This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This Friday, the Disney sci-fi blockbuster "John Carter" — the most expensive movie ever filmed extensively in Utah — opens in theaters around the country. All this week, The Cricket will bring you tidbits from the cast and filmmakers who made "John Carter."
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There's a touching note in the closing credits of "John Carter": "Dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, an inspiration for us all."
Andrew Stanton, the director of "John Carter," explained at a recent press junket why he wanted to honor Jobs, the Apple Computer founder and early backer of Pixar (where Stanton worked his way up the ranks, directing "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E").
Stanton said that there was a bit of trepidation about paying tribute to Jobs (who died in October) in the "John Carter" credits because there already were plans for a dedication on "Brave," this summer's Pixar animated film.
"I didn't want to steal any thunder from Pixar's dedication because that's really the real family member for Steve," Stanton said. (Jobs bought the computer-animation studio from LucasFilm, back in 1986, and renamed it Pixar.)
But, after consulting with John Lasseter and with Jobs' wife, Stanton went ahead with the dedication.
During filming of "John Carter," Stanton said, people would ask him "What is Pixar like?" In talking about how Pixar works, he said, "it would be such a long explanation to them about, trying to tell them why it ran differently and why the movies came out the way they did, that I ended up just simplifying my answer down to 'Steve. Steve's why.' "
"It was amazing to see how much he had firewalled us from" in Hollywood, Stanton said.
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For a view from the set of "John Carter," and a look at the Utah connection, read The Cricket's article from Sunday's Tribune. Also, read this story about how the film moved from the page to the screen.