Conan The Barbarian: It's All In The Details

The more clips I see from the upcoming Conan movie the more interesting it appears, at least as a swords and sorcery flick. Whether it's Howard's Conan remains to be seen.

The one thing that's been really bugging me this whole time (besides the contemporary 'metal' music played during the preview, which, at least in one version has been removed) is Conan's eye color.

Jason Mamoa, playing the northern-born Cimmerian, has a naturally shaggy mane and brown eyes. I'm sure he'll be great in the role he's been asked to play but the devil is in the details, son. Our Cimmerian needs those steely blue eyes, no?

A very, very subtle thing but very important, IMHO, to solidify the actor in the role.

Now, contacts? Why not? Simple fix.

Color Mamoa's eyes blue in post? Totally possible.

All of this has been done before....

Brown eyed Jessica Alba and Blue eyed Susan Storm

Giving Sue Storm blue eyes didn't make or break these mediocre films of the worlds greatest comic but it was a nice minor detail.

So what about Howard's barbarian?

I've lifted a couple of stills and altered the eyes (I know, how obsessive is that?).

Click to embig

Again, hardly a noticeable change but it's those minor details that can nail the film character more into the vision of Howards warrior. I may be grasping at straws here, after-all the post-production CGI animator may have more important things to do like making the monsters more dramatic, or tweaking that walled city in the background a bit. Come on, Nispel, toss a few more dollars his/her way.

Will this happen? We'll only know once we pay the ticket price and sit down in our seats with our pop-corn and sodas waiting for that first scene.

But.....

It's all in the details.....

PS, I'm not the only one pondering this....

Origin Stories And Do We Need Them?

When I was a young kiddie I never knew how the Fantastic Four became the Fantastic Four. I new some of the basic super-hero origins, Superman, Spider-man, Captain America, something about Bat-man and his parents, but there were plenty I didn't know about. Did that stop me from enjoying their exploits? Not in the least. Did I need to know that the FF received their powers by being blasted by cosmic rays before I read their battles with Doc Doom? Not really. They were good, Doom was bad. Simple.

I bring this up because of the Solomon Kane movie and the upcoming Conan flick and their need to tell the origin of both characters.

Does knowing if full detail a character's 'origin' enhance the character's story?

At times, yes and at times no.

Sometimes it's better not knowing, leaving it a bit of a mystery.

Superheroes almost beg for an origin story, it's part of the genres mythos. We've seen it in most hero movies. So I can let that go most of the time. But remember Tim Burton's first Bat-man movie? Bat-man good, Joker bad, Bat-man kicks Joker's ass. Bat-man's origin (thus motivation) was woven into the story with flash-backs and character connections. Sure, it was part of the story but it wasn't the centerpiece of the move. I think that worked great.

Now, why can't something like that be done with Howard's characters? Where the origin takes a back seat to the story. I'm not saying eliminate the 'origin' and motivation altogether, but weave it into the story. Let these characters be a bit ambiguous to the audience. Let the audience decide on their own if these 'heroes' are good or evil or something in-between.

Take for example Sergio Leone's 'Man with No Name' spaghetti western trilogy staring Clint Eastwood (For A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly). Now what side of the 'law' is he on? Who knows and who cares. He's a bad-ass with his own moral code. Now who does that sound like? Maybe a couple of Howard's characters perhaps?

Did we need to know that Eastwood's Man with no Name had a troubled childhood or that his parent's were killed by bandits and since then he's had a mad-on? No, and we don't care. He's just a guy in the world living by his own code and us as the audience either has to travel with him or not.

I think a take on Howard's characters can lift a thing or two from these films mentioned above.

The 60's and 70's were a much different time. The anti-hero was all the rage. The law was just as crooked as the 'bad-guys'. These days, the lines between good and bad are more 'clearly defined', at least in most media but that is just an illusion. George Bush's "you're either with us or against us" philosophy defined the beginning of this century but on either side of that line is both good and bad. And who's to judge? This thin line is where our heroes lie, Solomon Kane, Conan, The Man With No Name.

