Jason Momoa appears to have reassessed his original opinion on who would come out on top in a fight between Conan and Khal Drogo:

When asked who would win: Drogo or Conan (as he had played both), he affected a glower and decided, “They would kill each other!”

It’s actually kind of a stroke of genius, since saying Conan & Drogo would kill each other is not mutually exclusive with saying Drogo would kick Conan’s ass, so he hasn’t really reassessed his position at all. He just hasn’t said Conan would kick Drogo’s ass yet to round it all up, and… well, let’s be frank, we don’t need him to say that, do we? It isn’t as if Jason needed to save face or anything in this non-controversy, but hey, diplomacy without backtracking’s pretty impressive.

Still, I really think this whole Conan vs Khal Drogo shebang should be a thing, just for the fun of it. Hmm, I wonder if Soul Calibur V has its guest stars nailed down yet…

Not just a few more scraps of Comic-Con news, but from around the ‘Net in general. Lots of videos in this post, such as this 15-second* tv-spot shown on TrailerAddict called “His Price”:

First, though, here’s an interview with Jason Momoa and Rachel Nichols with Rebecca Murray of About.com:

How does this movie reinvent or reinvigorate the franchise?

Rachel Nichols: “You know, I think whenever you sort of run into retelling…there are many Conan stories, first of all, so I think when you do a retelling of the story or reinvigorating of it, you need to maintain a certain integrity when it comes to the old version of the franchise. You have to update it and make it modern. You have to make it flashy and new for people, especially with the 3D and the action. It’s still the battle of good versus evil. It’s still a great story of revenge and love and friendship. But there’s the added level of modern-day technology, which I think they did a really good of blending the two.”

Jason Momoa: “You did a really good job [answering that].”

Rachel Nichols: “Thank you.”

Jason Momoa: “You’re fantastic.”

To continue, your must answer me these questions three… or alternatively just click “read more,” whatever, I’m flexible.

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I just bought a copy of Conan the Barbarian: The Classic Original Stories That Inspired The Film,  a mass-market paperback aimed to be an introduction to Robert E. Howard’s work by myself. Now, I’m not sure if it’s the exact same edition as the one that’s been reported elsewhere, or if this is a UK-only edition. Nonetheless, here we go!

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In the wake of the recent reveal of the “Egg Race” sequence, a few new links and snippets have popped up. Plus two quirky photos of Jason’s photo call in Madrid!

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Not as many news pieces this week, but since I’m still having problems with the latest Stills & Analysis post, I figure I have to get something out.

We’ll start off with some disappointing news: a Little Birdie has regrettably announced that Conan’s eyes won’t be blue in this film.

Conan isn’t gonna have blue eyes. They tried using contacts and after that they tried digital effects and go frame by frame to changes Jasons eyes blue. But the effect looked bad. Jason’s dark skin in combo with the “smoldering blue eyes” looked fake. “Like Eddie Murphy in Vampire of Brooklyn” one guy said. So they just went with his regular eye color.

Tremendously disappointing news for those holding out hope on ensuring one of the fundamental hallmarks of Conan’s appearance would make it in the film. What’s more, it suggests future films will probably have to follow suit, which would be even more disappointing. All the more jarring since the love interest and lead villain do have blue eyes.

Luckily, not all the news is so disappointing. Click on, and hopefully we can wash that disappointing aftertaste away.

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There were a couple of articles I neglected to post back in June, so I’ve included them in this roundup, as well as some pictures of Rachel Nichols making funny faces. Gotta have some pictures to spice up the blog, right?

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Another week, another roundup of information that doesn’t fit anywhere else. Lots of news this week!

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The much-anticipated Robert E. Howard’s The Frost-Giant’s Daughter from Studio Guignol has hit the internet!

Excellent locations, good quality film, great use of stock footage, nice costumes, well-integrated special effects, original soundtrack – plus it’s all Robert E. Howard, by fans, for fans. Considering the budget and resources available, I think they’ve done a fantastic job.

Well done, guys!

Another report from agent Stampfer details a series of links regarding the creation of the Conan posters.

The new posters, featuring Conan standing atop a pile of skulls and Conan laying into Khalar Zym’s henchmen respectively, were designed by Lionsgate’s President of Theatrical Marketing, Tim Palen. Mr Palen is an award-winning photographer, and according to Fastcompany, he might be the only Hollywood studio executive who personally photographs the posters for his films.

A gallery of Palen’s work can be seen on his personal website. Some interesting interviews can be found at The New Yorker and Full Fashion Frontal.

It should be noted that Palen did not create the early promotional pictures with Jody Samson’s Atlantean sword (including the one with the sword stuck in a stone which Wikipedia seems to think was fan-made): these, as well as the Red Sonja posters with Rose McGowan in a mail bikini, were created by Big Picture Group in Los Angeles. One can access these pictures at their website – along with some that I haven’t seen before.

It’s probably best they didn’t go with this: seeing “Conan’s” face, even partially obscured in profile, might’ve had people scrambling for identification on the new Cimmerian. The Arthurian riff were mysterious enough without necessarily giving anyone the mistaken impression that Conan was cast at the time. The muscular Arnold-esque torso on the other hand… well, at least we now know Jason Momoa’s been cast.

A few more bits and pieces in Conan news that don’t fit anywhere else popped up, so here they are in another news roundup!
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