Thanks to sweetre15, Sean Hood has graciously answered questions from the users at the Robert E. Howard Forums regarding the upcoming film at his personal website. For expediency, I’ll copy it here.

The fans on the Conan.com forum asked me a number of questions about the upcoming movie Conan The Barbarian 3D. Here are my answers:

1. I know that you know the original stories and the Conan character as good as any. Which part of the script would you have loved to change but weren’t allowed/able to because whatever reason? And what would you have changed it to?

When I started the bulk of my work on the film, there were only two weeks until shooting was scheduled to begin. Sets were already built, characters were cast, stunts were choreographed, and special effects were pre-visualized. Although a lot of scene, story and character elements ultimately changed, I had to work within some very tight parameters under intense pressure to deliver pages quickly. Production rewrites are sometimes described as “changing the wheels on a moving car.”

To get an idea of what kind of Conan film I’d make if it were just me writing for myself, check out this answer/link:

What are the best Conan the Barbarian stories written by Robert E Howard and which story would be the best to adapt as a motion picture?

It’s a very lengthy piece, around 3,000 words and with 26 questions overall. The click shall set you free.

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The fallout from Comic-Con has mostly settled, but there are a few snippets left to go around.

The Sioux City Journal has an interview with Stephen Lang, where his role as Khalar Zym comes up:

LOS ANGELES — You want bad guys? Call Stephen Lang. He’s an expert.

Thanks to an unrelenting role in “Avatar,” Lang has become the go-to bad guy for directors.

“Yeah, I’ve played a few,” he says with a laugh. “But this guy isn’t necessarily one of them.” The character he’s referring to is the explorer who leads others from a ruined Earth to a prehistoric one in “Terra Nova.” “He’s a righteous guy. But he’s not necessarily a bad guy.”

But Khalar Zym, the character he plays in the new “Conan the Barbarian” film? “He’s bad. He’s death — an evil warlord. And it was fun.”

For more, click on, Macduff.

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In addition to a few reviews, I’ve found a veritable treasure trove of high resolution pictures from various websites. How in blazes did I miss these the first time around? Well, let’s make up for lost time.

First of all, wiki-cine.com has two brand new (to my knowledge) stills. The first is Rachel Nichols’ Tamara tied to the sacrificial wheel seen in the trailers and other shots, with Stephen Lang’s Khalar Zym touching her chest with the Mask of Acheron, collecting the blood flowing in rivulets from the fresh wound under her collarbone. Mola Ram could not be reached for comment.

The second shows Jason Momoa’s Conan and Nonso Anozie’s Artus at the slaver location. Conan is covered in grime and blood, while Artus appears none the worse for wear. While Artus does appear somewhat massive next to Conan here, Nonso Anozie’s only two inches taller than Jason, so I’m assuming Artus is standing on slightly higher ground in this shot: it looks like Artus is stepping down from a gangway. His massive pauldrons might also give the illusion of size. We know, however, from other shots that Conan and Artus are more or less the same size.

For more high resolution pictures, including another new one (sorry ladies, not Momoa) click on, wayward son.

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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…

Tons of stuff today!

Movies.com hosts an interview with Rachel Nichols, where she discusses playing a strong female character, the physicality of the role of Tamara, and how huge Jason Momoa got between her first testing session and shooting:

There was nothing more exciting for Rachel Nichols than to play Tamara, Conan’s accomplice and eventual love interest, in Conan the Barbarian. She jumped at the chance to play a smart, capable woman who breaks the mold of typical fantasy heroines, a character that is not only profound and tough but if given the choice of fight or flight she would absolutely fight.

In an exclusive interview Nichols candidly spoke to us about playing a strong female role, working with co-star Jason Momoa, and her two Hollywood crushes.

Ah, but to find out what she says, good traveller, thou must clicketh the linketh!

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Jason Momoa & Rachel Nicols, both looking just cute as buttons, as snapped by JoBlo.com

Some more Comic-Con sightings and reports today. First is an 18 minute roundtable interview with Ramascreen, featuring Jason Momoa and Rachel Nichols, which can be heard here:

Special thanks to Lionsgate, at Comic-Con 2011, a few press members and I were lucky enough to chat with Jason Momoa (HBO’s Game Of Thrones) and the sexy Rachel Nichols (G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra) about their new movie, CONAN THE BARBARIAN reboot. By the way, Momoa was even more massive in person than he was on screen. That dude entered the interview room while eating heavy sandwich.
I got to ask them about their experiences filming in Bulgaria and about Marcus Nispel‘s directing style.

