Screen Rant » conan

Conan Cameo For Dolph Lundgren?

Scott Miller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:44:45 +0000

The man responsible for the terror that was Captain Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and the joy that was He-Man in Masters of the Universe revealed to MTV that he’s in talks for an unnamed part in the upcoming Conan reboot. Lundgren caught MTV New’s attention with this little ditty:

“I’ve talked to the producers about doing something for Conan”

As to whether anything was definite, the man went on to say:

“It’s too early”

Regarding a question about when he might know for sure, he responded:

“probably next year”

He-Man need not go on.

Lundgren will also be appearing in the upcoming Sly Stallone-directed mercenary flick, The Expendables, which has the same production team as Conan. He-Man can network.

The new Conan is to be directed by Marcus Nispel (who replaced Brett Ratner) and penned by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer. Nispel helmed Friday the 13th (2009), Pathfinder and several music videos, including “Lullabye [Goodnight, My Angel]” from Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Volume III. Donnelly and Oppenheimer worked together previously penning the scripts for Sahara and Dead of Night.

You can peruse Conan’s full casting breakdown here to ponder which part Lundgren would play best. In the meantime, a little Dolph Lundgren trivia: the man not only measures in at 6′5” and 240 lbs, but also holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney - lest we think someone with that much muscle is short on brains. So, how likely do you think it is that this new Conan will be better than 80’s Schwarzenegger vehicles? What are the chances the new actor to play Conan will be better than the Governator himself?

Conan will be riding into theaters in 2011, undoubtedly shirtless.

Source: MTV

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Poster Friday: Kick-Ass, Avatar, Green Zone, Wolfman & More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:59:26 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! For our first Friday of November 2009, we’ve again gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up. So, before you head out to see this week’s opening movies, namely The Men Who Star at goats, A Christmas Carol, The Box and The Fourth Kind, check out the latest promo sheets below.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Kick-Ass, The Wolfman, Conan, The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse, Clash of the Titans, Scream 4, A Single Man, Avatar, Machete, Green Zone, Let Me In, Tell Tale and The Men Who Stare at Goats.

We also have a few bonus items for this year’s Pixar movie, Up.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here’s the first (awesome) batch of Kick-Ass posters that IGN premiered yesterday:

Continue to the next page for the other Kick-Ass posters and more!

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Casting Breakdown For ‘Conan’ Remake

Scott Miller — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:22:34 +0000

/Film pointed us to a detailed breakdown for the characters in Marcus Nispel’s reboot of Conan The Barbarian, which is scheduled to begin shooting in Bulgaria in February. Nispel brought us Friday the 13th (2009) and The Very Best of Cher: The Video Hits Collection. If he can slip the right character into that “If I Could Turn Back Time” outfit, I’ll go see Conan in the theaters 32 times. However, dress that outfit on the wrong character and who knows how many cities will burn?

IMDB lists Roland Kickinger as being rumored to play the barbarian. You might remember him from such films as Terminator Salvation (he played the T-800’s body) and Lethal Weapon 4. Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, the gentlemen credited with writing Conan, worked together previously penning the scripts for Sahara and Dead of Night.

Without further ado, check out the casting criteria for the Conan remake:

WARNING SOME OF THIS COULD BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS:

[ CONAN ]
He’s in his 20s to early 30s, Caucasian, powerfully built, broad-shouldered, sun browned skin lined with scars. Piercing blue eyes and square-cut black mane, tall. He is a savage killer that has matured into the refinement his father tried to teach him when he was young. Conan is very smart, almost inhumanly strong, and very cunning. His entire life, from the moment of his birth, has been shaped by violence. Being the last of his tribe and having to watch his father die a cruel death, he is determined avenge his peoples’ slaughter by killing all those who led the attack on the Cimmerians, including the all-powerful Khalar Singh. He is prepared to die in order to accomplish his goal. What Conan did not expect, was to find a reason to live… LEAD

