IT’S NOT MARS, BUT JOHN CARTER THROWS A GOOD PARTY

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 Way back in 1912, before he created Tarzan, the American author Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the first of 11 books featuring John Carter, a Civil War soldier who is transported to Mars where the change in gravity endows him with extraordinary abilities.

with Lynn Collins

 Now, 100 years later, the Disney studios and Pixar have produced a big-budget, special effects-filled extravaganza based on the books. 
  All in the cause of research I joined a group of international journalists at a pre-screening promotional party and round of interviews at the luxurious Boulders resort and spa in the appropriately named Carefree,  Arizona, although there was no tangible reason for Disney to choose this particular venue apart from its stunning scenery —the movie was filmed mainly at Shepperton Studios and in the English countryside with location shots in Utah and is set primarily on Mars.

sunset on the rocks

 Still, it was a good spot for plenty of sunset party-drinking and interviews with the cast, including the movie’s female star, Lynn Collins, who sounds very English in her role as Dejah Thoris, the beautiful, raven-haired  Martian princess. I asked her where in England she was from, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It turns out she is part-Irish and part-Cherokee Indian from Texas although, she told me, “I think English accents are gorgeous.”
  A good party, interesting crowd and a spectacular venue. The movie? No comment.    


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