News about new Conan movie

[MGBM]

It seems the director has been chosen.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/38775

[FailedSpotCheck]

Ratner? RATNER?

*slaps forehead*

Ugh.

[Supplement Four]

Oh, gods, noooo! Not Ratner!

Well, forget any hopes of the new Conan being any good, then. Ratner will make it a dead-head action flick.

Crap. This is grim news.

[Strom]

The Ratner rumor hasn't been confirmed by CPI, NuImage or by Ratner himself.

There is hope - may not be true.

[Malcadon]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......!!!!!!!!!!!

That bastard ruined X-MEN (more so then Bryan Singer), and he has no idea no how to direct a good movie beyond comedy - which is that the new Conan movie would be!

By Crom, we cant give him the chance to ruin our beloved Cimmairian!

*click* *click* *meow*

[Hervé]

I don't trust Ratner too much either, but the man still deserves some credit for X-Men 3.

When Singer abandoned the project followed by some of the actors and technicians, a replacement director was chosen. He then left too because he didn't want to spend 6 months in Canada far from his pregnant wife. Ratner then came in, having only 6 months to shoot the film, starting on a completely new scenario. Annoyed by the delays, the people at Fox had also cut the movie budget in half. Considering the conditions, Ratner didn't do a bad job.

Actually, I wasn't too pleased either with the two Singer movies...

[Supplement Four]

Actually, I wasn't too pleased either with the two Singer movies...

I think Singer is a pretty damn good director. He doesn't bat 100%, but who does?

I'm not a huge Super Hero movie fan--I watch 'em, but they don't give me the smiley-gigglies like the new James Bond does...or a good Conan movie would. But, I do know that Singer, with only a $30 million budget (which is super-low for a super-hero tent-pole picture--$100 million is more the norm) took that money and put it to fantastic use, making X-Men a hit, and spawning a franchise. Think of all the similar films with similar budgets that didn't go that far. Daredevil comes to mind. The League of Extrodinary Gentlemen too. There are many others.

Is Singer one of the best directors in the entire world? I'm not sure I'd put him in that category (and, I'm not sure I wouldn't, either). But, he's definitely one of the better directors out there today.

[WeakAsAKhitan]

Pretty much anything this Ratner guy touches turns to crap. It's not just that he will bugger the Conan brand, but it may well become a laughing stock.
http://au.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brett_ratner/

[Supplement Four]

Pretty much anything this Ratner guy touches turns to crap.

I agree. And, yet, he's one of the highest grossing directors in Hollywood (primarily because of the Rush Hour films).

Go figure.

[Mongoose_Will]

I dont think anyone can beat the original Conan Movies, i might just be naive and granted i dont know very much about Robert E Howards creation except the movies and the few bits i read while laying out cities, cimmeria and khitai.

But the originals were a couple of my fave movies, and Arnie really did an awesome job (i dont care what the hecklers say)

we'll see i guess, i'll go see it for sure

[Old Bear]

Pretty much anything this Ratner guy touches turns to crap. It's not just that he will bugger the Conan brand, but it may well become a laughing stock.
http://au.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brett_ratner/

It's not like the two Conan movies to date have a stack of credibility in any case. Arnie is okay as Conan but the plots are godawful and the 'historical' accuracy simply stinks.

[Clovenhoof]

^But the musical score is awesome. =D

[Stygian Devout]

I dont think anyone can beat the original Conan Movies, i might just be naive and granted i dont know very much about Robert E Howards creation except the movies and the few bits i read while laying out cities, cimmeria and khitai.

But the originals were a couple of my fave movies, and Arnie really did an awesome job (i dont care what the hecklers say)

we'll see i guess, i'll go see it for sure

I like the original movie too, but it really is a bit of its own creation and definitely stands apart from Howard's material. It only makest the loosest references to the source but features excellent action and compelling characters... not to mention a killer soundtrack too. One has to wonder how it would be if they had gone with Oliver Stone's original script with the armies of skeletons

the 2nd movie was basically DnD. I can enjoy it some, but its not even in the same class as the first.

