65 replies to this topic

[Cadogan]

Have any of you guys seen the HBO series ROME? These guys could do a great Conan series, grittly, realistic, with incredible production values! If you haven't seen it, check it out!

cadogan

[Taranaich]

As long as Milius is kept far away, then I think there's a chance a good go can be made.

Rome seems to bear a lot of similarities to Conan, but I think Bob himself would balk at the idea of the people who made a series about the Auld Enemy making Conan! And the title sequence is the WORST title sequence I've ever seen.

[budgie]

Personally I loved Rome as a series, I thought it was well produced, well acted and exceptionally well costumed.. I think old Auntie Beeb (BBC) had a lot to do with that.

I agree the title sequence was a bit lame but i cant fault the series.. roll on series 2.

BTW also enjoyed HBO's other series - Deadwood.. just as gritty too.

Budgie

[Odoakris]

As long as Milius is kept far away, then I think there's a chance a good go can be made.

The Rome series was created by Milius... I guess he had a lot to do with the realism and gritty style. I actually think he could create a great Conan series if he was instructed to stay true to the writings of Robert E. Howard.

[Kortoso]

I do believe he has had plenty of opportunitues for that.

HBO or the Scifi channel, presenting the stories in half-hour episodes would be perfect.

[PainBrush]

Dunno if any of you guys have heard - I saw a commercial on the boob-tube last week - Rome is out now on D.V.D. - I actually really liked the series - & Milius was a sworn enemy before I saw Rome . I have to give credit where it's due however - the characterizations of everyone in the series were well done - the scenery & architecture & mood were all amazing too & I wanted to dislike that series so bad the first episode !! I guess I'm the odd man out on actually liking the humorous graffitti stuff in the opening credits ( prob. because I used to be a prolific 'tagger' with a Krylon-callused finger when I was a brat ) . It's too damn bad that Milius had to work out his chops on 'Conan the Barbarian' & get it wrong - only to finally learn the right way it should have been done with 'Rome' - after 2 decades too late & a million Conan fans flaming him for it eternally !

- You have to pay attention to the graffitti on the walls also in the actual shows themselves too - of course it's all in archaic Roman-Latin so a lot of people won't even notice it . I recall one episode in particular where the cameras panning across the side of a building to a scene beyond , & the graffitti had a vulgar cartoon picture & said something to the effect of basically calling Ceasars old-lady a "un-mentionable" expletive , the exact term was " futatrix " - really interested graffitti fans may be able to find the meaning somewhere online - but it won't be in any Latin-to-Anglo dictionaries because it was everyday Roman slang & not 'proper' latin . When I saw that I laughed so hard & abruptly beer squirted out of my nose ! ( & I wasn't even drinking any !)

[Odoakris]

I do believe he has had plenty of opportunitues for that.

I agree, but 20 years ago there wasn't the same kind of respect for the writers than today. And even today there are hardly any movies made that stay 100% true to the written word. Also, Milius could've just gone with the script by Oliver Stone, and that would've been a much bigger desaster... That version didn't have anything to do with Robert E. Howard's Conan. Also, I don't think De Laurentiis was looking for an adaptation of any of the Conan stories. If the people with the money would've just asked Milius to stay more close to the source material, I think he could've done a great job !

Did any of you see the Rome episode where Pullo fights a dozen gladiators? I don't think I've ever seen a fight like that in any movie... I only wish they had the budget to show the large battles...

[budgie]

Did any of you see the Rome episode where Pullo fights a dozen gladiators? I don't think I've ever seen a fight like that in any movie... I only wish they had the budget to show the large battles...

That would have been the final episode - "Kalends of February", a pretty gory fight scene..

BTW got Rome on DVD already.. nice to see the uncut versions too (BBC edited the first 2 episodes into one)

PB, yep, the graffitti can be pretty fun, usually all with sexual inuendo in mind.. I like the idea of professional scrawlers..

And yes, Milus does deserve a tip of the hat for this series

Budgie

[Xaltotun]

" futatrix "

In all my 25 years of working w/ Latin--that's a first!
Gratias tibi, amice!

[PainBrush]

" futatrix "

In all my 25 years of working w/ Latin--that's a first!

Well how about the little line in my signature ? - 2000 years of folks trying but falling short of capturing the exact sentiment as far as I have seen ! It takes 'slang' - not 'scholarship' I think - but with 25 years of Latin - tell me , does it sound phrased correctly ? - If so - you can use it , just credit me for the translation in your memoirs . hahaha . I think I'm doing okay learning Latin so far - for someone who's never had any Latin , or 'any' foreign language classes actually for that matter . It's intended as a play on words with more than one meaning ( & let's keep the message an 'inside' thing - never tell 'em what it means!!!!!....)

