Hey folks, Harry here... Got this news last night, and I feel of all the obits I've been tasked with writing this one is the toughest. If you're a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs' work - then you probably are familiar with his grandson Danton. I was blessed to have had numerous conversations with Danton regarding the Paramount gestation of the JOHN CARTER OF MARS movie. He had invited me out to Tarzana, California to go through some of Edgar's estate - show me the actual sword that John Carter gave his grandfather as proof of his tale - and I was very much looking forward to doing just that - but I told Danton that I didn't feel I would have earned the right till we got the Greenlight to shoot. Unfortunately, that light never came.

It is, perhaps, supremely ironic that Danton died on the weekend of IRON MAN's release. As IRON MAN, to a degree, signaled the end of JOHN CARTER at Paramount. Jon Favreau was incredibly passionate about bringing Danton's dream of seeing Edgar's vision to life. I remember when Danton saw the tests that Kerry Conran put together as a proof of concept to show Paramount... he was so incredibly excited. There were a few filmed moments of John walking and leaping upon the surface of Barsoom... and it was glorious.

The reason this obit is hard, is we let Danton down. Sure Pixar is going to make a brilliant John Carter series, but it is too late now for Danton. Danton has long been the stalwart protector of the Burroughs realm. Making sure that his Grandfather's properties were protected and given the utmost respect that they deserved. I'll cherish sharing a dream of realizing Barsoom with him - just as I love the visions of the great unmade Burroughs epic that I saw with Rodriguez, Conran and Favreau.

However, when Pixar hatches a Tharkian egg and lets John hop upon the Martian plains... I feel that Danton's spirit will be cheering the adventures on... just as he had in life. With his passing, an end of an era for the Burroughs world has passed into the mist. He was a very, very good man.