And when I mean, embarrassment, I mean embarrassment. Bargain basement movie studio THE ASYLUM (makers of such cinematic wonders as MEGA SHARK VERSUS GIANT OCTOPUS and TRANSMORPHERS: FALL OF MAN) are known for jumping on the bandwagon to make a knockoff of an established film in niche genre (though what original film Mega Shark was copying is a mystery to me). Usually the company waits until a movie has been released to copy it. Their new Princess of Mars film does double duty. Their version is already close to finished, and is already being promoted as a tie-in to John Cameron’s AVATAR (what the connection is is puzzling to me) while the straight to DVD release will be on shelves when Disney eventually begins to promote Andrew Stanton’s JOHN CARTER OF MARS.
The Asylum’s strategy works .. for a second. Reading the news of this release, my first thought was “Antonia Sabato as John Carter? NOOOOOOO…. followed quickly by Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris…? NOOOOOOO!!!! Are they out of their minds???” Then I figured out this was a cheap knockoff. Given that the source material has lapsed into public domain, The Asylum can get away with it. Okay, maybe I’ll view this version of a Princess of Mars when it hits the SyFy channel, but I shudder at the thought of this cast.. Sabato is, essentially, a television actor. Lords? Well, I can forgive a lady the indiscretions of her youth, but the fact is she’s a bit of a block of wood when it comes to straight roles. In any event, it should be.. erm.. interesting viewing.
Third Point of Singularity 
Well Walt– I kind of was of your mind when I saw the trailer– watched that before I saw your comments. When it flickered on I thought a blonde Deja Thoris was pretty off the beam, shouldn’t she have black hair– Then I saw “Traci Lords.”
Snicker Snicker– smile, harumph,, snicker snicker– wink wink nudge nudge. Gotta see it now, just for the schlock value– Might make the MST3K collection for 2010. Remember Walt, Lotsa younger guys out there who don’t know who she is.
Besides– I’m not so sure that a block of wood won’t work. I thought all the characters from Burroughs “Mars” books were particularly “oaken.” Actually they weren’t oaken- they were particle board with a formica skin.
But come on– I suspect that the book will be one that is appropriately bound.
Otto
Traci Lords may be a veteran of the industry.. in a certain sense.. and toothsome enough, I suppose. Yet, she’s 42 years old (if IMDB is accurate) and hardly the young spoiled brat that Dejah Thoris is described as being in Princess of Mars. I suspect this production company got the biggest names they could pay for here, but the casting continues to leave me unimpressed. Direct to cable, that’s my prediction.
(still waiting on the Disney version!)
Dear Walt
Yes, well I suppose, but Traci is a tryer– I like tryers.
I thought Lucy Liu might have made a good Dejah Thoris. But then I’ve never been a big fan of the series anyway. I really lost interest once John Carter let out the first “He felt the riding blood of his fighting Virginia Grandsires..” I giggled too hard when I heard that to take any of the rest of the book seriously.
I realize that Burroughs wrote it in another time and another age. But I never could warm up to the story.
I was more interested in sci-fi back then then fantasy.
Otto
[…] too lazy to do the research. Fortunately, Den Valdron’s article did all that for me. As I have mentioned before, Asylum specializes in low-rent knockoffs of major movies, usually produced on the cheap and on the […]