Rodriguez (Sin City) Developing Conan?

[mmadsen]

Bodybuilding specialists claim that if Arnold hadn't stepped down from the stage to pursue a movie career, it's very likely that he would've won every single Mr. Olympia during those intervening years, which would make him the greatest Olympia of all time.

Actually, most bodybuilding aficionados consider that last Olympia win undeserved, a nod to his past greatness and his new fame outside of bodybuilding. That said, he certainly would have won most of those intervening years, because their isn't much variance in bodybuilding, compared to other competitive sports. If you have the best physique in 1970, you probably still have the best physique in 1971.

 

[barsoomcore]

If you have the best physique in 1970, you probably still have the best physique in 1971.

Ah. That's why I look so good this year. Because I looked so good last year.

 

[Ranger REG]

I think this is referred to as "Skywalker Syndrome" -- grab somebody that nobody's seen before and nobody will realize that they can't act for at least a movie or two. Most recently, see Orlando Bloom in... well, pretty much anything he's been in lately.

Personally, I think he's a decent actor. Besides, better him than Tom Cruise.

As for the "Skywalker Syndrome," we should be lucky it's not Opie (aka Ron Howard) playing Luke.

Back on topic, having only seen parts of the existing Conan movies in passing, what makes people think that (as far as I know -- just treat me like an clueless studio budget guy) a Barbarian-based film is going to sell after Peter Jackson came through creating entire and well-costumed civilizations for the Lord of the Rings set? Even if I didn't care about the story or the dialog, the eye candy was consistently really dang good. As far as I know, Conan is about a guy in a loincloth wielding a sword that's too big for him to put away -- what are we supposed to show to attract the attention of a mass audience?

Well, I don't know about today's audience, but Conan the Barbarian film starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar did pretty well back in the 80's.

BTW, didn't The Scorpion King did well in the box office? I'm sure it's not as big as any one of the LOTR film, but like Conan, it did boost a sports entertainment figure with little acting skill into an action star.

Personally, I'm not asking for an epic film the size of LOTR. I just want a good story, an ample amount of good actions, and a bevy of beauties.

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, Conan never walked around wearing nothing but a sword and a loincloth in REH's Conan stories. Nope, after he killed the man in the tavern fight in The Tower of the Elephant, Conan started walking through the streets of Zamora wearing a stylish three-piece Itailian suit. And when he was locked in the palace dungeons of Belvarius in The Hour of the Dragon, his captors left him wearing a pair of bright orange coveralls.

Don't be an idiot, Dark Jezter. Most of the time Conan's clothing is described in REH's stories, he's actually wearing some. He's been talked about wearing armor, he's been talked about wearing a turban, and all kinds of things. He's very rarely been shown by REH in a loincloth.

And Frank Frazetta never portrayed Conan as a loincloth-wearing sword-swinging beefcake either.

Ah, yes, the sum total of Frazetta's Conan work, no doubt. Besides, I never once claimed that Frazetta never showed him in a loincloth as I know quite well that he did (then again, Frazetta pretty much always underclothed everyone he painted regardless of the setting). I claimed that Frazetta's Conan was never as shallow as to simply be a bit of beefcake in a loincloth waving about a giant phallic symbol that he couldn't even sheathe. If you're going to attempt some "snappy" reply, it would help if you're familiar with what I'm saying a little more that you were.

Really? I don't think that's what Conan is. Neither do any other fans of the movie I've discussed it with.

I'm not talking about fans of Conan, I'm talking about people who don't know anything about Conan except the movie. Which is most folks. Which I thought was pretty implicit in my statement already. But, I forgot, you're trying really hard to "read" something into my comments so you can make a "snappy" comeback.

But if shows quite clearly that that's all you're doing, instead of trying to have a halfway intelligent discussion about the merits (or lack thereof) of the movie.

Of course, people who don't have any knowledge of the movie beyond seeing bits & pieces of it once 20 years ago or watching the Conan the Librarian parody from UHF might think of the movie that way, but are such people really qualified to state their thoughts on the movie?

I sincerely hope you're not trying to imply that I am one such person? I've seen the movie in it's entirety at least four time (although granted, not recently) and I've never heard of any UHF parody. If the only argument you can put forward to counter my criticisms of the movie are to make up completely false objections to my credibility, that certainly implies something. Namely, that you can't defend the movie on its own merits, either because it's too stupid, or you are.

Oh wait, this is the internet: the less somebody knows about something, the more likely they are to post their opinion on it.

The irony of that statement is truly unbelievable.

 

[Desdichado]

Actually, I think that image stems from the early Marvel comics and their need to keep the main character's design simple and consistent from issue to issue. The artist (Barry Windsor-Smith, originally) was on a strict deadline.

I think a lot more people in general saw that movie than read the comic book.

 

[Desdichado]

But not The Rock or Triple H. God no! At least someone who can act and kick butt. What do people think about Vin Diesel being Conan. He's likely to be busy with Hannibal for a while, but if he grew hair and dyed it the right color he could pull it off. He's definitely a better choice than The Rock or Triple H, IMO.

OK, first you make a sensible point about wanting someone who can act, and doubting the abilities of The Rock to pull it off (which makes me wonder how many performances of his you've seen, as he's actually not a bad actor at all, at least in the limited set of roles he's had so far). But then, you turn around and suggest Vin Diesel, who is an even worse actor than The Rock for this kind of role. Not to mention someone who simply doesn't have the physique to pull of the role.

I don't get it.

 

[barsoomcore]

The Rock's too, you know, like, jovial, or something. He doesn't BROOD. And Conan needs to BROOD.

