Michael Chabon Writing Pixar's 'John Carter of Mars'

Novelists writing screenplays can be real hit or miss. Usually, their style of writing is a bit too dense for films, because they're entirely different media. But with the really, really good writers, you give them the benefit of the doubt. And so it is with Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon, who confirmed to The Amazing Website of Kavalier & Clay (via io9) what was mentioned in passing last week: Chabon is writing Pixar's John Carter of Mars. The website is, of course, a tip of the cap to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, so the author was more than happy to let the site know what was really up. "I've been hired to do some revisions to an already strong script by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews," Chabon said. "I wrote my original screenplay The Martian Agent back in 1995 because I wished I could do [Edgar Rice] Burroughs's Barsoom. So this is pretty much a dream come true for me." An adventurous endeavor, even by Pixar's standards, John Carter of Mars is about a Civil War soldier who is transported by some kind of astral projection to the Evil Red Planet, taken prisoner, escapes, and then saves the day. That's an oversimplification, but you get the general idea. Pixar has it scheduled for a 2012 release (if the planet doesn't blow up by then), and it would be the first classic tale adapted by the industry-leading animation studio. I wonder if a new Watership Down or my dream Pixar project, Animal Farm could be down the line if this goes over well. Just getting it out there... So it looks like Chabon is just making a few changes, cleaning up some areas that might not be as strong as some of the others. A film based on one of his novels, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is now playing in selected cities.

Comments

[that guy]

I'm guessing Dreamworks would give you Animal Farm before you'd get it from Pixar, the material is too liberal for Disney.