I am somehow excited!

@m
Well said!

Paul, don’t let you opinion be called humble. It’s spot on. Arny was just terrible as Conan.

I hope they listen to M’s post above. Take a lesson from the latest Batman movies, the Spider Man movies and even Richard Donners Superman. They were all HUGE hits and stuck VERY closely to their source material.

There is no reason to make the same mistake as Arney’s disaster by trying to appeal to the every goddamn person out there.

Hi there, people. Please excuse my bad english. I’m a Conan fan from germany and in the mid fourties.

I read my first original conan story when I was fifteen in a book with a Frank Frazetta cover. So far, you can imagine how I think about the movies/series that have been produced since.

The first Conan movie done by John Milius with Arnold (I think he was great in other movies) was so disappointing for me, he had only muscles but whether the agility nor the intensity of the original character. Just slow with a dumb face and habit. So was the whole movie.

And I just don’t want to talk about the shameful creations of a Ralf Möller series for families.

Since I heard of this new project, I am just swallowing all the news. Because its such a great stuff, just to be made a movie.

My favorite director would have been Peter Jackson if this had been a high budget production. I think with his experience in doing horror and fantasy movies he would have done a movie with thrilling atmosphere and intensity. The second would have been Ridley Scott who also could have turned this into a new highlight in fantasy moviemaking.

Now, that this is a low budget project my hope lies in todays possibilities of post production. Look at the „making ofs“ from „Lord of the Rings“ for example, how they made the light interesting that it didn’t look like a vacation movie from the bahamas.
Those directors can make even „low performers“ look good (I think the only one with charisma until now is Stephen Lang). There should be a „vibrating“ atmosphere as in the original stories.

I hope a Marcus Nispel knows how to use this tools to „build“ his characters and sets in the pure sense of Howards original stories. There is a great chance for him.

I wondered why they need to wright a special script for a Conan movie, there is no reason. If they just adapt one original REH-story and did it well, it would be much better than telling a new story (Conans father, conan as a child, who the hell needs this?).

Well, we’ ll see, hopefully it will get at least further in REH direction than the other things did so far.

Yours
Grifter

… sorry about the abuse/repetition of “movie” at the end of my previous post;)

nispel is very iffy. I saw pathfinder and where I thought the look of the flick was stylized and nice, the plot , acting and everything almostmade it unwatchable which is a shame because it is a visually interesting movie. Now I actually enjoyed his friday the 13th, because in any of those movies you just put your brain to sleep and enjoy the silliness of it all. I hate his texas chainsaw massacre, the original is one of my top 3 favorite horror flicks and I felt he “butchered” it. He did some kind of frankenstein movie too, I only saw about 5 minutes ( on my way out )of it but it seemed actually interesting. I think ultimatley he will bring a visually handsome looking flick, as I said in an earlier post, a living frazetta painting. Can he get performances out of his actors? Can he work with a script that may be a lame duck?

I seen the Frankenstein movie based on Koontz novels. It was supposed to be series and then it was cancelled. It had Vincent Perez and Thomas Kretschmann in it. I have this flick on a DVD and kinda liked it. It has a very dark athmosfere.

About the Frankenstein movie: This made-for-cable Frankenstein was originally intended as the pilot for a weekly series based on Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son, a novel by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson. The story is set in modern-day New Orleans, the home of demented scientist Dr. Victor Helios (Thomas Kretschmann). Helios is in fact the original Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who has kept himself alive these past 200 years by a series of diabolical genetic experiments. During the same two centuries, Frankenstein has managed to keep alive the original Frankenstein’s monster, and has also created dozens of other synthetic humans capable of reinvigorating themselves whenever they are “killed.” Of course, the doctor’s experiments require that a number of innocent people unwillingly give up their own lives — and when the bodies start piling up in the Big Easy, detective Carson O’Connor (Parker Posey) and Michael Sloane (Adam Goldberg) start putting the clues together. Ironically, in this story it is Frankenstein who is the villain (in standard serial-killer fashion he tantalizes the cops by planting cryptic clues), while the doctor’s main monster is the nominal hero, and a good-looking one at that. Dissatisfied with the finished product, Koontz and Anderson took their names off Frankenstein, as did the project’s original executive producer, Martin Scorsese. The unsold pilot film made its USA network bow on October 10, 2004.

About the Demeter movie:
I like the idea. It could be made into a very creepy claustrophobic movie. But in the end I dont see how it could be anything else but a splatter, following the chainsaw massacre and friday the 13th, just with 19th century sailors instead of panicked girls;) Its just not enough story to expand on.
Well, maybe its nice to see those movies too sometimes.

