This isn't exactly breaking news, but I've been gone a while and I am still playing catch up with "Solomon Kane." Back in September, when "Kane" was set for its limited release in the States, director Michael J. Bassett gave an interview to Fangoria. He covered some farmiliar ground, including having to explain to the interviewer once again that SK did not copy his costume from "Van Helsing." Sigh. Despite his deviations from the Howard canon, I have always believed Bassett was sincere in his desire to move toward REH's Kane in later films. In fact, by the end of the first film I think he was pretty close. That was Solomon Kane riding off at the film's conclusion, not a ruthless pirate. Anyway, here is some of the Fangoria interview that I found interesting.
FANG: What responses have you had from audiences so far?
BASSETT: You never know what the reaction is going to be. Some people are going to love the movie, some people are going to hate it, and you have to take both to improve yourself as a director. I screened the picture in Toronto and in Austin, Texas
[Heh, I was there!], and everybody liked it
[true enough in Austin!]. Even hardcore fans, because I’ve communicated with them on the forums
[he's talking about us, and yes he did]; I’m a movie fan myself and like to talk to fans
[He was very polite and enthusiastic during our conversation in Austin and very respectful of REH]. I love Howard’s writings, and since I was a kid I wanted to see the adventures of Solomon Kane in a movie, and he has always been on my mind since I began my filmmaking career; I just had to wait for everything to fall into place. And I’ve said all along: I don’t want to do anything that spoils the well for Solomon Kane for later movies. I decided not to adapt the stories Howard wrote, because I wanted to do his origin tale and then more movies, and at the end of this film, he is the Solomon Kane of the books
[close enough, IMO].
So here is a little nugget from the interview to keep hope alive.
FANG: So we can expect a sequel to SOLOMON KANE?
BASSETT: We intend to film more of Kane’s adventures. The first one has done very well in festivals around the world; now we have to wait and see how it’s received by a larger audience. Our intention is to make a trilogy, and if everything goes as planned, we will leave for South Africa to start production on part two.
Of course, let's not kid ourselves. That's what you'd expect Bassett to say in an interview. But as I have said before, whoever thought we'd be seeing another Conan film in production in 2013? You got to clap really hard if you want Tinker Bell to live, boys and girls. Apparently, if there had been a sequel, they were going to shoot in South Africa. "Red Shadows," perhaps? Any of the African stories would have been fine with me. Make that "would be fine" with me. And yes, I'm clapping as hard as I can.
Edited by crossplain pilgrim, 29 December 2012 - 02:19 AM.
given the dark, mysterious and cthuluian horror nature of most of his tales. It certainly would bring a different kind of darkness to the media, which at this point only seems to play the "dirty darkness" card, leaving out most of the subtle psychological horror elements and monsters that live in the darkness and are only hinted at.
