she's been cast? Or maybe she's just a big fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs? Methinks we'll learn soon enough, now that the "John Carter" wheels seem to be grinding forward. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post...

Utah, Utah, Utah... you've been busy.

While Hollywood filmmakers continually tap the likes of Los Angeles, New York and Australia as shooting locations, the Beehive State has been quietly amassing a list of high profile projects of its own -- most recently this summer's "Star Trek," and now yet another science fiction project.

According to an article in today's Salt Lake Tribune, "John Carter of Mars," the long-developing (like, ancient long) movie project from Disney and Pixar based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel series, will film partially in Utah from November to July 2010. Read more...

In an exclusive interview with MTV News, “WALL-E” writer/director Andrew Stanton dished the most details yet about the progress of his next feature, “John Carter of Mars,” an adaptation of a nearly hundred-year-old serialized novel about a Civil War vet mysteriously transported to the Red Planet, where he encounters all manner of alien adventures.

“It’s real,” Stanton assured us. “We’re full bore on it right now. We’re over the hump of the writing phase, and we’re certainly far from rewrites.”

Before he could even get to that point, Stanton had to solve a problem that had stymied filmmakers for eighty years: How do you turn the six separate installments of the novel into a coherent whole? Read more...

From Bob Clampett, to Ray Harryhausen, to Robert Rodriquez, and Jon Favreau, the list of directors who’ve wanted to make “John Carter of Mars” is a long one stretching back at least 70 years.

For a long time, Andrew Stanton, who was recently confirmed to be directing an adaption of “Carter” for Pixar Animation Studios, didn’t feel like he belonged in their company.

“I cared a lot that [‘Carter’] was done right, and I didn’t really care if I was the one to do it. I didn’t feel qualified,” he told MTV News. Read more...

- Tony Stark appears in new ad for "The Incredible Hulk." (/film)

- Speaking of Mr. Stark, "Iron Man 2" to begin filming in March 2009, says Terrence Howard. (Military.com)

- Harrison Ford joins "Crowley," the story of a doctor who fights seemingly incurable diseases. (Variety)

- I just can't quit you. Oscar winning "Brokeback Mountain" to become an opera. (Playbill)

- Golden Gods. Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon topline new romantic comedy from Cameron Crowe. (Variety)

- Andrew Stanton cops to writing "John Carter of Mars" for Pixar. (Pixar Blog)