http://io9.com/5955068/q-what-is-best-in-life-a-arnold-schwarzenegger-playing-conan-the-barbarian-again
http://www.themarysue.com/arnold-schwarzenegger-conan/
With the announcement of the film The Legend of Conan, I am filled with hope and fear. Hope that they make a movie that lasts, and fear that they may create another travesty to tarnish Robert E. Howard's legacy.
I pray that they'll draw heavily on the original Robert E. Howard material. Robert E. Howard's Conan story "Hour of the Dragon" in particular, as that has an aged Conan at an appropriate time in his life for Schwarzenegger to play.
Considering the first Conan film was quite amazing for the time, and still holds up well, this could be good. It COULD be. I do have some doubts. Please, please, PLEASE use the original Robert E. Howard material. It is the reason why Conan has endured all these years. They are good. Do not deviate, use them.
They should even stick with Mako's intro monologue from the Destroyer movie:
"Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And onto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!"Although I am looking forward to this, first things first- Conan wasn't a viking, he was Cimmerian, and his god was Crom. There are times he runs into AEsir and Vanir, he was NOT one of them. I would plead to the studios to not make the mistake of screwing with the Robert E. Howard stories. His negligent Cimmerian god Crom shaped his growth. It's how he became a doer, learned to rely solely on himself.
If they want to make an unbelievable Conan movie- simply make Tower of the Elephant with Momoa. An adaptation as close as possible- the stories resonate because they are GOOD, stick to them and people will love it.
I would even settle for Momoa playing flashback encouters telling the tale of the Tower of the Elephant.
I am serious, Tower of the Elephant contains wonderful elements of fantasy and science fiction. Conan is pretty new in to city life and is looking to gain notoriety and gold. In the process he meets with the alien creature Yag-Kosha and defeats the dark sorcerer Yara. Tower of the Elephant is an exceptional story in itself. Don't mess with it and you'll reap massive rewards. Here's a page of the encounter with Yag-Kosha. It is very moving and could be a phenomenal scene if filmed properly. (From the Busiek and Nord series- I would highly recommend picking up these trades at a local comic store. They are very good. So is the newer Brian wood Conan series- both from Dark Horse Comics)
Why Jason Momoa? He can act just fine, as seen in Game of Thrones, he just needs a better director. A much better script would've been highly beneficial in the last Conan movie as well. It suffered from the disease plaguing most movies as of late- TERRIBLE WRITING. Studios rush the filmmaking process through to make money.
Come on people- take the time to edit and clean things up before rushing to get a movie out and turn a profit. It's so simple, why aren't the heads of film companies learning this? Give the creators(writers and directors, etc.) freedom and TIME to hone the craft. Do you want to make the next Dark Knight Rises? Time + talent + creative freedom = BLOCKBUSTER.
Without those things you end up with abominations like Prometheus. It was a beautiful mess. It is very sad that it took TWO writers to make that mess. They should've taken another year to edit and made something far better.
Back to Conan. Take the necessary time to edit and perfect the story. Make this worth watching and you'll gain all the fans you want, and reap the subsequent tide of monetary goodness.
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