Hey Rafa Ojos,go to http://www.mypdfscripts.com/unproduced/king-conan-crown-of-iron.Or google king conan:crown of iron screenplay and follow the link.I photo copied it and its quite hefty with some Frazetta illos. put in as reference.Let me know what you think of it!I heard something on that silent b/w Lovecraft fan movie a while back.Reading Howard i can imagine Conan being done just like that.Its all exaggerated ballet movement with the characters and unbelievable dialogue that looks so much better writen than spoken.I thought that soon after seeing Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

it was made by the lovecraft historical society either in 2006 or 2008. I had netflix at the time and rented it . its very entertaining.Gonna check out milius king conan too. thanks for the info steve!

@m
I have seen the wonderfull call of cthulu movie! Im a great Lovecraft fan and really enjoy the love and humor they made that movie with. Even if you quite often find Lovecraft reference in old horror movies, I too awaits the first big adaptation of one of his works. The dunwich horror was recently re-made, but I have not seen it (anyone who recomend it?).
The best shot at a big lovecraft movie was when IMDB announced Guillermo del torro to make “At the Mountain of madness”. I still wait for that one, as it will be one of the greatest movies ever made;)

anyone see the trailer for predators? i think it looks sick…

Oh, by the way, with his height and dreads maybe Mr.Momoa should have auditioned for Predators instead!

Fredrik Malmberg is the Hollywood producer giving new life to ”Conan the Barbarian” Conan will be a mix between Jesus, James Bond and a biker.

Page 38

http://www.metro.se/se/misc/pdf/2010/03/22/SESTO_2010_03_22.pdf

I will be able to help with translation later in the afternoon if you are interested.

I can safely say my skepticsim has descended into despair… james bond ,jesus and a biker… i dont even have words for how lost this dope Malmberg is… THEIR CONAN SOUNDS LIKE A POLIITICALLY CORRECT AMALGAMATION OF PERSONALITIES THAT CANNOT POSSIBLY COEXIST AS ONE PERSONALITY!!! THEY WILL NOT PORTRAY CONAN AS HE SHOULD BE BECAUSE THEY TRULY LACK THE COURAGE TO DO SO!!!! sorry bout that waldgeist, for some reason that comment struck me to be more insulting than any of the other wonderfully depressing news that has come out of this production, I had to vent a bit. Does anyone agree?

“Warrior!” “What are the flowers for?!” ” For a gurrl !!”

yeah but don’t you remember the part of the new testament where jesus bit the vulture pecking at his wounds, pulled the nails out of his crucifix, and was taught the riddle of steel from john the baptist???My fellow barbarian , I know how you feel. I’ve been a fan since childhood and when i discovered the original stories as a teen ,it even helped me cope with a personal loss at the time. He is one of if not my favorite pulp hero ( I’m a fan of the literary james bond as well as mike hammer ,sam spade ,too many to list)Even now with the wife two kids full time blue collar job, I still like to be a kid and pick this stuff up when I can , especially conan.I totally dig this blog too. It’s not just the jesus reference, that was plain stupid.( makes me wonder how the film was financed though…)it’s like Malmberg threw in names based on what he thought was relevant and what would sell. I know anyone would want their film franchise to be as successfull as bond’s and conan’s stories lend themselves to be episodic , much like bonds, each one pretty much individualized from another.But the method of storytellng , and characterizations are not the same at all. I know bond has been considered a contemporary of conan, but i think it was said for other reasons( attracting interest) I actually think mike hammer is a better modern contemporary ( not the stacey keach show the old mickey spillane stories) the sex and violence of its hero turned heads in it’s day.And any fool who glances over a page of any barbarian comic or cartoon ( thundarr , he man) will go and say ” duh he is like a prehistoric duh biker dude”I mentioned in another post some ideas for cinematic interpretation. I think movies like yojimbo ( amoral swordsman playing two gangs against each other for his own profit, incidentally ridding the town of these gangsters ) or the spaghetti western remake a fistful of dollars, are great springboards at least to start . When I think of more ( maybe indiana jones?) I’ll throw them out and explain? If you can think of any , throw it in. Lata

I couldn’t agree more.At least with milius there’s consistency.Seemed like the original conan the barbarian was,more like a interpretation of howard stories in general rather than a direct adaptation on conan alone.Milius , i thought, went for more the prehistoric aspect of the stories more than the fantasy ( alittle) while throwing a bit of philosophy,to me seeming more kull-ish but it worked. As I said before , there was really no one like Arnold in 1982 , a bodybuilder who was crossing over to films with success.Can a better version be done? sure. Can someone outdo arnold? of course, but for what it is, it’s solid. And a damn amazing musical score on top

Conan… bigger than Jesus.Hmm.Hey, M I was thinking of your literary tastes and wondered if you had ever read Leigh Brackett.She combined tough edged pulp noir thrillers with Howard and Burroughs in interplanetary settings and it worked beautifully.Check out The sword of Rhiannon ,The nemesis of Terra or track down her Eric John Stark novellas and three novels.He was her Conan/Tarzan.She wrote the screenplay for Bogart in The big sleep and George Lucas hired her to write The empire strikes back.Unfortunately she died before completing it.I’m sure,like me,you will fall in love with this woman and her writing.

