[TortolaBVI]

Gentlemen, it has been a while since i last posted anything regarding the Conan television production (first person uses the words 'tv movie' gets a Barachan spear in the neck!) so having read through the recent character list for the theatrical feature film plus being given the nod from the Powers That Be about the production, i can now give you something solid to digest for the Hallowe'en weekend...

28 years ago, British television company Carlton Television, which was (and is) part of the massive ITV network, paid an extremely large sum to be one of the first terrestrial channels to be able to broadcast the motion picture Conan The Barbarian. An additional clause in the deal stated that Cartlon television would have complete right to adapt for the television medium original works by Robert E Howard under the proviso that said work was in the public domain. Bearing in mind that this deal was made in 1981, The rightsholders to Conan really were not concerned with a date that was a Quarter of a century away. Carlton Television did not have the rights to create original material. Everyone got that? They could create original material provided it did not make up more than 10% of any adaptation of an original Robert E Howard public domain story.

Which is where we are at, at the moment. The production has finance firmly in place to the tune of £7m, has a new Director onboard (Mr Graham Harper has left due to scheduling commitments but was outstanding in helping find his replacement) the script has undergone revision to tighten the narrative, and a number of locations have been scouted. I shall also be posted an excerpt from the finished script by the weekend for you to eviscerate critique in your genteel manner as seen by previous form. The final title will be 'Conan The Barbarian - The Devil In Iron.'

Casting: We are talking to one young man at the moment from north of the border. He has success playing fantasy before, is going to be a rising star, that i am sure of, and is a great actor.

More when i can, folks...

Keep the faith.

TB.

This post has been edited by TortolaBVI: 29 October 2009 - 03:00 PM

[norse_sage]

Thank you very much for that update, Tortola.

"The Devil in Iron" now sits firmly at the number spot at my list of most anticipated movies (and despite it all, the Nispel movie is a close runner up, with Solomon Kane going for the bronze).

Words cannot describe my joy that this project is getting made, and that you can even use the name Conan! It looks like REH's character will be done justice yet, and that we still may see an original REH story in live action. I just hope you won't chicken out in terms of violence...

Looking very much forward to the script excerpt.

Please do keep us updated.

This post has been edited by norse_sage: 29 October 2009 - 04:05 PM

[Doug]

Hi!
THANK YOU TORTOLA!!!!

That is truly wonderful news!
This won't be one of those "Hallmark Hall of Fame" thingies, will it?

JUST KIDDING.

I'm soooo happy.

Doug

[Æsir]

TortolaBVI, on 29 October 2009 - 02:58 PM, said:

We are talking to one young man at the moment from north of the border. He has success playing fantasy before, is going to be a rising star, that i am sure of, and is a great actor.

Paul Telfer?

[amsterdamaged]

I hope its a rousing success, with many more installments to follow!

Quote

They could create original material provided it did not make up more than 10% of any adaptation of an original Robert E Howard public domain story.

If I'm reading this correctly, they're contractually obligated to make the screeplay 90% faithful to the original source material. Sweet! Its a shame that Paradox/CPI didn't include such a clause in their liscensing deal with Millenium.

[Mournblade]

amsterdamaged, on 29 October 2009 - 05:19 PM, said:

I hope its a rousing success, with many more installments to follow!

Quote

They could create original material provided it did not make up more than 10% of any adaptation of an original Robert E Howard public domain story.

If I'm reading this correctly, they're contractually obligated to make the screeplay 90% faithful to the original source material. Sweet! Its a shame that Paradox/CPI didn't include such a clause in their liscensing deal with Millenium.

And why, may I ask, didn't they, in the first place?
Knowing how Hollywood (and characters like Mr. Lerner...) works, it should be an important (vital) clause in the contract.

They didn´t, and now we see the results...


Shame on them indeed.

[Kortoso]

Æsir, on 29 October 2009 - 08:07 AM, said:

TortolaBVI, on 29 October 2009 - 02:58 PM, said:

We are talking to one young man at the moment from north of the border. He has success playing fantasy before, is going to be a rising star, that i am sure of, and is a great actor.

Paul Telfer?

Can't think of anyone else.

God bless the bandits!

[Theo]

Excellent news indeed, especially on the heels the disappointing news from earlier this week.

Quote

I shall also be posted an excerpt from the finished script by the weekend for you to eviscerate critique in your genteel manner as seen by previous form. The final title will be 'Conan The Barbarian - The Devil In Iron.'

I'll have to break out my copy of The Devil in Iron and brush up before this weekend.

Best of luck with the production.

[Kortoso]

Inside scoop: he says that he's auditioning today. Today is his birthday, too!

[duaneshadow]

I'm getting that lovely post bungee jump from middlesbrough transporter bridge blissed out high feeling now, after the hideous vibe from the last couple of days. top notch news.

[Kortoso]

It would be brutal if they got sued making something more faithful than the Lionsgate production.

[Almuric]

Well, some good news, perhaps.

[Crom's bells]

TortolaBVI, on 29 October 2009 - 03:58 PM, said:

eviscerate

Crom! This man knows us!

Thank you so much for the heads up Tortola. Glad that the project is going well. Funding of $7m too! I'm very much looking forward to see the final product. The Devil in Iron is still one of the most kick ass stories around.

[Roquefort Raider]

Mitra bless you, Tortola, for alleviating our recent torment.

This is very good news indeed !!!

[norse_sage]

Kortoso, on 29 October 2009 - 08:40 PM, said:

It would be brutal if they got sued making something more faithful than the Lionsgate production.

It would be brutal and weak at the same damn time. Hopefully (and seemingly) the legal red tape is solidly in favor of this television/Blu-ray production.

I just hope the makers of this will see fit to do more public domain Conan stories if this one is sufficiently successful.
- and with a budget of 7 mill GBP, I don't see how it could not be.

This post has been edited by norse_sage: 29 October 2009 - 09:09 PM

[Tarib]

Very good news indeed. Thanks for the great news, Tortola.

After the (probably) never to be released animated "Red Nails" and the rather bad news about the motion picture's planned course, this is something to look forward to.

[crossplain pilgrim]

I had drifted away from the old Conan TV production thread. There were too many unanswered questions. However, in his last post Tortola did make some intriguing points about the legality of the project, financing, casting, etc. It certainly sounds legit and I am praying that it is. Imagine a Conan film that is actually legally bound to be faithful to the original stories. What a brilliant concept. I certainly wish the producers all the luck in the world.

[nephron]

This sounds neat, and really helps offset the negativity of that other news.

Seems ironic that the Brits would have a better grip on Howard than American filmmakers, but that's what it looks like.

[monolith]

A fan forum seems to me like a very strange place indeed to divulge information on a proposed Conan television production?!?

Mmmm confusing?! Looses any media grabbing fanfare of an official announcement.

Still very interesting!

[Strom]

I'll be honest - like CP I drifted -nay- shrugged off this TV Conan idea as purely another Red Nails fiasco and refused to give it any credence that it would and actually get filmed.

Now I'm listening. Devil in Iron - brilliant choice for TV. You have my attention now. Good luck!