[ TAMARA ]
She is 18 to 24 years old, Caucasian or Middle Eastern, open to all ethnicities; beautiful, studious, correct, a novitiate of a Greek influenced monastery. A master of martial arts, she has been trained to be the Queen’s servant, bodyguard and best friend. She and many other female bodyguards to the queen have been in hiding most of their lives because of the curse of Acheron, which would take the queen’s life to bring almost immortal power to its king. When Khalar Singh, a powerful warlord with ambitions to become the king of Acheron, storms the monastery and captures all of the novitiates, she is separated from Ilira, the one she must protect. With all of her strength and will, Tamara is determined to find and rescue her. She finds herself in league with Conan because of a mutual need to find Khalar Singh. She is not in the least intimidated by Conan’s size or grim demeanor and their alliance eventually blossoms into something that surprises them both… LEAD

[ KHALAR SINGH ]
He’s in his 40s to 50s, Asian or Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mongol, Turkish, or Persian, open to all ethnicities; commanding in size and manner, a warlord and formidable warrior, brilliant, cruel, weathered and tanned by the many campaigns he has waged and won. He is driven in his quest to find the Queen of Acheron and has been building an empire to do so. His goal is to find the Queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of Acheron while making himself king of this hellish power. With this power, Khalar will protect his legacy against the onslaught of master sorcerer, Thoth-Amon so that his weak son, Fariq may rule after his death. While riding into a Cimmerian village to recruit his old comrade, Corin, his large collection of mercenaries slaughters them to the last soul when Corin refuses to join them. The village’s only survivor was young Conan. When Khalar’s search has finally narrowed to the likely discovery of the queen at a monastery of female monks, he also learns Conan is older and hungry for revenge… LEAD

[ UKAFA ]
He’s in his 30s-40, very dark-skinned African or African American, massively framed at six-foot-five, gold-toothed, hardened by a lifetime of war, a leader of Kushite Tribemen from the savannahs of Kush. Ukafa is Khalar Singh’s second in command, jealous that Singh’s son, Fariq, will one day be warlord. He obeys his leader but plots the overthrow of his son. He is a mighty warrior and unbeatable in battle—until he comes face to face with Conan. LEAD

Continue Reading for Supporting Cast…

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Marcus Nispel Talks ‘Conan The Barbarian’ Remake

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:09:24 +0000

Awhile back the Conan The Barbarian fan site Conan The Movie Blog sent out a list of fan question to director Marcus Nispel (Friday The 13th, Pathfinder) about his upcoming Conan remake. Much to their surprise, Nispel answered back!

In the “exclusive interview” Nispel discusses how he views Conan as a character, what made him take on the remake and why this modern version has to be different from the 1980s film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Conan fans be sure to check it out.

Here are a few choice snippets from the interview:

How important is it to you to stick to the Conan character of the original [Robert E. Howard] stories?

The character of Conan is what most attracted me to this project. He is the last of the reality-based superheroes and the most unapologetic one at that. I find that refreshing in these politically correct times.

What are your thoughts on the previous Conan films? What did you like or dislike?

The original “Conan” movie was written by two master storytellers, Oliver Stone and John Milius, giving us a tough act to follow! Their movie also features the best beheading ever in a major motion picture. Besides, perhaps “Let the Right One In”, which is another perfect example of creativity over special effects.

Like all movies they have to be understood in the context of the time they were produced. Our collective consciousness changes every generation, though and we can’t step into the same river twice. “Conan the Barbarian” was initially released in the disco era, on the heels of “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back”…Today is a different time entirely. As a society, we are more cynical in times of depression. We have been overfed with high gloss and contrived CG imagery and seek something we can grasp. As our consciousness has shifted, so will the image of Conan.

Later in the interview Nispel addresses such concerns as whether or not the sword fighting in the film will be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon pretty or violent gritty and what themes of the original Robert E. Howard stories will be brought into the remake. You can check out the interview in full by going here.

I like the sound of Nispel’s Conan. From what I’m gathering, his approach will be less flashy CGI f/x and more a throwback to the days of good substantive filmmaking. Personally, I need a Conan The Barbarian movie to have the feeling of sweat, grime and blood – not sterile green screens. Plus, audiences would be able to smell the stink of a 300-wannabe version of Conan from a mile away. Too much CGI would likely be a death-knell for this remake.

