Nu Image/Millennium, Lionsgate Teaming Up for New Conan the Barbarian
Interim WGA deal around the corner?
It's been rumored for some time, and now it's finally official: Conan the Barbarian is heading back to the big screen.
Nu Image/Millennium and Lionsgate -- the studios who recently collaborated to bring you Rambo -- will collaborate on the new Conan film, and issued a joint statement late last week to announce their new partnership. You already know the gist -- everyone's delighted, couldn't be happier, et cetera -- so we won't reprint it here; we will tell you, however, that according to the studios, production will take place in Bulgaria this summer and fall.
According to Quint at Ain't It Cool News, the Nu Image/Millennium/Lionsgate union will be bankrolling the new Conan to the tune of $100 million -- a figure also bandied about by Variety, where it's being reported that Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara) will be writing the screenplay. They'll be writing it sooner than later, if a rumored deal between the studios and the WGA comes to fruition. Nu Image/Millennium's Avi Lerner is quoted as saying:
"It's a possibility, though I haven't studied it enough to make a final decision. The whole strike is stupid, in my opinion. They approached us, indirectly, to make some kind of deal, and we are looking at it."
The new Conan, whenever it comes out, will have a rather large loincloth to fill; 1982's original, which helped rocket Arnold Schwarzenegger to cineplex ubiquity, boasts a 74 percent Tomatometer rating. (1984's Conan the Destroyer, on the other hand...) We've played this game before, but it's always fun: Who gets your vote to play the Barbarian, and why?
Source: Variety
Source: Ain't It Cool News
Nu Image/Millennium and Lionsgate -- the studios who recently collaborated to bring you Rambo -- will collaborate on the new Conan film, and issued a joint statement late last week to announce their new partnership. You already know the gist -- everyone's delighted, couldn't be happier, et cetera -- so we won't reprint it here; we will tell you, however, that according to the studios, production will take place in Bulgaria this summer and fall.
According to Quint at Ain't It Cool News, the Nu Image/Millennium/Lionsgate union will be bankrolling the new Conan to the tune of $100 million -- a figure also bandied about by Variety, where it's being reported that Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara) will be writing the screenplay. They'll be writing it sooner than later, if a rumored deal between the studios and the WGA comes to fruition. Nu Image/Millennium's Avi Lerner is quoted as saying:
"It's a possibility, though I haven't studied it enough to make a final decision. The whole strike is stupid, in my opinion. They approached us, indirectly, to make some kind of deal, and we are looking at it."
The new Conan, whenever it comes out, will have a rather large loincloth to fill; 1982's original, which helped rocket Arnold Schwarzenegger to cineplex ubiquity, boasts a 74 percent Tomatometer rating. (1984's Conan the Destroyer, on the other hand...) We've played this game before, but it's always fun: Who gets your vote to play the Barbarian, and why?
Source: Variety
Source: Ain't It Cool News
Related Items
| Movie: | Conan the Destroyer |
| Sahara | |
| Celeb: | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Avi Lerner | |
| Joshua Oppenheimer | |
| Thomas Dean Donnelly |
(1-20 of 38 posts) | Reply
 on Jan 14 2008 05:33 AM As long as they keep the movie serious (don't just make it another campy Sci-Fi Fantasy movie for twelve year-olds) and keep the original soundtrack, which can't be beat, I'm hopeful that I'll enjoy another installment. As far as who should play Conan? I'm not sure. I think that Ralf Moeller played Conan decently, but could be too old now, I don't know. (Reply to this) |
 on Jan 14 2008 06:00 AM GAH! No Ralf Moeller! The guy was a terrible actor, I thought you said you wanted it to be serious? My number one complaint is that they choose writers who wrote one of the worst action film scripts of the past 10 years! I love Conan, have read all of the stories, comics I could get my hands on but I think this movie is going to suck hard core. GAH! the Sahara writers? Seriously who keeps these talentless hacks working?! (Reply to this) |
 on Jan 14 2008 06:35 AM Who keeps them working? Idiots like Avi Lerner. I think I'll be checking my enthusiasm for this one, Tollens. They might as well just go ahead and cast John Cena and be done with it. Just say no to pointless originality starved remakes. (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 06:43 AM who can play conan? conan o brian? nah jkz .. um ... how abt one of those guys from pathfinder.. u knw one of the vikings .. they looked barbaric enuff.... this is gonna b ****house... (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 06:48 AM In reply to this comment (#1466502) Tollens, their union keeps them working of course... As for the actor playing Conan well, I suppose we need a good, buffed actor but not necessarily one that can deliver great lines. We need an actor that can effectively transmit emotion through body language. Like(off the top of my head) Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Hugh Jackman. (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 06:53 AM pfffttt... another scorpion king .. no thank u ... (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 07:09 AM oh what the hell. stallone...? (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 07:12 AM Adam Baldwin (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 07:20 AM Conan should be played by HHH, or any guy or extra that was in the movie three hundred, b/c their all jacked and juiced out of their minds and thats the most important aspect of the movie (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 07:36 AM Nah. No wrestler. We don't need to reproduce Arnold on screen here. That has been done. We need somebody who looks strong, who looks like he can wield a 50lbs sword, not a steroid-enhanced, saliva dripping retard. Daniel Craig (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 08:02 AM Why not look to the "heavy weight" class of UFC fighters for the next Conan... they have the build for it, and surely ONE of them can act! (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 08:19 AM In reply to this comment (#1467166) Not a bad idea, clarksville. That and the Real Fighter aspect could make for greater believability. I was joking about casting John Cena. No more smackdown nonsense. Cast a warrior to play a warrior. (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 08:51 AM Um.......how about Gerard butler? Come on. He's got the physique and the acting skills. (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 09:10 AM The whole strike is stupid? How bout we picket this movie. (Reply to this) |
 on Jan 14 2008 10:13 AM Instead of making Conan over again, they should just wait for Arnie 's term to end, then make one more movie with him in it as King Conan, and make him look aged like they have already done in the previous movie, sitting on a throne. This would be a much better idea than having to find some mindless bufoon play the character and to keep the story moving along, and keeping continuity, instead of doing another P.O.S remake! Gee.. you could even call it King Conan! What a thought! Maybe I ought to make this movie! (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 10:14 AM It would also give time for the strike to end perhaps? (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 10:35 AM i worked for these guys before...don't hold your breath...it's a guaranteed flop...next year's "pathfinder" (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 10:44 AM In reply to this comment (#1467852) Conan needs to be remade simply to erase The Destroyer from the franchise in the collective mind of movie fans everywhere. Was that horrible or what?! (Reply to this) |
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on Jan 14 2008 11:09 AM Conan needs to have a kind of naive stupidity about him. Hard to know who could be anything like Arnie in that role. . . Just look at the guy when there is dialogue and you know the metal gears in his brain are breaking. How about Larry the Cable Guy? (Reply to this) |
 on Jan 14 2008 11:13 AM It has to be someone who can accurately portray Howard's character, so it has to be someone as big and muscular as Ahnold was. Remember, Conan was able to hit someone with an uppercut that would lift them a foot off the ground. None of the actors mentioned so far could pull that off. Also, since there are so many stories available to make screenplays from, the actor should be young enough that he could be signed to a 2 or 3 picture deal. With today's technology and story lines available, it shouldn't take a rocket scientist to build a successful franchise, as long as they get the right actor. He doesn't need to be a good actor, just a big one. Conan didn't have a lot of dialog, he just needs to effectively look mean, scared and angry at different times. (Reply to this) |
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