202 replies to this topic

[dr Bo]

Here you go:
IMDB entry for Bran Mak Morn

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Wow, now that's a one line synopsis only a pulp author like REH could have inspired :

A mythical king forges an alliance of supernatural troops to protect Britain from the Roman Empire.

Indeed if they keep the part where King Kull show up it would be neat, Lionmane.
I haven't read Bran Mak Morn, but indeed I think the adapted story include the one with Kull.
On the other hand, if include that "King form the past" character and don't name it Kull, in order to stay away from possible connection to the fun but (high) camp Kevin Sorbo movie I'll understand.

Edited by dr Bo, 01 August 2005 - 08:54 PM.

[Valin]

If I remember correctly , what  I heard at Howard Days from Marcelo Anciano from Wandering Star is that the film will be based on the stories"Worms of the Earth" and "Kings of the Night"....that's the one with Kull, people!!! Let's hope they don't screw it up...this could be a great film....keep your fingers crossed, brothers and sisters.

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Hopefully, they don't mess it up like the makers of the "Kull" movie did a few years back. Using "Kings" as a partial basis for a film would be interesting. If it was a hit movie they would be starting two film franchises (Bran and Kull).

[Kortoso]

If I remember correctly , what  I heard at Howard Days from Marcelo Anciano from Wandering Star is that the film will be based on the stories"Worms of the Earth" and "Kings of the Night"....that's the one with Kull, people!!! Let's hope they don't screw it up...this could be a great film....keep your fingers crossed, brothers and sisters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How could they work Kull into the Worms of the Earth plot? Maybe they have the battle (which is the substance of KoN) as an introduction to WotE?

The witch character in WotE would attract alot of LOTR fans, in fact it is one of the stories that ties the Hyborian World to Middle Earth. If they play up the roles of such elven types, then it would get a thundering herd of potential REH fans involved.

[Kieran]

I'll have to read some Bran Mak Morn before its released. I'm currently halfway through Kull though and it has surprised me how different they are from Conan stories. Not that they're not good, just very different. They seem to focus more on mystery while Conan focused more on action. Which is Bran Mak Morn more like?

[Kortoso]

Bran Mak Morn is exactly lke... Bran Mak Morn. But you knew I was going to say that.
I just picked up the Del Rey edition of The Last King. REH really weaves a mood, turning a climb into a simple hole into a descent into Hell itself. Besides the mood, it's a pretty straight forward story. So, I might say that he borrowed heavily from Lovecraft.

OK, here's my idea for casting Worms Of the Earth or other BmM stories. The Picts should be played by Filipino actors. Meaning no offense to my friends from the Philippines, but their faces generally look just like the Picts as REH described them.

That would make the best choice for Bran Mak Morn... Mark Dacascos. Just think about it.



PS: The IMDB listing for BmM has been updated.

Edited by Kortoso, 30 July 2005 - 10:25 PM.

[dr Bo]

OK, here's my idea for casting Worms Of the Earth or other BmM stories. The Picts should be played by Filipino actors. Meaning no offense to my friends from the Philippines, but their faces generally look just like the Picts as REH described them.

That would make the best choice for Bran Mak Morn... Mark Dacascos. Just think about it.

That's a fine casting choice. Mark Dacacos will soon be featured in Rahan (a prehistoric hero based upon a French comic) and he's a great genre actor, and is trait could indeed stand as an interpretation of REH's pict.

May they be Fillipino or else, choosing a said racial type for Pict actor could be a fine way to undertone their distinction and assure unity in the depiction of these fictionous Pict for the whole production.

Ron Perlman (Hellboy) is too tall, but his facial trait could sure made him a good casting as a pict. Yet, height is rather easy to trick on camera.

[Kortoso]

With him in Rahan, and the recent Arthur (which has some strange similarity to a BmM story... ), the movie's future lies in the hands of the Fates.

