Also, I'm glad to finally be back on this page after many distractions and being burned by Conan 2011 after even getting Sean Hood to do a Q+A with you guys?
Anyway, post your ideas here...
Post Your Own Outline For A Conan Trilogy Here
Started by Sweetre15, Sep 22 2012 07:29 AM
11 replies to this topic
#2
Boot
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Posted 22 September 2012 - 06:12 PM
I wouldn't do a trilogy. I'd try to do an on-going series, like James Bond. Have a film come out every two or three years.
As for the films, I'd follow the pattern of stories suggested by Howard's tales. These can be original stories or adaptations of Howard's originals, or they can even be a mixture of both. I could easily see the stories play out like they do in the recent Dark Horse comics where a Howard tale is featured but original stories fill in the gaps around that story. The Black Colossus collection is a good example.
Here's what I'm thinking....
1st Film: I'd not do another origin story. We've already seen that in two Conan films. I'd set the film in Zamora, with Conan a fresh-from-the-mountains barbarian, new and clumsy in civilization (We can get some humor out of that.) We focus on the disparity between his barbarism and the ways of civilization. We need to see Conan climb. Several of the stories speak of his climbing skills, so let's see him put them to good use. He's a young thief. That's where the "A" story will lie in this film.
But, the "B" story will tell of his memories of Cimmeria. We need long flash back scenes, a la Highlander, where we fill in Conan's background. Through these scenes we see the importance of his grandfather. We see the stories Conan hears and his wanderlust grow. In this film, Conan's people will not be wiped out as we've seen before. We'll stick close to what Howard intended. Conan is different than his clansmen. He yearns to explore the world. And, also through these scenes, we'll see how Conan became the warrior that he is. We'll see him join the Aesir when he first leaves his clan, and we'll see a brutal fight as he helps the Aesir battle the Vanir. The last flashback should show us Venarium and a short segment as Conan leaves Cimmeria, southward, for good. If we've got to have a death, then let it be Conan's grandfather that dies--then a heart touching scene as he leaves his family and clan--then the boy walking south.
The end of the film will climax the "A" story. I think the main foe should be a sorcerer in this first film. Conan steals something from him. Maybe we adapt The Tower of the Elephant into this tale (as if Howard's story is only part of the whole story). If so, the first half of the A story will tell the tale of the Yara's Tower and the Elephant's heart. The second half of the film, where the heat of the film builds, could do with the aftermath of Yara's tower collapsing and Conan the thief's new repuation making him known to certain people within the city.
Thus, the structure of this first film will look like this: Act I and half of Act II is a fleshed out telling of The Tower of the Elephant, with new scenes that allow the audience to know who Yara is, about Yara's hold on the Zamorian king. Maybe there's a scene showing Conan becoming a thief and learning about one of the greatest theives, Tarus.
Intercut throughout the entire film are the long flashback scenes that are the B story--which is really Conan's abbrieviated origin story. We see Conan born on a battlefield. We see Conan's grandfather tell him stories of the civilized south. We see Conan, as a boy, train with sticks, then real weapons, to become a warrior. We see a young Conan snap the neck of a bull and become acknowledged as a man and warrior among his people. We see Conan spend long periods with Aesir, and a brutal battle with the Vanir, showing that Conan is a warrior to be reckoned with. When he returns home, maybe his father and mother chide him for leaving his people, but a glance at his grandfather shows him that at least he understands. And, the last long flashback will be Venarium. Brutal fighting. And, Conan leaves his clan.
Note to make sure that any scenes of combat in this film must be brutal. Conan, especially, can't use practiced, fluid motions like he did in the most recent Conan movie. He's not a classically trained warrior. He's an animal. He's ferral. He fights like a cornered panther. He's got to look raw and brutal and primordial when in combat. Remember how amazed you were when you saw that first fight scene with Bond in the newest Casino Royale film? Gone was the class and practiced ease. In came the brutal realty of killing somebody. THAT'S got to play in Conan's fight scenes. Here, use these links as inspiration: Fight scene from the film Centurion; or a fight scene from the film Ironclad.
The second half of the film, from the middle of Act II through the climax of Act III, we will see the aftermath of Yara's tower coming down. It will be as if Howard's tale was just part of the story, not all of it. What this is, I'd have to work out. But, my feeling is that it will involve political conspirators of the Zamorian court, have more to do with Yag-kosha, and feature The Elephant's Heart. And, there will be lots and lots of action, of course. This is a Conan movie.
At the end, Conan will come near to grasping great power and/or great riches, but those will slip through his fingers at the last moment, leaving in a poor thief in an alien city. During the last moments of footage, I see him leaving for Shadizar--maybe because things are way too hot for him in the City of Thieves.
2nd Film and beyond: We will jump a year or three in the future--probably the same amount of time that it takes to make a second film. Conan is now a master thief. But, we will not make the mistake of making all the Conan films have the same flavor. Howard's stories varied greatly in setting and atmosphere. I think each film should have a different "flavor", each depicting the different aspects of Conan's background as given to us by Howard.
The first film is traditional. It gives the audience a familiar Conan flavor--that of the barbarian theif in the civilized, ancient City of Thieves in spider haunted Zamora, with flashback to his barbarian past in Cimmeria.