For more snippets and segments, click after the break.

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This has been mentioned in other interviews, but I figure it deserves its own post: according to none other than Jason Momoa himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger enjoyed the new Conan film, he thinks Jason did a good job, and he’s proud of him.

“I was excited to find out that he actually watched it and liked it a lot,” Jason Momoa tells NextMovie of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reaction. “He was proud of me and thought I did a good job.”

So, it’s official: Arnold Schwarzenegger approves of Jason Momoa. The 1982 Conan thinks the 2011 Conan did well. If anyone still has a problem with Jason stepping into Arnold’s shoes*, then who are you to argue with the Governator himself?

*not that he is really stepping into Arnold’s shoes at all, what with this NOT BEING A BLASTED REMAKE WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL SAYING THAT AWAY WITH YOU MEN IN WHITE COATS THE PEOPLE MUST KNOW

Even though Lionsgate and the gang aren’t presenting Conan the Barbarian at Comic-Con, the major cast members were on hand to promote the film. First is this interview Jason Momoa did with with the Vancouver Sun:

SAN DIEGO — At a pop culture convention brimming with superheroes and superpowers, Conan stands alone. No mutant healing factor or radioactive spider bites required: Conan the Barbarian is a hero who has never needed anything more than his wits and a trusty broadsword.

First introduced by pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 and brought to life in the 1982 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conan is about get a big-screen reincarnation in the form of the Hawaiian-born Jason Momoa.

Momoa is one of the biggest stars of this year’s annual ComicCon, and he owes it all to embracing his inner savage. Momoa was a highly-anticipated presence on HBO’s panel for Game of Thrones, the acclaimed series in which he played the primal warrior king Khal Drogo. His work on Thrones has paved the way for audiences to accept him as the ultimate barbarian, Conan of Cimmeria.

“Oh, they hate me,” he said of Conan fans’ initial reaction to his casting. “Everyone’s like, ‘Who? Baywatch? Stargate?’ It’s like, ‘I can do more than that.’

“Once Game of Thrones came out, people were like ‘holy sh—’, Conan is going to be badass,” Momoa said in an interview at ComicCon. “After seeing Drogo, they were like ‘all right, this guy can do it.’”

For more, including videos and other bits & pieces, click after the break.

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Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.Net has a lengthy 8-minute interview. Discussions ofThte differences between Khal Drogo and Conan, as well as the 1982 film’s Conan and the upcoming iteration, Conan’s origins, his personality, the extent of blood & gore, Stephen Lang and Khalar Zym, the relative lack of CGI, Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols, what he’d like first-time viewers to take from the film, the 3D, and Marvel crossovers come up:

The Movies On Demand Panel has an interview too:

Finally, Time Warner Cable has a short minute-long chat:

Conan the Barbarian’s presence at Comic-Con has been reported, but another Jason Momoa-linked project is also present. Jason was part of a panel with his fellow cast from Game of Thrones, discussing elements of the show with questions from fans. Then, this:

3:22 p.m. For Jason Momoa, Martin asks, “Who would win? Khal Drogo or Conan?” Well, if Martin didn’t ask, the fans would. Momoa responds, “Well, George, between you and me… Drogo would kick Conan’s ass.”Then Momoa yells something loud in what may or may not be Dothraki. Awesome.

Confirmed by a Youtube video:

How… dare he!

