Hey Cinema Retro (and Lee Pfeiffer in particular!)-
Jason Lenzi here, I wanted to drop a note and tell you how much I continue to enjoy the CINEMA RETRO website. I check in on it every other day or so.
Something's stirring at the multiplex right now that's right up CR's alley: JOHN CARTER. Being the classic pop culture experts you are, I don't need to tell you about the history of CARTER, it's inspiring storytelling as we know it for the past 100 years, and the dozens of false starts a JC movie has had over the years. But it finally got made, and then subsequently ignored. Doomed from the start, there has already been miles of coverage given to all the ways the promotional department at Disney messed up, from the shortening of the title to the loathsome ad campaign. Before it's release, all the naysayers started calling it "the disaster of the year", or something to that effect. Which is a shame, because the deck became remarkably stacked against a great movie.
The kind of movie that DOES NOT get made anymore. Bursting with creativity, intelligent, action packed and beautiful to look at, for all it's faults and horrible marketing, JOHN CARTER is a refreshing throwback to the blockbusters of yesteryear, like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. And I feel it's going to go down like THE ROCKETEER from the same studio, 20 years ago: it will become a classic that the world will catch up with a decade later.
But something very interesting is happening. The box office is great overseas, and while it had a tepid opening weekend (which in itself was a miracle considering how poorly it was promoted), the Hollywood Reporter is reporting that box office has increased from Monday to Tuesday. And a new website, www.thejohncarterfiles.com, has been launched, and this weekend they're urging everyone to hit the theater again for a 'Take a Friend to Barsoom' weekend. There's even a Facebook page urging the studio to make a sequel.
I'm writing to CR about all of this because I felt this is the kind of film you guys would get behind, and thus would get behind the fan campaign. I've been part of a podcast, called 'Geek Shall Inherit', and for the past several weeks I've been preaching the gospel of JC, and now that I've seen it and love it, will be doing more of the same. Because the world needs more movies like JOHN CARTER.
Just thought you'd like to get to Barsoom with the rest of us!
Best,
Jason Lenzi
Retro responds: Jason, we always have a soft spot in our hearts for courageous movie fans who stand up and defend movies that are widely derided by others. Frankly, I haven't seen the film, nor do I intend to, but that's primarily due to a lack of time. I share your respect for The Rocketeer, which remains an underrated gem that is just aching to be rediscovered.
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