So, for the next films, we need them to focus on a different flavor than that, such as....
2nd film....a film that features the sea and ships. This can be set with Barachan Pirates in the Great Sea or with the Red Brotherhood in the Vilayet. Or, maybe this tale features Belit. I want to see a fantastic ship sea battle, Hyborian Age style, with ships ramming each other or using grappling hooks to pull along broadsides, men jumping the rails, blood and water mixing on the deck. This movie could center around Queen of the Black Coast, The Pool of the Black One, or Shadows in the Moonlight.
Or, even as the first film has two flavors (the long flashbacks to Cimmeria and the "present day" scenes of young Conan as a thief in Zamora), we could combine this sea flavor with that of a setting among the Black Kingdoms. The two go hand-in-hand. Maybe Conan, as a master thief at the beginning of the second film, becomes involved with smugglers, which leads him to trouble with the authorities, and we go right into the beginning of Queen of the Black Coast showing Conan jump from the pier on a ship, thereby starting his sailing career. The sea battle I wanted happens when the Argus is attacked by Belit's Tigress. From there, Conan falls for Belit. This film will have a strong love story. And, it will cover a long period of time...three years or there abouts.
We've got our beginning, and our ending, told in the Howard story Queen of the Black Coast. What we need to do is fill in the middle of the movie--most of Act II, with a tale that features sea going vessels, Barrachan Pirates, mysterious, lost islands and creatures, the Red Brotherhood, and the like. We can make up new stuff--I've got a picture in my head right now of Conan and Belit on the deck of the tigress looking out at sea with this huge whirlpool vortex sucking down another ship as if it were a pea going down the sink in the bathroom. This is a sword & sorcery movie! It should have some spectacle!
Or, we can fill in the center of this film with one of the Howard tales set in the Black Kingdoms, like the Vale of Lost Women.
In the end, Conan loses his love, Belit, and there is an amazing climatic scene where Conan stands on the shore as the Tigress burns, free floating back out to sea, Belit's body aboard it.
That's two films. More ideas continued in my next post.
As for the films, I'd follow the pattern of stories suggested by Howard's tales. These can be original stories or adaptations of Howard's originals, or they can even be a mixture of both. I could easily see the stories play out like they do in the recent Dark Horse comics where a Howard tale is featured but original stories fill in the gaps around that story. The Black Colossus collection is a good example.
Here's what I'm thinking....
1st Film: I'd not do another origin story. We've already seen that in two Conan films. I'd set the film in Zamora, with Conan a fresh-from-the-mountains barbarian, new and clumsy in civilization (We can get some humor out of that.) We focus on the disparity between his barbarism and the ways of civilization. We need to see Conan climb. Several of the stories speak of his climbing skills, so let's see him put them to good use. He's a young thief. That's where the "A" story will lie in this film.
But, the "B" story will tell of his memories of Cimmeria. We need long flash back scenes, a la Highlander, where we fill in Conan's background. Through these scenes we see the importance of his grandfather. We see the stories Conan hears and his wanderlust grow. In this film, Conan's people will not be wiped out as we've seen before. We'll stick close to what Howard intended. Conan is different than his clansmen. He yearns to explore the world. And, also through these scenes, we'll see how Conan became the warrior that he is. We'll see him join the Aesir when he first leaves his clan, and we'll see a brutal fight as he helps the Aesir battle the Vanir. The last flashback should show us Venarium and a short segment as Conan leaves Cimmeria, southward, for good. If we've got to have a death, then let it be Conan's grandfather that dies--then a heart touching scene as he leaves his family and clan--then the boy walking south.
The end of the film will climax the "A" story. I think the main foe should be a sorcerer in this first film. Conan steals something from him. Maybe we adapt The Tower of the Elephant into this tale (as if Howard's story is only part of the whole story). If so, the first half of the A story will tell the tale of the Yara's Tower and the Elephant's heart. The second half of the film, where the heat of the film builds, could do with the aftermath of Yara's tower collapsing and Conan the thief's new repuation making him known to certain people within the city.
Thus, the structure of this first film will look like this: Act I and half of Act II is a fleshed out telling of The Tower of the Elephant, with new scenes that allow the audience to know who Yara is, about Yara's hold on the Zamorian king. Maybe there's a scene showing Conan becoming a thief and learning about one of the greatest theives, Tarus.
Intercut throughout the entire film are the long flashback scenes that are the B story--which is really Conan's abbrieviated origin story. We see Conan born on a battlefield. We see Conan's grandfather tell him stories of the civilized south. We see Conan, as a boy, train with sticks, then real weapons, to become a warrior. We see a young Conan snap the neck of a bull and become acknowledged as a man and warrior among his people. We see Conan spend long periods with Aesir, and a brutal battle with the Vanir, showing that Conan is a warrior to be reckoned with. When he returns home, maybe his father and mother chide him for leaving his people, but a glance at his grandfather shows him that at least he understands. And, the last long flashback will be Venarium. Brutal fighting. And, Conan leaves his clan.
