John Carter Fans Want A Sequel But Does Hollywood?

As Disney’s “John Carter” appeals to audiences of all ages and both genders, the Hollywood media have increased their attacks on the movie by predicting financial woes for Disney. A few non-Hollywood-friendly news organizations like The Guardian report that financial expert Tony Wible of Janney Montgomery Scott doesn’t think the movie will be much of a financial disaster for Disney. Wible has the numbers and the Guardian has the story so I won’t repeat all that here.

It’s puzzling why The Hollywood Reporter continues to loudly proclaim the failure of “John Carter” despite the numerous complaints from readers on its Website over the deliberately inaccurate and misrepresentative reporting. If there is a Pullitzer UNPrize for Yellow Journalism, The Hollywood Reporter appears to be this year’s leading candidate for it, edging out The New York Times and The National Enquirer. All they need is a lawsuit from Cher to clinch the deal, I think.

I can’t help but keep thinking of the anonymous “rival studio” executive who peppered the news media with dire predictions about the film’s impending doom in the weeks leading up to the release of “John Carter”. So I won’t rehash the numbers — we all know them by heart now. Still, despite all the errors that the Disney organization has been accused of making, it seems like there is still an undertone of anti-John Carterism flowing through certain media stories. The Hollywood Reporter is not the only organization practicing Poison Pen Journalism, but they are certainly the most notable.

Some anti-Carter stories have been repeatedly Tweeted by their publishers all week long. Now, since I don’t normally follow those accounts I don’t know if they’re just doing what they normally do (many social media marketers recommend you Retweet links) or if they are trying to make sure they get credit (and readers) for driving nails into the John Carter coffin.

Following on the trail of Forbes, several media outlets are reporting that fans of the movie have launched this John Carter Facebook page to build support for a sequel.

And a few Websites are also promoting this fan-made trailer that is attempting to stir up interest in the character of John Carter, not the controversy over the movie.

But let’s be honest, here: the poison pen campaign has all but done its job. There should probably be a Congressional investigation into what happened because, frankly, I think someone smelled blood in the water and used the press to torpedo the movie. That smacks of unfair trade practices to me. No film studio executives should be giving anonymous predictions about the impending failure of movies to the news media. Either stand up and give your name or keep your mouth shut.

Ultimately the people who suffer are the audiences who demand better entertainment but which don’t have the time (or necessarily even the expertise) to read between the lines and see what is really going on. We still don’t know what the full story is. The news media diverted attention away from the poison pen campaign by looking at the very real mistakes that Disney (and Andrew Stanton) made. But the fact remains that at least one rival studio played dirty with this movie and The Hollywood Reporter appears to have made its allegiances patently clear.