I know Hollywood is scared chicken-shit to take any chances and to leave the audience with any ambiguity of where a 'hero' stands these days; case in point, Han Solo from the 70's as opposed to the 90's Han Solo. But these ambiguous anti-heroes are iconic as who they are.

The Man With No Name, 1970's Han Solo; these are our heroes and these are very Howardesque characters.
I don't need their origins, leave that a bit of a mystery. I just need them to kick some ass on both sides of the law and take what they can get because we know that who ever they kill most likely deserved it.

Sometimes it's better not knowing everything.

Solomon Kane and WTF Hollywood? A Rant.

With the help of some dark magic and a sacrifice or two I was finally able watch the entire Solomon Kane movie.

For those of you in the states who haven't seen it, rest assured I won't give anything away.

I'll only say that it was a pretty great flick and there were parts that Howard fans would be more than happy with.

Michael Bassett did a great job taking the material seriously and James Purefoy played the role of Kane with passion and dedication. They really did nail the screen presence of the character. Purefoy is staring in the upcoming Ironclad, btw)

Again, that's all I'll say about the film itself. You won't be disappointed.

What I am disappointed in, though, is the brainless, gutless drecks that represent the film distribution industry in Hollywood CA.

Why this film was never picked up and distributed to theaters or at least to video is beyond my comprehension. Considering the incredible amount of super-crap they release and re-release time and time again, I find it insulting to Bassett, Purefoy, and Howard himself that they couldn't toss us a tasty morsel in Solomon Kane.

Is it because of the violence?
Sure, it's brutal (a plus for any Swords and Sorcerery movie) but it's no more violent that most things on screen or on TV. Oh, maybe there weren't enough guns, I don't know?

Is it because some Christians would be upset?
Well, they get upset about almost anything these days, but a Puritian that kicks ass? How can you go wrong?

Is it because Adam Sandler isn't in it not being funny?
I'll let you answer that on your own.

Is it because you guys are threatened what it might do to your precious Conan the Barbarian release?
The suits might be nervous about that but Kane would have built up an anticipation to the Conan movie. Sure, comparisons would have been made, especially in the budget department, but come on guys, show some balls!

Is it because the general movie going audience is too dim-witted to take a chance on something they haven't seen before and prefer to watch sequel after sequel of the same story over and over?
Um..actually that's quite possible.

So what is it? Please tell me, 'cause I really want to know.
Cause it's a decent movie and has an audience and kids will rent it and think it's cool and who knows, maybe influence one of them to get creative.

So lets see what you deem release worthy for the month of June, shall we?

The Warriors Way
Nice! But why this and not Kane?

Season of the Witch
Really? Nicolas Kane?

Unknown
Another Liam Neeson straight to video killing rampage flick. Okay, whatever.

Big Mammas: Like Father, Like Son
Just shoot me now!

Just Go With It
OMFG! Sandler AND Aniston??? Someone better have gotten fired for that one.

Sanctum
Hell, if you want to pay $30 million to watch James Cameron masturbate, I'll save you some cash!

Drive Angry
I'm....speechless.....

I'd go on but it's too depressing.
So what is it Hollywood? What's the flippin' deal? I'd really like to know 'cause I'm just starting to think you guys are just too high to do your job.

To Bassett and Purefoy I give you kudos!

To Hollywood I give a kick to the nutz!


And for you Warlock readers who got to the bottom of this ranting post your reward is 20% off any Lulu order through Thursday June 30 by using the word: SUNSHINE305

Full Length Conan Trailer

Does it look like a decent action movie? yes
Does it look like a decent fantasy movie? yes
Is it R. E. Howards Conan? No way to tell, we'll just have to see.

Either way it's much better than that crappy teaser trailer they put out.

Robert E. Howard

My friend Mike (MilkManX) turned me on to this very interesting interview with one of the last known acquaintances of REH. Thought some of you might enjoy this if you haven't seen it yet.