For now, check out the interview with Marcus Nispel and let us know what you think in the comments.

Conan The Barbarian is tentatively slated for a 2010 release… But we’ll see if that holds.

Source: Conan The Movie Blog

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Producer Speaks Up About Red Sonja Remake

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:47:50 +0000

Ever since the 2008 San Diego Comic Con panel, mum has been the word on the upcoming remake of Red Sonja, which is being produced by Robert Rodriguez and is starring Rodriguez’s main squeeze, Rose McGowan.

Well now executive producer Joe Gatta (who is also handling the Conan remake) is speaking up about what is going on with Red Sonja and when we can expect the film to hit theaters (apparently the recession has been hitting Hollywood hard as Main Street).

Gatta’s explanation of the non-movement on Red Sonja is that the downturn in the economy has delayed the film from going into production until 2010. As he told Empire Magazine:

“Because of certain issues and the economy, we had to change our plan a bit. It’s frustrating because we thought we’d make the movie last year, before Conan.”

Gatta also confirmed that Red Sonja will be an origin story – one that totally ignores the 1985 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen. Instead, the character will be inspired by the original Red Sonja from the Marvel comic book created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith in 1973. Says Gatta:

“She’s beautiful and sexy, and she kicks ass!…Although you have to be really careful so it’s not campy. You want to make it real. Make her convincingly tough. And I think we have a script that’s cracked it.”

Of course, for all his praise of Red Sonja, Gatta affirms that his main focus is squarely set on getting Conan The Barbarian up on the big screen. While he claims that Red Sonja WILL start filming in 2010, I for one wouldn’t hold him to it until everything with Conan is smoothed and at the ready.

Red Sonja is set to be directed by longtime Robert Rodriguez-associate, Douglas Aarniokoski, whose credits include Highlander: Endgame , and some assistant director work on Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Resident Evil: Extinction.

According to Gatta, he hopes to shoot Red Sonja in 2010 and have the movie out in theaters late that same year. We’ll see how it goes.

Source: Empire via Coventry Telegraph

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Marcus Nispel To Direct Conan

Niall Browne — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:51:35 +0000

The Arnold Schwarzenegger remake/reboot craze continues to roll on with news that remake guru Marcus Nispel is set to helm the new Conan film. Nispel replaces Brett Ratner who recently dropped out of directing the film for Nu Image/Millennium Films.

In the past Nispel has directed the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th and Pathfinder so at the very least he knows his way around violence, gore and swords. Other directors attached to the project over the years include the Wachowski’s and Robert Rodriguez (he’s now producing Red Sonja).

Nu Image/ Millennum films hope to start shooting the Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer penned film in Bulgaria and South Africa later in the year.

In a strange case of irony Nispel was also set to direct the Arnold Schwarzenegger film End of Days in 1998 but he withdrew due to the ever popular reason of “creative differences.”

With a bit of luck Conan will now move forward. It’ll be interesting to see who Nispel gets to wear the loin cloth in the epic film.

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Who Will Direct Conan?

Niall Browne — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:10:17 +0000

With Brett Ratner out of the picture it looked like V For Vendetta director James McTeigue was a shoe-in to direct the long in development barbarian epic, Conan.

Well, it looks like news of McTeigue’s appointment was a tad premature as there are three other names in the mix to wield the megaphone whilst a half-naked man in a loin cloth wields a huge sword (there’s a crazy image).

Who are these men, you ask?

You’re going to have to keep reading to find out.

Devin at CHUD states that the other three directors are: Dog Soldiers and Doomsday helmer Neil Marshall; Brotherhood of the Wolf and Silent Hill director Christophe Gans and Pathfinder trail leader Marcus Nispel.

Apparently, producers Nu-Image/Millennium are hot and heavy for McTeigue whilst the distributor Lionsgate have their hearts set on Christophe Gans or Neil Marshall… Maybe Marcus Nispel is the middle ground for both parties.