They are filming and no set pic’s yet? This suck’s.

Hi everybody,
I just wanted to share some information, if you already didn’t know, that I met on the Istanbul airport a very huge and known guy named Nathan Jones:).
I saw him running around and searching for Information on his flight. Than I walk towards him and asked him, if he is, who I thaught he is. He was a very nice guy and told me, he will fly to Bulgaria for shootings on the new Conan movie, but he is not Conan.
I told him that he is too bald, like me, for Conan, even he has a barbaric look.
A realy nice guy.

Thats great Kuvrat. I would be to much of a sissy to talk to that guy.

By Crom!Just downloaded Oliver Stone’s original 1978 “Conan” screenplay.Its(get this!)set in the future, after a nuclear war presumabely,and has hordes of mutant armies and cloned beast men. Go to http://www.conancompletist.com a rather cool looking French site with english translation dedicated to the original movie.Some nice trivia,rememberances, interviews and stuff.Is it me or does this new movie look like its gearing up to aim at the 12 year olds?

What would we LIKE to see in this movie?I think Conan going head to head with a CGI ape , giant snake or some such should be on the agenda-a mammoth skull busting bruiser of a battle where Conan comes out all bloodied and battered mumbling something like-”Well you can’t battle a demon out of hell and expect to come off with a whole skin” whilst brushing the obligatory concerned wench aside with a contemptous sweep of his arm and grabbing for a casket of wine.I want to see golden domed cities with galleons in the harbours.I want the splendour of the Hyborian Age this time round not a few woods and some dodgy dirt track hovels passing off as Zingara knocked up by some east european buiders desperate for a few euros.

Well, this is new. Rose McGowan is listed as “Red Sonja” on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816462/

So, instead of getting another role, she’ll actually make a cameo on the movie, then?

Red Sonja has “FINANCIAL PROBLEMS” according to Robert Rodriguez who goes on to say that the producers are waiting to see how well “Conan” does before commiting to its development.Looks like thats going to be even worse than this then.

I liked desperado and el mariachi, didn’t care for once upon a time in mexico, or most anything else he’s done since ,but i think the potential is always there with him. Never cared much for the red sonja character either, no enthusiasm for a movie there.The original is as unwatchable as ever.Just saw terminator salvation, not really sure what it was trying to accomplish.Not as bad as I thought it was be but def the worst of the 4 , I think. Is it me or does christian bale really suck in it?

They are making a sequel to “the sword and the sorcerer” right now, called “Tales of an ancient empire” starring some old classic action/adventure faces
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136688/
it looks pretty horrible, but for once its not a remake, and its the original director giving the world another try.
But then again, I didnt like the original much, even if it was a good attempt at a more Conanesque hero and storyline. I really like the eighties fantasy movies, but something is lacking in this one. (oh I have given it at least 3 tries, because many people recomend it and I want it to be good, but it always fail me;)

That ancient empire movie actually looks pretty good to me. It’s got the actors who played Highlander, Kull, Conan, and Batman all in the same movie. Of course, the dungeon siege movie had a lot of recognizable faces and wasn’t worth wiping my ass with.

I love “Fire and Ice”!Ok ,its about 30 mins too long and that wolf head guy does try too sound like John Wayne but its a blast.That new sequel to “The sword and the sorcerer” was mentioned in the end credits as coming soon!That was 1983 for Crom’s sake!I think if they had made the original a comedy it would have been a classic.Check out the fight at the end right from where the sorcerer reveals himself to the fight between Talon and the evil king where they keep breaking swords and keep pulling out new weapons from secret concealed sheaths and stuff.Its hysterical.Did anyone ever see “Hundra”?A female Conan.I got my grandad too hire out all these movies as a kid.

Has anyone here been on the website The Cimmerian? it a bob howard/ fantasy site and I just read an article about the casting: If anyone thinks we’ve been trashing this flick, check out Duece Richardsons’ october 2009 article “( mis) casting call for a barbarian( y’all better sit down for this one)” Best article I’ve read on this movie so far, and if you think you’re disgusted now… ( only cool hint that maybe christopher lee doing voiceover narration, any truth to that ?)

I grew up with Bakshis Lord of the rings. I still have his interpretation as default when I think of the characters (nothing against PJ, just… well). To bad he didnt get funding to do the whole thing.

