Despite Lionsgate apparently not being at Comic-Con (as apparently erroneously reported in Empire), I get the distinct feeling that this is the calm before a storm of publicity. At least, I presume it is, though it’s likely that Lionsgate are still just dragging their heels on publicity for the Conan film.

So, it’s a slow news day, but I came across an interesting little snippet at MMAJunkie:

It looks like Australia isn’t on “Sapp time.”

Gargantuan heavyweight and entertainment personality Bob Sapp (11-6-1) today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he has been pulled from a fight with Soa Palelei (9-2) at “Impact FC 2: The Uprising – Sydney.”

Sapp, who is currently in Bulgaria after recently completing work on a remake of “Conan the Barbarian,” said he received an email today from the Australian MMA startup informing him that the promotion would not fly him to Sydney for the July 18 fight because the plane ticket is too expensive.

Now why is Sapp still in Bulgaria, when principal photography has been over for a good few weeks? Presumably, this is for the secondary work which goes on after principal photography: reshoots, voiceovers, promotional pictures, whatnot. It appears Ukafa’s work is done.

Yet despite Sapp having finished his time on Conan, we still haven’t seen pictures of Ukafa, either from Bulgarian paparazzi or official shots. We don’t even have photos of any of the other major cast members. Contrast this with Thor, where we’ve seen publicity shots of the titular thunder god, Odin, Loki, and Jane Foster, in addition to behind-the-scenes footage and movie stills: we haven’t seen anything for Khalar Zym, Tamara, Ukafa, Marique or Corin. We don’t even know who’s cast as Lucius, Ilira or Fassir, who were important secondary characters in the leaked casting call. All we’ve seen from Conan are stuntmen, harem girls, and liberated refugees from the set of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but — get yer act together Lionsgate!