As for Marshall – he’s currently working on Roman epic Centurion, a film that probably won’t be completed for some time. This would seriously hinder the projected start date for Conan of August.

As for Gans, Brotherhood of the Wolf is a very interesting French film that is part period horror and part martial arts action thriller. Silent Hill wasn’t very good – so it’s a 50/50 toss up as to whether he’s got the goods.

Nispel has directed the above mentioned Viking pic as well as the remakes for Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Is that a good resume? You tell me.

From the names mentioned, I’d like Neil Marshall to direct the film as I have a soft spot for Dog Soldiers; The Descent was very good but I found Doomsday lacking and disjointed. Could he do Conan justice?

More on the Conan development hell saga when we get it.

Source: CHUD

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Conan Update: Ratner Out, McTeigue In?

Rob Keyes — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:16:26 +0000

This may make some fans happy.

Empire magazine had the opportunity to speak with Joe Gatta, producer of the upcoming Conan and Red Sonja movies and their conversation revealed some interesting information regarding Conan and the director’s position.

It was back in October of last year when the rumor surfaced of Ratner being selected to helm the remake and for a while it seemed like a sure-thing. This February, Ratner discussed the movie and casting and all throughout the process the feedback from the readers was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t very positive.

For those who didn’t like the idea of Ratner making Conan, Empire’s conversation with Gatta revealed that Ratner will not be directing the movie:

“We’re currently in the process of hiring a director… For the past six months we were discussing the movie with Brett Ratner, and for more timing issues than anything else we had to part ways with Brett. We all wanted him to do it, believe me; just the timing didn’t work. But you never know what can happen.”

That doesn’t completely eliminate the possibility however. If Ratner’s schedule clears up in the future and the movie is delayed even more, he could still direct. For now, you can feel relieved as it’s unlikely he will.

So, if Ratner’s out, who are they considering instead?

According to CHUD, James McTeigue is their number one choice. Interestingly, McTeigue has worked alongside the Wachowski brothers on all three of the Matrix films and Speed Racer as an assistant director and in return, they’ve helped him with V for Vendetta and this year’s Ninja Assassin of which he directed himself.

Why is that interesting? Well, the Wachowski brothers were previously rumored to direct the Conan reboot, so if McTeigue gets the gig, we can almost expect them to have a part in it as well.

For those out there who think they can play Conan, you better start working out. In the interview, producer Gatta also said that once they lockdown the director, they will hold an open casting call for the lead part. I’m throwing my support out there to James Preston Rogers, the 6’6” monster of a man who is also rumored to play Thor.

“We have a potential start-date on Conan of August 24. And we’ll be shooting in Bulgaria. I would say though the emphasis is on Conan [rather than Red Sonja]. It’s our crown jewel here at the company and that will be the leader. Red Sonja probably won’t happen until next year, as far as making it goes. So we want to launch Conan and reinvent the franchise.”

If the movie runs on schedule and films this summer, we can expect a release later next year.

What do you think of the director swap?

Sources: Empire, CHUD

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Next For Brett Ratner: A New Action-Comedy?

Ross Miller — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:07:23 +0000

Brett Ratner, the man behind all three Rush Hour movies, as well as X-Men 3: United (comic book fans… attack!), has a lot of potential projects up in the air at the moment. Those listed as upcoming for him are either not happening at all or are nowhere near getting going. However, according to the man himself, the film closest to actually being made is one called Trump Heist, which would see him returning to the type of action/crime-comedy of the Rush Hour movies.

Penned by Ocean’s Eleven writer Ted Griffin, the film tells the story of a bunch of employees at Trump Tower who plan together to rip-off some of the mega-rich residents of the building. The only cast member officially signed on thus far is Eddie Murphy as the leader of the crew, but Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Ratner regular Chris Tucker (I know… shocking!) are reportedly in consideration/negotiations to join the cast.