Now, as would probably be expected, the folks at the Robert E. Howard Forums are somewhat perplexed by this statement. Not because they’re scandalized that anyone would dare say their favourite fictional barbarian could totally beat up their favourite fictional barbarian (though, naturally, they maintain Conan totally could), but because it really isn’t helping the promotion of Conan the Barbarian to say that another fictional character would kick his arse. As Stephen “Crossplains Pilgrim” Seal says it:

Yea, awesome. I am sure the Nu Age/Lionsgate PR guys are thrilled. I have now counted about 50 fansites that feature the quote and the sun hasn’t even come up here in Texas. A lot of those sites lead with it. Just Google “Jason Momoa says Khal Drogo would kick Conan’s a**!” and see what pops up. That quote may now be on its way to becoming part of the fanboy culture. “Check out the Conan flick? Are you kidding? Khal Drogo would kick his a**.” And who should know better than Jason Momoa? Anyway you cut it, he trashed his own character at ComicCon where he is supposed to be selling the picture. How dumb is that? Over the years Sly Stallone has been asked many times who would win a fight between John Rambo and Rocky Balboa. He always responds it would be a draw. They are his guys and he isn’t going to boost one over the other. Momoa would have better served the film’s prospects and many a Conan fan if he had done the same.

Since I’ll likely be limiting my editorializing in terms of the film itself, I’ll take the liberty of commenting on this situation.

While I frankly don’t care who could kick whose arse – these geeky arguments are frequently entirely subject to the personal tastes of the parties involved, as I’ve discovered in my observations regarding the eternal Star Trek vs Star Wars debates – I do think it’s essential to promote your upcoming film as strongly as possible. At Comic-Con, which is probably the gathering of the sort of individuals who have lengthy and meticulously crafted arguments over which fictional character could beat which fictional character in a fight, it seems astonishingly ill-advised to me to, essentially, say that a minor character in a cable television program that you’re no longer going to be playing could “kick the ass” of a character who’s your first leading role in a major motion picture  who many people and millions of dollars are invested into starting a multi-picture franchise.

It boils down to this: Jason Momoa won’t be returning to the character of Drogo in Game of Thrones, or future series, unless Martin decides to get back into TV writing by producing a prequel series all about Drogo (which would be awesome, I must say). Drogo’s time is over. Conan’s time, on the other hand, is about to begin, and the filmmakers are looking to produce at least two sequels in the coming years. By saying Khal Drogo could beat Conan in a fight, considering both characters are barbarian warriors, you’re essentially saying that this character you used to play is better than the character you’re going to play – which isn’t exactly the sort of thing to inspire confidence.

Some may say that Jason was trying to ingratiate himself with Martin and the Westeros faithful. Fair enough – but he’s gained their appreciation already. He isn’t playing Drogo again. What would be the point in appealing to them, when you could use this as the perfect example to move any skeptical Martin fans onto Conan? For that matter, I’m sure Martin & his fans wouldn’t mind if Martin’s barbarian warrior was beaten by the archetypal, most well known, and most iconic, barbarian warrior in modern fantasy fiction. Conan is the original, the Ur example, the barbarian hero from which so many modern barbarian heroes can draw lineage. Even if you don’t necessarily agree, it just seems… well, polite.

I mean, one could commend him for speaking his mind – if he really believed Drogo could beat Conan, then why bother arguing – but from a promotional standpoint, it’s a bit of a disaster. It’s easy to say after the event what Jason should’ve said. Maybe he should’ve gone with the Stallone approach, and refused to pick a side. Maybe he should’ve said “neither, they’d go drinking and wenching at a tavern and then go out battling together.”  Regardless of what he said: Drogo dies in his story. Conan lives. Drogo’s story is over.  Conan’s is just beginning. That kind of says all that needs to be said.

EDIT: Some readers, here and elsewhere, are getting a bit bent out of shape about this – evidently my tongue-in-cheek “how dare he!” might’ve been taken at face value – so let me just be clear about how little I’m actually concerned about this.  All I was commenting (in a somewhat disproportionate extent relative to my actual interest in the discussion) on was the fact that Jason’s off-the-cuff remark wasn’t exactly helpful from a marketing standpoint for the upcoming film.  For Crom’s sake, though, he doesn’t deserve to be crucified over it. He made a light-hearted remark that was well-received by the present audience of Game of Thrones fans that had the unfortunate by-product of rubbing some people the wrong way. Let’s not make this into a thing. I’m sure the idea of enraged Conan fans starting a fuss would be just the sort of “crazy fan fight” soft journalists would love to ridicule.

On the other hand, controversy gets people talking, so who knows. Maybe this could start a whole new thing, as fans argue who would win out of the Dothraki warlord and the Cimmerian conqueror. Could be a new form of viral advertising, pitting Conan against other heroes. Just a suggestion!