[kansasbarbarian]

I hope this film remains true to REH's Bran Mak Morn as he is my 2nd favorite REH character behind Conan. The synopsis of the movie sounds promising, but I don't want it to turn into a zombie movie. Anyhow my vote for Bran Mak Morn's portayal goes to Mark Dascascos too. He was badass as Mani in Brotherhood of the Wolf. And he matches the desciption of the pureblood picts to a "T". Just my nickels worth.
Tim

[cimmerianbloke]

Is Peter Berg the Peter Berg of Very Bad Things?

[Cormac]

Is Peter Berg the Peter Berg of Very Bad Things?

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He did indeed do "Very Bad Things." Now there's a movie lots of people hate, some people love, and most don't really "get it." Me, I loved it.

Edited by Cormac, 19 September 2005 - 06:08 AM.

[Taranaich]

I'm sorry, but I can't help but be utterly sceptical about this.

The Bran Mak Morn stories, as I have read them, are all repressively dark and tragic, about a race losing the fight for survival against the unstoppable juggernaut of new empires, so it'd be really hard to make a big-screen version that would be marketable.

I can't think of any actors that could play Bran Mak Morn. He's too brooding and elemental, and I always imagined him looking rather rugged and not attractive in the classical sense.

I'd love to be proven wrong, but I think the Bran stories would probably be the most difficult ones to do, much more so than a Conan, Kull or even Cormac story.

[Kortoso]

Not to put in spoilers, but The Worms of the Earth is triumphant... in a strange way. Regardless about what some purists (including myself) say about the CtB movie, it would be alright IMHO to put two or three of the Bran stories together to make a movie-length story.

Say, if the film starts with a Celtic union against the Romans in a conventional battle, which fails, driving Bran to seek supernatural help. You know, the Roman empire did abandon England; their true reasons may be lost to the mists of time...

[Taranaich]

Not to put in spoilers, but The Worms of the Earth is triumphant... in a strange way. Regardless about what some purists (including myself) say about the CtB movie, it would be alright IMHO to put two or three of the Bran stories together to make a movie-length story.

Worms of the Earth triumphant!?!?!? It's like an episode of the Outer Limits where everything becomes doomed and accursed forever! But I guess such a climax is up to interpretation...

Say, if the film starts with a Celtic union against the Romans in a conventional battle, which fails, driving Bran to seek supernatural help. You know, the Roman empire did abandon England; their true reasons may be lost to the mists of time...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I could deal with that . I just hope they call it Caledonia and Brittania and not "Britain" or even "Ancient Britain".

[Sharn]

Ok, Taranaich...What exactly is it you want? First you bag on Fafhrd and Mouser as being too "witty" and lacking the grimness of Conan. Then you turn around and say "Worms of The Earth" is "repressive and dark". I'm guessing you do "like" the B M M stories? Or don't you?

As far as marketability? Well take "Mystic River". Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn, and the rest. Dudes best friend is abducted right before his eyes. Raped by two men for a period of time. Escapes and is never the same after. They all grow up. The two are neighbors. Sean Penn"s character, his daughter gets killed. The hunt is on to find out who done it. Sean's character for various reasons begins to suspect his child hood friend. Ends up killing him in cold blood. Finds out it wasn't him. HOw's that for tragic and grim. Or repressive. BTW, excellent movie.

PS How about the Elric Saga. Pretty dismal, but would make an excellent movie.

Confused

[Kull1964]

Is Peter Berg the Peter Berg of Very Bad Things?

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He did indeed do "Very Bad Things." Now there's a movie lots of people hate, some people love, and most don't really "get it." Me, I loved it.

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He also directed The Rundown with the Rock (I guess that's the right title)... is that a good action movie?

[Kortoso]

Looks like at least one of the Bran Mac Morn stories was based - somewhat - on historical fact:
The Great Conspiracy

The Great Conspiracy is a term given to a yearlong war that occurred in  Roman Britain near the end of the Roman occupation of the island. The historian  Ammianus described it as a barbarica conspiratio that capitalised on a depleted military force in the province brought about by Magnentius' losses of the Battle of Mursa.