On top of that, Ratner also revealed details about some of the projects his name has been attached to: Brazilian music documentary Carnivale 3D was offered to him years ago (by Quincy Jones, no less) but he says he was never involved in any way with it, his Blue Blood TV pilot was never picked up, and the rumor about him making a Guitar Hero movie turns out to have only been precisely that… a rumor.

Lastly, on more high profile projects, Ratner also revealed that for Conan, “We’re just budgeting the script and trying to figure out when’s a good time and where to shoot it. It’s kind of a global landscape.” And on directing Beverly Hills Cop 4, he said, “I don’t know. I’m developing the script.”

Ratner is a director that made comic book and movie fans extremely angry, sometimes to the point of craziness, on message boards and blog comments sections, because of what he did with the third X-Men movie. Although I don’t share the flaming angry passion that some do, I can nonetheless totally understand some of the grievances some people had.

However, no matter what Ratner may have done to certain projects in the past, he ain’t the worst director in the world, not even close. He did a pretty decent job with the first two Rush Hour movies (although he seriously nuked the fridge with the third one); no, they’re nothing great, but they’re at least entertaining, if throwaway, pieces of cinematic entertainment.

I have mixed feelings about this Trump Heist movie – on the one hand I like the sound of the idea, and the bringing together of such a cast for an action/crime-comedy like this. But at the same time I’m not quite sure how it would turn out – it has the potential to work very well and be much fun, or it could all go pear shaped and just not work.

It could go either way, I just hope it goes the right one…

Do you like the sound of Trump Heist? Or are you a self-confessed impassioned Brett Ratner hater, and thus will avoid/hate anything he puts his hand to?

Source: /Film

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Ratner Talks ‘Conan’ Casting

Ross Miller — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:29:24 +0000

Multiple directors attached: Ratner, Wachowskis’, Rob Zombie. Schwarzenegger at one time possibly starring again. Changing hands of production company to production company. Ten years in the making…

It’s certainly been a rough road for a new Conan movie.

However what seems entirely probable is there will be one, although some time ago frontrunner for the director’s chair Brett Ratner dismissed his attachment to the project as “rumors” and “premature news.”

Well it seems that his involvement might be more possible than he let on as he’s made his thoughts known on who should be cast in the iconic title role:

“I believe it should be an unknown… Conan is kind of iconic. It’s kind of like when you do Superman.”

“Growing up, my favorite comic book was ‘Conan,’ [It] was the first comic book I ever read.”

He also expressed his awareness that it’s a mighty task to helm a film about one of cinema history’s most iconic macho-men but is also confident it’s time for the character to grace the big-screen again:

“Look, it’s difficult to fill those shoes,” insisted Ratner, “But they came up with a new Batman, they came up with a new James Bond, you know?”

I think it’s possible that Ratner’s dismissal in the past regarding his involvement in a new Conan film may have been slyly on purpose to throw people off the scent. After all if he wasn’t involved in at least some capacity (even if it’s just preliminary talks with the studio) why would he let his thoughts about who should play him be known, and why would he show such enthusiasm?

Since Conan was his favorite comic book growing up he’ll probably end up officially getting the gig, even if he’s certainly not the director that movie fans will want. He directed the first two Rush Hour movies (which aren’t all that bad, but nothing great) and according to a lot of comic book fans he ruined the X-Men franchise with the third one (I liked it by the end of the day but he certainly dropped the level of quality substantially).

Ratner’s love for the character is encouraging but it still doesn’t prove he would do a good job with a new movie…

As far as who should play the title role, I agree 100% with Ratner that it should be an unknown. Like he said above, with Superman they had to cast an unknown so we could associate him with that character and not just see an A-list actor wearing the tights and cape. The same goes for Conan – he’s such an iconic character of movie history and to put anyone really well known in the role is creating hurdles that are unneeded (there’s a small chance that it could possible work, but it’s very unlikely).

So do you think Ratner would be a good choice to direct a new Conan movie? And who do you think should be play the iconic character?

Source: MTV Splash Page

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – Nov. 13, 2008

Niall Browne — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:54:13 +0000

It’s that time of the week again – Mid Week Movie News Wrap Up.

