My book, John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood, is out today!

By Michael Sellers On December 7, 2012 · In x,y,z -- Everything Else

For much of the last year I’ve been caught up in what was at first a hopeful experience–my favorite book series from my youth finally making it to the screen–but gradually turned into a nightmare as I watched a marketing disaster of epic proportions lead to it being declared a horrific flop before it was even released . . . .but within days of its release it started generating extremely passionate fans, and my blogsite up until today continues to get 200-300 hits a day from people searching “John Carter Sequel” or “John Carter 2”. Anyway, the whole eperience led to me creating first the blogsite The John Carter Files, and eventually writing a book entitled John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood that tries to figure out just what went wrong . . . . and which makes the case that this film series isn’t quite dead yet. The book was released today . . .it’s on Amazon and for sale on our sites as well. I’m truly proud of the book — it’s me doing my bit for the old grandmaster Edgar Rice Burroughs, a true genius who inspired us to dream big and believe in ourselves and the possibilities that life holds for us. Ray Bradbury said this of Burroughs: “Burroughs is probably the most influential writer in the entire history of the world. By giving romance and adventure to a whole generation of boys, Burroughs caused them to go out and decide to become special. . . .Burroughs probably changed more destinies than any other writer in American history.”

So this book is part an appreciation of Burroughs, and part “crash investigation” into a Hollywood disaster of epic proportions that never should have happened.

Here is a link to the book page on my “author” site: John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood

Here is the Amazon dead tree book link. John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood Trade Paperback on Amazon.

Here is the Amazon link for the Kindle edition: John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood on Kindle

Here is a hint (click on the link)

Here is the user review that is rated the “Most helpful” on Amazon.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A story worthy of Edgar Rice Burroughs himself December 2, 2012

By R. Barry

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Michael Sellers has taken a story worthy of Edgar Rice Burroughs himself and told it with style, skill, fairness, thoroughness – and great affection for the original material. He narrates the gripping saga of the 100-year-old novel’s long march to the big screen, during which time much of Burroughs’ creative genius was ‘strip-mined’ by such later icons as Lucas and Cameron. Along the way Sellers treats the reader to an insider’s view of today’s ‘gods of Hollywood,’ who are not the autocratic and capricious moguls of a bygone era but equally aggressive, corporate warriors navigating the narrow straits between ever-adjusting, long-term, strategic visions and those pesky, quarterly earnings reports. In this world, cinematic artistry becomes a consumer product; and even a $250-million tentpole film can be sacrificed on the altar of an executive coup or the next acquisition.

In true Burroughs style, this timely tale ends with its own, real-life cliffhanger: will the concluding installments of the Burroughs/Stanton trilogy ever see the light of day, or, more to the point, the warm, inviting light of an IMAX theater? Against all odds, Sellers shows how that just might happen.

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And here, to give the other side its due, is the only negative user review so far.

1 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Passionate, if a bit fanatic tome for a middling movie, December 6, 2012

Cookiewise “cookiewise”

This review is from: John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood (Paperback)

A not particularly critical look by a fan who’s fanaticism over a middling movie out of place and time is mildly entertaining, but not for the reasons one might suspect. It’s a glimpse into an uber fan’s well meaning, if obviously skewed love of the pulp novellas and it’s translation into one of the biggest motion picture blunders ever. The film itself couldn’t convince audiences to care–it never rises above just another content filler for late night cable tv filler.

The information on the films mishandling by marketing is certainly the most interesting part of this book. Why would Disney not properly promote a film, no matter how weak, that it spent so much money on? It’s certainly far better, as a film, than dreck like Tim Burton’s moneymaker Alice in Wonderland and the bomb Tron Legacy.

Ultimately, the book can’t shake it’s “fan-boy” status, and it’s passionate argument for a sequel isn’t very convincing. Taken with a very large grain of salt, it’s more interesting as a peek into the culture of fan-dom than a serious look at the perils of Hollywood moviemaking.

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