And Vin Diesel does it not at all for me. He's got a lot of making up to do after XXX and Riddick before he's back in my good books.

Frankly, I don't see anybody on the horizon who suits the role. They just don't make 'em like that anymore, I guess.

 

[Eridanis]

Dark Jezter, Joshua Dyal -

You've each had a shot at each other, and you've both been around long enough that you know we don't go after each other rudely. Let it rest, and return to the discussion calmly, please.

 

[Knightfall]

OK, first you make a sensible point about wanting someone who can act, and doubting the abilities of The Rock to pull it off (which makes me wonder how many performances of his you've seen, as he's actually not a bad actor at all, at least in the limited set of roles he's had so far). But then, you turn around and suggest Vin Diesel, who is an even worse actor than The Rock for this kind of role. Not to mention someone who simply doesn't have the physique to pull of the role.

I don't get it.

I'm sorry, The Rock is not an "accomplished" actor, he's a wrestler trying his hand at being an actor. And I HAVE seen several of his movies. The Scorpion King was... okay... I guess, but I didn't have any real expectations about that film. His best role, that I've seen, is in Walking Tall. In that movie, he wasn't a bad actor, yet he wasn't a good one, either. The Rundown was... okay... but not great. Seann William Scott is what made that movie good, not The Rock. I haven't seen Be Cool yet, but then again I haven't seen Get Shorty either, which I would want to watch first.

So, your thought that I haven't seen his performanaces is unfounded. I have and The Rock might become a good actor, someday, with more work and training. However, I DON"T think he'd make a GOOD Conan. He isn't the right type of personality, IMO. It is like barsoomcore said, he doesn't BROOD well, which is vital to the Conan character.

Now, as for Vin Diesel, his performances have ranged from very good (Pitch Black) to very bad (The Pacifier), and I'm not sure if he would or would not make a good Conan. If he pulled off one of his good performances then maybe. Regardless, at least Diesel is an actor first and foremost. He may not being doing Shakespeare any time soon, but he could do the BROODING warrior type that is required for Conan. Would it be a great performanace, I don't know. We'd have to wait and see.

But I'd choose him over Triple H anyday, and would prefer him over The Rock, as well, for the reasons mentioned above. In reality, he doesn't look enough like REH's Conan. But then again neither did Arnie.

Anyway, I'll just agree to disagree with you about it.



KF72

 

[Dark Jezter]

Don't be an idiot, Dark Jezter. Most of the time Conan's clothing is described in REH's stories, he's actually wearing some. He's been talked about wearing armor, he's been talked about wearing a turban, and all kinds of things. He's very rarely been shown by REH in a loincloth.

Now now, no need to resort to name-calling. The loincloth seems to be the only consistantly recurring article of clothing in the Conan series. In the stories focusing on younger Conan (Tower of the Elephant, Rogues in the House, the God in the Bowl, etc) that's pretty much all he wears, and even in the stories focusing on Conan later in life, it's not uncommon for him to get stripped of his armor and be left wearing nothing but a loincloth.

Ah, yes, the sum total of Frazetta's Conan work, no doubt. Besides, I never once claimed that Frazetta never showed him in a loincloth as I know quite well that he did (then again, Frazetta pretty much always underclothed everyone he painted regardless of the setting). I claimed that Frazetta's Conan was never as shallow as to simply be a bit of beefcake in a loincloth waving about a giant phallic symbol that he couldn't even sheathe. If you're going to attempt some "snappy" reply, it would help if you're familiar with what I'm saying a little more that you were.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Frank Frazetta's Conan paintings are thousand-word long essays about a loincloth-wearing, sword (occiasionally axe) swinging dude who likes to fight.

Not that that makes them any less cool, though.

You might also be interested to know that there is only one segment of the movie Conan the Barbarian where he wears a loincloth; during his days as a slave and later a gladiator. For the rest of the movie, Conan wears other clothing and even armor. And as for his sword being too big to put away, he does have it strapped to his back or his hip when not in use. Heck, he even has a nifty wolfskin scabbard he keeps it in.

Your perception of the movie seems to apply more to Conan the Destroyer, in which Conan does spend the whole film walking around wearing nothing but a loincloth. But John Milius had absolutely nothing to do with that movie.

I'm not talking about fans of Conan, I'm talking about people who don't know anything about Conan except the movie. Which is most folks. Which I thought was pretty implicit in my statement already. But, I forgot, you're trying really hard to "read" something into my comments so you can make a "snappy" comeback.

But if shows quite clearly that that's all you're doing, instead of trying to have a halfway intelligent discussion about the merits (or lack thereof) of the movie.

Actually, I don't read into things looking for snappy comebacks, but sometimes they're just too tempting to pass up.

As for the merits of the movie, I can see that somebody already posted a link to the essay "A Critical Appreciation of Conan the Barbarian", which, while not reflecting my exact thoughts on the film, does show that the movie has geniuine merit.

I sincerely hope you're not trying to imply that I am one such person? I've seen the movie in it's entirety at least four time (although granted, not recently) and I've never heard of any UHF parody. If the only argument you can put forward to counter my criticisms of the movie are to make up completely false objections to my credibility, that certainly implies something. Namely, that you can't defend the movie on its own merits, either because it's too stupid, or you are.

Actually, that comment was directed more toward's Mr. Kaze and anybody else who thinks that Conan is about nothing but a loincloth-wearing guy who carries a sword that's too big to put away, but thanks for calling me stupid.

The irony of that statement is truly unbelievable.

Glad I could be of service.