This week

It looks like Brett Ratner may have some issues when it comes to directing Conan; Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Caviezel are Blown; DiCaprio talks Akira; we have more news on Simon Pegg’s Paul and Ennio Morricone is a Basterd!

1. Earlier in the week it looked like like Brett Ratner would indeed be helming the Conan, reboot/ remake/ re-imagining/ adaptation for Millennium Films. Seems like someone, somewhere jumped the broadsword.

The LA Times spoke with the films producer Avi Lerner and the potential director and both said that Ratner’s involvement was far from secure.

Lerner said:

“We still have a few obstacles. Brett is only committed if we agree on a budget, on how to do the special effects and exactly where we’d shoot the film.”

Meanwhile Ratner was a little less enthusiastic:

“Let me make this very clear, I am not doing Conan now. This is totally premature. For now, ‘Conan’ is only a development deal. I have a deal at Paramount and I’m doing Beverly Hills Cop first, no matter what. Avi shouldn’t be telling you or anyone else in the press what I’m doing.”

Ouch. That does not sound like a good moviemaking partnership to me.

At least Eddie Murphy will be happy.

Source: The LA Times

2. Jim Caviezel and Samuel L. Jackson will star in Blown, a London based action thriller.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The film centers on Will Matlock (Caviezel), a top MI5 operative whose routine investigation of a global corporation leads him to discover an imminent terrorist attack. Jackson will play Julian Lezard, the businessman who engages him in a high-stakes game of wits and deception.”

I’m quite a fan of old Jimbo. He did star as the world’s most famous carpenter after all. The next two are Harrison Ford, and John Carpenter!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

3. Leonardo Dicpario’s production company Apian Way is developing a film based on Anime classic Akira. It appeared that the Titanic star would be a shoe-in for a role. Not so, says the actor.

DiCaprio said:

“We’re waiting for the final draft of the script. I’m a big fan of Japanese anime – that and another project called Ninja Scroll we’re trying to get developed and made into a movie, and I know there a lot of loyal fans out there of the project and die-hard fans, so we’re going to try to do the best job we possibly can and we’re not going to make the movie until the script is in the right shape.”

Source: Splash Page

4. Star Trek’s Scotty Simon Pegg’s next film - Paul has a few more details courtesy of Variety. Apparently the film (which is to be directed by Superbad’s Greg Mottola) will be about :

“Two British slackers who after visiting Comic-Con go on a road trip to Area 51 where they encounter a small alien named Paul, who enlists them to help him find his way home.”

I don’t know about this, it sounds quite generic, and I feel that I’ve seen it before.

Source: Variety

5. Legendary composer Ennio Morricone will allegedly compose the score for Quentin Tarantino’s forthcoming Inglorious Basterds.

Pretty cool news, but I have to say that I’m more excited about seeing Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables.

Source: Tarantino Info

That’s it for now. See you at the movies!

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Conan The Destroyed?

Niall Browne — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:02:09 +0000

It was rumored, but many didn’t want to believe it. Now if Ain’t It Cool can be believed it’s fact.

He’s one of the most divisive directors in the fanboy community, and famous for his multiple attachments to possible projects that never see the light of day.

However it now looks like Brett Ratner will be directing Conan!

Moriarty (aka Drew Mc Weeny) got an email from a scooper who apparently made a very persuasive case to suggest that Mr. Ratner would indeed be helming the new Conan film for Lionsgate.

This news broke last month at Dread Central, but considering that Ratner’s name is attached to almost every film in development (and some which are not) it looked like a false alarm. Conan has been in development now for about a decade with everyone from John Milius to The Wachowskis attached to the project as it moved from Warners to Lionsgate. To put the film’s gestation period into perspective – Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the frame to star at one point!

Nothing is officially official yet, so take this with a pinch of salt. Ratner is supposed to be directing Beverly Hills Cop 4 for Paramount, a film which is being fast tracked (as is Conan) so it’ll interesting to see which one pops first.