In the winter of  367, the Roman garrison on Hadrian's Wall rebelled, and allowed Picts from north of the Antonine Wall; Caledonia to enter Britannia. Simultaneously, Scotti and Attacotti from Hibernia, and Saxons from Germania, landed in coordinated and pre-arranged waves on the island's mid-western and south-eastern borders, respectively.  Franks and Saxons also landed in northern Gaul.

[Taranaich]

Ok, Taranaich...What exactly is it you want? First you bag on Fafhrd and Mouser as being too "witty" and lacking the grimness of Conan. Then you turn around and say "Worms of The Earth" is "repressive and dark". I'm guessing you do "like" the B M M stories? Or don't you?

I like my fantasy dark and gritty, therefore "Worms of the Earth" is one of my favourites.

As far as marketability? Well take "Mystic River". Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn, and the rest. Dudes best friend is abducted right before his eyes. Raped by two men for a period of time. Escapes and is never the same after. They all grow up. The two are neighbors. Sean Penn"s character, his daughter gets killed. The hunt is on to find out who done it. Sean's character for various reasons begins to suspect his child hood friend. Ends up killing him in cold blood. Finds out it wasn't him. HOw's that for tragic and grim. Or repressive. BTW, excellent movie.

Difference is, Mystic River is a drama. It does not have the stigma of fantasy films being either inoffensive family flicks or trashy gore flicks. It also has Eastwood and Penn, two accomplished and respected actors. It's like "The Woodsman" or "Deliverance": both deal with very unpalatable and repellent subjects (paedophilia and rape) in a realistic setting. As far as I've seen, the most popular modern fantasy films do not feature such discussions, although I'd be impressed if a good fantasy film did (they're making a film of Dan Simmon's "A Song of Kali" which is a truly harrowing story with a fantasy edge)

Having thought about it more, I think "Worms of the Earth" COULD be quite marketable if it was promoted as a horror a la Stephen King movies. If it's reasonably heavy on the supernatural and bloody aspect, it could become a cult favourite (which usually do gangbusters on DVD)

PS How about the Elric Saga. Pretty dismal, but would make an excellent movie.
Confused

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If they were brave enough to do it as in the book. I know it's a kid's film, but I lost all respect for the "His Dark Materials" film once they took all references to religion out. I didn't necessarily agree with their rather ambivalent views, but I'd rather they didn't make the movie at all than remove it's soul (perhaps a poor choice of words). Most likely it'd end up sanitised like Earthsea.

Again, I'd like to stress I'd love to be proven wrong.

[Kortoso]

Worms of the Earth triumphant!?!?!?  It's like an episode of the Outer Limits where everything becomes doomed and accursed forever!  But I guess such a climax is up to interpretation...

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Maybe we're reading two different tales. If you look at the Romans as being the "bad guys", and see a smoking hole where their keep once stood, then that would be triumphant - though a little weird considering the circumstances. And the hero comes out of it with a whole skin. That's what I would call triumphant.

[Kieran]

Yeah, but even Brak is disgusted at the Romans' fates. It is triumphant in that the good guys win, but the good guys didn't really like the measures they had to resort to. One thing about doing a film based on Worms of the Earth: would they cut the wolf woman scene bearing in mind its similarity to a certain scene in Conan the Barbarian?

[Kortoso]

I don't have a clue what "they" will do. I hope it's not a bad choice.
For my part, I'd leave her in. Yeah, that's probably where Milius got that idea.
I'd make it a different, more human interaction, maybe even something bittersweet and oddly romantic. You'd gain a lot (I think) by playing up the pointed ear aspect and making the LOTR fans think that maybe here's an elvish survivor or something.

Hollywood producers are often interested in making films into love stories, and try to engineer a "human interest" angle and so on. Taking any of REH's stories to the silver screen (successfully) would, I think, require shedding more light on certain ignored corners of his stories.