[Carmen]

Just a thought: would you prefer to see a new feature-length film about Conan, or an HBO series in the same style as Deadwood, Rome or Trueblood?
I would prefer the series, especially on HBO, who have proven themselves capable of writing/filming gritty violence, sex, and morally ambiguous characters- all components of a good Conan story. Also, as a series format, all the short stories could be covered, each in one or two episodes.
Will this happen? Probably not, but I can dream.

Thoughts for and against either option?

[Kortoso]

I think that we have discussed this on other threads, but yeah, I think that's the best format for any of Howard's stories.

[Ironhand]

I think it's the best way to deal with the short stories. And at the same time, using the same sets and props and actors, in conjunction with feature films for QotBC, PotBC, and HotD. The movies would provide the capital for expensive sets and props.

[Kortoso]

The Science Friction channel did a version of Dune a while back. It wasn't that awful. They used a lot of computer-generated scenery, which I think is a reasonable application for the technology (as opposed to a CGI protagonist!). It could be well done.

[Swiftsteel]

Really, as far as portraying the original stories in their proper context a televised serial is the only way to go.

To be quite honest I think that those who are truly interested in seeing REH's Conan on the screen as opposed to a mutilation of the character should really place more consideration into this avenue of presentation than the proposed movie that may/may not ever see the light of day. Let's face it...a Rome-style TV series with the right producer/writer/director team is far more likely to give us what we'd like to see than a big-time Hollywood production.

I don't mean to sound cynical or negative there either...just realistic. More and more I'm thinking our collective obsession with the concept of 'the movie' is blinding us all to the fact that perhaps the character needs to be portrayed through a different medium if it's to be done correctly.

[crossplain pilgrim]

You will soon have the opportunity to see how sword and sorcery plays out in episodic style. As discussed on another thread, HBO is set to begin production on a series titled "Throne of Swords," based on the novels by George R. R. Martin. I agree that Conan would best fit the cable series mode, but the likelihood is doubtful IMO. If the new Conan film is a success, I don't think Paradox will want to create a separate and possibly distracting version on cable. On the other hand, should the new feature film bomb, then I don't see HBO or Showtime rushing to put a small screen version on the air. It would be cool, though.

[norse_sage]

It would be f.... amazing, is what it would be.

A Rome style Conan series with made three REH stories adapated per season running for as long as it takes to go through them all, would have been the ultimate Conan adaptation.

[sinisterguido]

I don't know if I've ever seen a Sword & Sorcery series or miniseries on TV that I've ever liked. I wasn't a fan of Xena, Hercules, the original Conan TV series or this new, incredibly mild, Legend of the Seeker show that's on right now.
As far as book adaptations go, I had high hopes for the Dune miniseries, but the whole thing just screamed CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
After saying all that, I think Conan could be awesome as an episodic show, but I have very little faith in the industry for making it work.

Edited by sinisterguido, 25 August 2009 - 12:23 PM.

[Kortoso]

A miniseries with a variety of locations would be expensive, expensive, expensive! A Conan series would be forced to save money on every shot. The Legend of the Seeker IMHO looks cheap mostly because they are running around the same California valley in every episode. I don't see how they would do this cheaply and effecively without computer-aided scenery.

Tombstone got away with it, because everything is in the one town. I haven't seen Rome, but southern California can be easily mistaken for Italy.

[thundarr]

Let's face it...a Rome-style TV series with the right producer/writer/director team is far more likely to give us what we'd like to see than a big-time Hollywood production.

TV series or Feature Film, I think getting "the right producer/writer/director team" is definitely the key either way. I must say though, I think a TV series has much more of a chance of running astray than a film would. Most TV series try to tell a story in a fairly linear pattern & with a cast of recurring characters. The thought of a TV series adapting an REH story faithfully every week sounds like pretty wishful thinking to me. At best, I could see a Conan TV series following the Dark Horse Comics pattern of building towards a particular REH story with filler in between to bridge the gaps. But then again, the quality would come down to who is running the show or we might just end up with another Ralf Moeller Live Action cartoon. The one way I could possibly see it working though would be as a "Weird Tales" Anthology series adapting various stories from the old pulp mag. You could easily fill out the episode list with a couple of Conan stories as well as some other REH tales and characters.