Conan has no cast attached yet – so it would appear that Cop has the advantage because they already know that Eddie Murphy is up for more Axel Foley, but it’s going to a bit more difficult finding a new Conan. How many musclemen out there can act, and I don’t mean in the wrestling way?

Will Ratner direct Conan?

Who knows, but at least it sounds like we might see Conan this decade.

Source: AICN

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – Sept. 18, 2008

Niall Browne — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:45:24 +0000

On this week’s A-List Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up we have:

Bruce Willis steps behind the camera for Three Stories About Joan; Ben Affleck also grabs the megaphone for The Town; Jim Sheridan makes I,Claudius; Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito reunite; Brett Ratner ponders Conan and Dwayne “The Rock Johnson visits Tomorrowland.

1. It has taken a long time but Bruce Willis is finally set to direct. The iconic action star is about to start shooting his directorial debut Three Stories About Joan. The film is a psychological thriller which will start shooting on October 2 until November 10. Owen Wilson and Kieran Culkin will co-star in the pic that has a budget of $25-30 million.

Bruce has worked with some great directors in his time, so he should have picked up a trick or two.

Source: CHUD

2. Bruce’s Armageddon co-star Ben Affleck will return to directing with The Town. Affleck will also star in the film which is based on the novel Prince of Thieves. The plot follows a professional thief who falls in love with the manager of a bank. I presume that the manager is female and that the thief intends to rob her bank.

The film was originally being developed by Adrian Lynne, but now Affleck will rewrite the script to his own tastes.

Source: Variety

3. My fellow Irishman Jim Sheridan is about to direct a film version of Robert Graves’ classic novel I, Claudius. The novel (and I presume the film) follows Claudius, a stuttering Roman who everyone believes to be a few biscuits short of the packet, but soon he defies all odds, with the use of his cunning to become Emperor of Rome.

A who’s who of British acting talent starred in the 1976 BBC adaptation.

This will make my dad very happy.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

4. Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito are set to reunite in the dramedy Solitary Man. The Romancing the Stone/ Jewel of the Nile/ War of the Roses duo star in the film, of which Variety gives the following synopsis:

“Douglas plays a former owner of a car dealership chain whose career and marriage were destroyed by his business and romantic indiscretions.”

Susan Sarandon and Jenna Fischer also star.

It looks like when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Source: Variety

5. Word on the street is that fanboy favorite Brett Ratner is mulling over the opportunity to direct Conan.

Nope, that’s not a joke.

The long in development film hasn’t had a director attached, and apparently Ratner has been offered the directors chair to the epic adventure. However, he currently has about another 2000 films that he might like to make.

True or false? Who knows, but I always thought that Chris Tucker would make a good Conan.

Source: Dread Central

6. Dwayne “The Rock Johnson is making Tomorrowland for Disney. The film will be based on a section of their theme parks. The epic film will be an action adventure set in space.

Jon Lucas and Scott Moore are on scripting duties for the film which Disney denies has anything to do with its theme park. I wonder why, ahem…Haunted Mansion…ahem.

Source: Variety

That’s it for this week. See you at the movies.

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 17, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:04:57 +0000

Summer is now drawing to a close, the last of the big blockbusters of the season have been released and we are slowly moving into awards territory again.

Don’t worry – there are plenty of films to keep us entertained.

In this Weekend Movie News Wrap Up we look at why Simon Pegg isn’t an Inglorious Bastard, we see the return of Candyman, Conan gets rewritten, we check out the details of the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull DVD and we have a look at some more images from Watchmen.

1. Simon Pegg was almost in Inglorious Bastards. Almost. The Shaun of the Dead star was close to signing on to the WWII film, but he had to retreat because of scheduling conflicts.

Pegg had this to say on his Myspace page:

“Much to our mutual disappointment, I won’t be appearing in QT’s forthcoming Inglorious Bastards due to insurmountable scheduling difficulties. We really tried to make it work but in the end, it just was not possible without severe ramifications elsewhere.”

“I’m trying to remain upbeat, as Tom Selleck said “Who the hell is Indiana Jones anyway?”

