Ahoy, squirts! Quint here... You know, it's annoying sometimes to work with Harry. Here he has one of the coolest Fantasy series ever created under his thumb and he refuses to give me a peek. Matter of fact, he's been so tight-lipped on this movie that I've had to sit back and watch other sites break JOHN CARTER OF MARS scoops. How embarrassing! Plus he's barred me from set, but that's just because I went to Skull Island without him, so I guess that doesn't have much bearing on this aspect.

I did dig up this piece, though. Damn his eyes, I got something! It ain't much, but it shows the level of respect Kerry and Kevin Conran have for the original estate and material, which is crucial in a story this epic. To know and love all aspects of the story can be the very thing to keep the film from sliding too far in the wrong direction. The below also seems to indicate that JOHN CARTER OF MARS is officially, actively beginning its preproduction. The wheels are turning, squirts! I, for one, can't wait!

Below you'll find a bit of info from the good people at ERBzine.comdetailing the Conrans' visit to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate and being shown some awfully cool stuff! I want that sword!!! Anyway, read on, squirts, and enjoy!

ERBzine News Today:

Conran and Paramount Team Visit ERB, Inc. Tarzana Offices Tarzana, CA ~
Thursday, December 2, 2004

Director Kerry Conran, along with brother Kevin and a team of production personnel, met with Danton Burroughs at the Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. offices in Tarzana today, to discuss the Paramount John Carter of Mars film project.

Danton shared Edgar Rice Burroughs' vision for Barsoom adventures on film, while longtime ERB fan and Hollywood writer Tracy Griffin added his expertise to the discussions.

A plethora of Barsoom reference material was presented to the Conran team: pulp magazines, comics, American and foreign editions of the Mars series, the Library of Illustration volumes, Trendmaster and other toys and memorabilia, games, fanzines, biographies and bibliographies.

Artwork from a broad cross-section of Mars artists, old and new, was also on display: St. John, Schoonover, Burroughs, Marsh, Frazetta, Krenkel, Whelan, D'Achille, Boris, Jusko, Kubert, Kane, Yeates, Stout, etc.

Adding to the uniqueness of this meeting was the showcasing of the artistry of Danton's father, John Coleman Burroughs. This included many of the materials JCB had created to serve as models for his John Carter art projects: a full-scale hand-carved Martian sword, a thark head, a large model of a thoat with moveable parts, and photographs of wife Jane Ralston posing in full Dejah Thoris costume.

Danton followed this up by bringing out rare samples of his father's Martian art, which included original panels from the John Carter of Mars Sunday pages, art from the ERB Mars novels, samples from the JCB/Clampett animation project, as well as stacks of big little books and comics containing JCB Mars art.

Most of these reference materials are also displayed on the JohnColemanBurroughs.com and ERBzine.com Websites which makes for convenient future reference.

ERB fans will be excited over the news that the long-overdue film adaptation of the Burroughs Mars series is about to be realized. All parties involved are committed to making this production a big-budget blockbuster that is true to the spirit of the original novels.

Director Kerry Conran is a dedicated fan of classic science fiction, as he showed in his recent "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," and in his choice of Ehren Kruger as scriptwriter for the project. Conran is also a master of the spectacular computer graphics needed for creating the fantasy alien world of Barsoom.

Bill Hillman