I picked up Bakshi’s “Lord of the rings” for my girlfriend on her birthday.She loves Tolkein but (choke!) can’t stand Conan.I’ve tried many a time to change her opinion but,alas,to no avail.Sometimes when I come in I find my prized mcFarlane King Conan with an accessorey war-axe thrust up his loincloth.I actually liked that (Bakshi) version but was bored of the smug hype surrounding the Jackson movies.Has anyone heard “Keen of the Crow”? They are a black/death metal band who did an album “Hyborea” a couple of years back.Its themed around the story of the original movie and is pretty damn good.

@ steveI have a few of those mcfarlane conan !i’ve seen the king conan one, it is sick. I kept them in the box: one of them he has either a sword or a war hammer the other he has armour on, gotta look for them. I like jacksons lotr, I really enjoy his fellowship the best, but I don’t know, there is something very pompous about return of the king I can’t put my finger on. Two towers is solid though.Bakshi was the first to try I give him a ton of credit, and his early animated flicks have this weirdness I totally dig, lotr is no exception.Never heard of keen of the crow, but I have a few buddies from back in the day who might know.I have a conan question: How much controlling interest does mr decamp have( or had)in cpi ( conan properties)?what were the circumstances that exist today that allowed howards original works to be more readily available with mr. decamps slimy hands not ruining it?I understand that decamp saw a money maker in the 50′s and 60′s and basically looted the works, but what changed and when ? Is it because howards works are now in public domain?

I also would like to see some pics from the set, but M dose have a point, It has only been 15 days into it. I do think they could post some concept art and stuff.

Hey M whilst its true L.Sprague de Camp did use Conan for ends generally dubious, its the character I grew up with when I first started reading him in the early ’80s and therefore knew no better.Conan properties was formed out of his own interests when the original movie was being made to make sure he got a slice of the pie.I’ve read some hateful things about him but I have to say I thought his completion of Howard’s “Drums of Tombalku” and his story from the synopsis of “The hall of the dead” were top notch.I even enjoyed the pastiche novels with Lin Carter and Bjorn Nyberg for my sins.He died a few years back.

@steve:i too , read many of his( decamps, carters, nyberg’s) pastiches or
“posthumous collaborations”as theyre known as well, it was all that seemed available here.I will admit I always got a kick out of conan the buccaneer and conan the avenger. Call me crazy but i think i’d rather see those as movies than what we’ve heard this one is shaping up to be like ( pray to mitra i’m wrong of course), I just never knew till recently what animosity decamp and his collaborators are met with and why.And i admit, after what you’ve informed me of de camp was very shrewd and love him or hate him he did help push conan through the 1950′s and 60′s. Isn’t that oliver stone script a rip?Unless it was animated I don’t see it possible to film or for arnie to portray either .Haven’t gotten to Crown of iron yet, I’m interested , after mainly reading stone’s script to see how milius does without stones script as aspringboard of sorts.I thought i remember reading about it, that it involves his son ( spelled kon not conn?) and a bit part with sandahl bergman playing some sort of bartender resembling valeria ?

Sorry i forgot the author: Poul Anderson

I agree.Poul Anderson wrote one of my all time favourite fantasy novels “The broken sword” back in 1956, it was a big influence on Michael Moorcock’s Elric not to mention taking the same Nordic saga influence sources as Tolkein did for his Middle earth epics,a full year before his was published!Unfortunately I found “Conan the Rebel” a half hearted effort by someone who had no seeming enthusism for what he was writing.I do like John Maddox Roberts efforts however particularly “Conan the Champion” and “Conan the Marauder”.He was later to complain about editorial policies trying to dumb it down for the kiddie market.His stuff retained some good Howard moments nonetheless and is better than most of the other Tor books writing team managed to churn out-some of which was ghastly.

Thanks for the heads up steve. I read the rest of the article, it expresses everything it needs to perfectly.I like that cimmerian site, lotsa cool stuff.hopefully we’ll get to see the pics within the next two weeks or so .It would be nice at the minimum to see an agreeable depiction of conan. as for the rest I’ll just reiterate my first post pertaining to this: if the movie works out ,I will be the first to apologize and eat my feet.If it sucks, ha ha!On another note, I wouldn’t know which pastiche writers to go with aside carter nyberg and decamp for good conan stories, some of them look horrendous. I read a review of conan of venarium and I cringed. How’s this robert jordan guy?

I have to say that I am looking foward to the movie.It would be impossible for Hollywood to portray Conan as he should be! They would have to rate the film as an adult movie and they just would not have the balls to do that-money talks!!
I remember reading an interview with Frazetta years ago and he was fairly dismissive of Arnold playing Coanan.he said what was needed was a 6 feet 6 version of the late Charles Bronson to bring Conan to life! William Smith who played Conan’s father in the Milius movie would have been a superb Conan when he was in his thirties or even forties.I still think triple H wouls have made a great Conan.Lets hope for the best and pray that Jason Momoa has really bulked up for the role!