Pegg also informs us that Superbad director Greg Mottola will be helming Paul, his next film with Nick Frost.

Sources: Simon Pegg

2. Another week, another horror remake! This week it’s Candyman’s turn.

Shock Till You Drop has learned that Sony is in the planning stages of remaking the Tony Todd terror flick. The original was based on Clive Barker short story The Forbidden, and it spawned two follow-ups.

No word on casting or writer yet, but don’t expect Todd to return.

Now if they could only fit in that Christina Aguilera track to make it extra scary.

Source: Shock Till You Drop

3. Will we ever see Conan again on the big screen? Maybe, but I might be old and grey by the time it happens. Heck, I could be dead – but we won’t even go there!

Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain writers of the forthcoming Outlander are the latest scribes to be hired to take on a script for Conan’s return.

If I hit the gym now I could be in with a chance of being Conan. It’s an idea!

Source: Hollywood Reporter

4. There have been a few more images from Watchmen released. They’re pretty cool. Here’s one image – head over to Joblo to see three more.

I’m currently reading Watchmen for the first time. I know, I know… twenty years late – but I have to be prepped for the movie!

Source: Joblo.com

(Continue reading “Weekend Movie News Wrap Up”)

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Might Rob Zombie Direct Conan?

Niall Browne — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:47:24 +0000

Rob Zombie.

I have nothing against the man (well maybe his terrible name, but that’s it), so when news broke on Bloody-Disgusting that he was meeting with Lionsgate and Millennium/Nu Image to discuss directing the new Conan film, I didn’t have a strong immediate reaction.

Zombie is known mainly for his very loud music and directing the horror films: House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and the remake/re-imagining/reboot/rehash of Halloween.

He’s a strange choice for sure, but I think that might be an indication of the direction the producers are taking the film.

The new film is currently in the prepping stages and no director has been officially announced yet. According to Aintitcool, Zombie hasn’t signed for the film, and the producers have been meeting with other directors as well, so we will see if they like the “cut of his jib”.

I feel that if the producers are meeting with Zombie then they are obviously looking to make a violent and gory epic, in the mold of 300. I wonder how long they’ll keep that approach – in the end it’ll probably end up being a kid friendly cartoon.

But if it doesn’t end up kid-friendly, this all seems like good news to me: The original Conan film was a violent and iconic movie that went on to launch the career of Ralf Moeller… whoops, sorry, that was the short lived television series. I will however hold back on my excitement until Millennium/ Nu Image (which, speaking of bad names, who the hell names a company Millennium/ Nu Image?!) announce who will be playing Conan.

I’ll keep you posted if Zombie makes the grade or I might just let you know that Brett Ratner has signed up for directing duties.

Now wouldn’t that be funny?

Sources: Bloody-Disgusting & Aintitcool

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Conan Movie Update

Niall Browne — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:52:15 +0000

The new Conan film has been in development for almost a decade – to put it in perspective, it has been in development for so long Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to star in it at one point. Over the years the Wachowskis and Robert Rodriguez have been linked to direct the film and the property has moved from Warner Brothers to Nu Image/Millennium Films in the intervening years.

So what’s the current status? Nu Image/Millennium Films have now signed a distribution deal with Lionsgate to help bring Robert E. Howard’s iconic character back to the big screen. Further, Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer – the gentlemen behind Sahara have been signed to write the screenplay.

Production is scheduled to begin later in the year, and the film apparently has a $100 million budget. An interesting aspect to the article that appeared in Variety is that Avi Lerner, the head of Nu Image/Millennium, is trying to negotiate a deal with the WGA so that they can push the film into production as quickly as possible.

It’s interesting news, and I feel that the main reason for the momentum on Conan was the success of 300 at the box office. I really hope that they can make a good film, one that matches the scope and feel of John Milius’ 1982 version: Conan The Barbarian.

There’s no news yet on who will star, but you can bet that any wrestler or actor with gym membership will be linked to the part.

I’m going to throw open the discussion, who would you like to see star as Conan?

Source: Variety

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