I'm hopeful for the new movie, but I think the best format for Conan would be a TV series with an hour-long episode each week. There's at least enough Howard material for 3 seasons of something like that. Of course this would have to be on HBO or Showtime and the like to accomodate the necessary level of blood and bare breasts

[Kersus]

I think the best format for Conan would be a TV series with an hour-long episode each week. There's at least enough Howard material for 3 seasons of something like that. Of course this would have to be on HBO or Showtime and the like to accomodate the necessary level of blood and bare breasts

Yeah I'd like a series with the feel of Rome but a little more humour. Now, by humour I don't mean campy. The old TV series was entertaining, but was too light-hearted for me. I'd still like to have it on DVD. The Conan cartoons mostly sucked.

K

[Malcadon]

The old TV series was entertaining, but was too light-hearted for me. I'd still like to have it on DVD. The Conan cartoons mostly sucked.

I found the cartoon a bit entertaining (for a kid's cartoon), but not as entertaining as Thunderr the Barbarian (that might be unfair, as that is hard to top). Its a shame that cartoons have become so softcore since the good 'O days of more violent cartoons like Johnny Quest - and all that dame "and knowing is half of the battle" morality!

I really hated the Conan TV show. It was a dry, Hercules ripoff series (well more like the New Adventures Robin Hood ), with a cast of weirdos and freaks! It could have been better, but the writers know nothing about the fiction (I'm not even talking about REH stuff, I would have been happy if it was more like the comic books or the movies), and the series was way to softcore for the 90s. Like the cartoon, it suffered from the PC morality plays - I do not find such education to be at all entertaining! Hell, the boring, drawn out pacing of the Beastmaster TV show was more entertaining.

[DaveNC]

The first Conan movie was great - the second one, not so much. Conan movies should have an R rating!

[WeakAsAKhitan]

Agreed. I think Oliver Stone (and Ratner is no Oliver Stone) actually wrote the first Conan movie, and while it had almost nothing to do with REH, it was a reasonable film. The second one was an abonination. And some of the campy mishaps it inspired ( ugh, Beastmaster) just soiled the genre. A new Conan movie should largely forget it's own past, and look at more recent efforts. Imagine a Conan REH canon film with the production values of Lord of the Rings, Gladiator and 300 directed by, say, Tarantino. This film could be something.

Monica Bellucci as Belit? I'd pay to see that.

[Old Bear]

Production values of Xena are what you will more likely get, with Rosie O'Donnell as Belit...

[Malcadon]

Production values of Xena are what you will more likely get, with Rosie O'Donnell as Belit...

No sh!t, I remembered they did that with Betty Rubble! Folks had such a crush on her when they were growing up - not even for her looks, but her pleasant personality. And Rosie O'Donnell has nether looks nor personality - being more like Rosanne Barr, but from Queens, NY. She only got the role because she has that high pitch laugh at her audition, she appealed to Sesame Street Moms. Otherwise, the rest of the casting was flawless.

[Sting52jb]

I grew up on the Conan Movies they were my introduction to the World of Conan and as such I hate when people bad mouth them, It was not till I was well out of School that i even discovered REH and now I own all of his books as well as most of the TOR books. I enjoy Sword and Sorcery plainly for its appeal SO.

Hate to spoil your beliefs Weak as a Khitan but the original beast master came out just a short three months after the original Conan so it was well into production and probably not highly influenced by Conan as the Bestmaster itself was based on a book, but with major changes to it to make it barely recognizable.

Besides that the first Best Master was a decent movie. It told an intriguing story and if it had a larger budget it could have easily been a great movie. The director was even offered the chance to Direct Conan the Destroyer but declined because he thought that the Script was quite bad.

And I would say the Conan the Barbarian spawned more genera films than The Destroyer did. Just to name a few Ator the Fighting Eagle and its sequels, Deathstalker and its sequels. There are more but I can’t think of them. Many of these movies were only made due to the success of films like Conan, The Beastmaster, and The Sword and the Sorcerer.

Some other movies that were probably inspired by the success of Fantasy novels and comics including Marvels Conan during this time are Hawk the Slayer, and The Sword and the Sorcerer.

Heck despite coming out two months before Conan the Barbarian many claim The Sword and the Sorcerer as the greatest Conan knockoff to date. It even has its own crucifixion seen.

As for a director for the new Conan film i would probably never watch it if it was directed by Rodriguez or Tarantino as I don't like any of their movies. That said I’m not a big Ratner fan either, can’t stand the Rush Hour Movies. I'm not sure who would be a great director but possibly the man who directed the 13th Warrior, or Someone who does not have a lot of fame as then they could not force changes to the script that they didn't agree to.

Monica Bellucci might make a decent Belit, though her accent may not be just right.