Note to make sure that any scenes of combat in this film must be brutal. Conan, especially, can't use practiced, fluid motions like he did in the most recent Conan movie. He's not a classically trained warrior. He's an animal. He's ferral. He fights like a cornered panther. He's got to look raw and brutal and primordial when in combat. Remember how amazed you were when you saw that first fight scene with Bond in the newest Casino Royale film? Gone was the class and practiced ease. In came the brutal realty of killing somebody. THAT'S got to play in Conan's fight scenes. Here, use these links as inspiration: Fight scene from the film Centurion; or a fight scene from the film Ironclad.
The second half of the film, from the middle of Act II through the climax of Act III, we will see the aftermath of Yara's tower coming down. It will be as if Howard's tale was just part of the story, not all of it. What this is, I'd have to work out. But, my feeling is that it will involve political conspirators of the Zamorian court, have more to do with Yag-kosha, and feature The Elephant's Heart. And, there will be lots and lots of action, of course. This is a Conan movie.
At the end, Conan will come near to grasping great power and/or great riches, but those will slip through his fingers at the last moment, leaving in a poor thief in an alien city. During the last moments of footage, I see him leaving for Shadizar--maybe because things are way too hot for him in the City of Thieves.
2nd Film and beyond: We will jump a year or three in the future--probably the same amount of time that it takes to make a second film. Conan is now a master thief. But, we will not make the mistake of making all the Conan films have the same flavor. Howard's stories varied greatly in setting and atmosphere. I think each film should have a different "flavor", each depicting the different aspects of Conan's background as given to us by Howard.
The first film is traditional. It gives the audience a familiar Conan flavor--that of the barbarian theif in the civilized, ancient City of Thieves in spider haunted Zamora, with flashback to his barbarian past in Cimmeria.
So, for the next films, we need them to focus on a different flavor than that, such as....
2nd film....a film that features the sea and ships. This can be set with Barachan Pirates in the Great Sea or with the Red Brotherhood in the Vilayet. Or, maybe this tale features Belit. I want to see a fantastic ship sea battle, Hyborian Age style, with ships ramming each other or using grappling hooks to pull along broadsides, men jumping the rails, blood and water mixing on the deck. This movie could center around Queen of the Black Coast, The Pool of the Black One, or Shadows in the Moonlight.
Or, even as the first film has two flavors (the long flashbacks to Cimmeria and the "present day" scenes of young Conan as a thief in Zamora), we could combine this sea flavor with that of a setting among the Black Kingdoms. The two go hand-in-hand. Maybe Conan, as a master thief at the beginning of the second film, becomes involved with smugglers, which leads him to trouble with the authorities, and we go right into the beginning of Queen of the Black Coast showing Conan jump from the pier on a ship, thereby starting his sailing career. The sea battle I wanted happens when the Argus is attacked by Belit's Tigress. From there, Conan falls for Belit. This film will have a strong love story. And, it will cover a long period of time...three years or there abouts.
We've got our beginning, and our ending, told in the Howard story Queen of the Black Coast. What we need to do is fill in the middle of the movie--most of Act II, with a tale that features sea going vessels, Barrachan Pirates, mysterious, lost islands and creatures, the Red Brotherhood, and the like. We can make up new stuff--I've got a picture in my head right now of Conan and Belit on the deck of the tigress looking out at sea with this huge whirlpool vortex sucking down another ship as if it were a pea going down the sink in the bathroom. This is a sword & sorcery movie! It should have some spectacle!
Or, we can fill in the center of this film with one of the Howard tales set in the Black Kingdoms, like the Vale of Lost Women.
In the end, Conan loses his love, Belit, and there is an amazing climatic scene where Conan stands on the shore as the Tigress burns, free floating back out to sea, Belit's body aboard it.
That's two films. More ideas continued in my next post.
#3
Boot
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Posted 22 September 2012 - 07:01 PM
My Conan film series ideas continued....
Where the 1st film focussed on a young Conan, trying to be a thief in Zamora, with memories (via the flashbacks) of his native Cimmeria in his head....
And, where the 2nd film gave us a master thief Conan who, though more mature and more used to the ways of civilization, still finds himself in over his head, leading to a new career as a buccaneer and experiencing the death of the love of his life....
We move into the 3rd film with a more solemn, morose Conan. This is a man who has seen the world, tasted the best of life, and lost it.
3rd film: The flavor of this one will be...HUGE ASS MASS COMBAT. There's only one story that begs to be brought to the screen. That's BLACK COLOSSUS. Most of this film is already written in that story. Still, we'll need to flesh it out--all the details that Howard assumes and skips over in his tale. We need to do as Dark Horse did in their telling of Black Colossus--how Conan came to power was explained.
This film will pick up after Conan has traveled north, through the Black Kingdoms, by ship past the coast of Stygia, into Shem. Thugra Khotan will be massing his army as this is going on. And, the story will progress until Conan finds himself leading the opposition to Khotan's massed horde.
The amazing part of this film will be the incredible mass battle that happens at the end--and the coda scene where Conan beds Yasmela in Natohk's temple with the sorcerer's dead body lying close by.
Other films and flavor ideas:
- 3rd film is the story after Belit. The story of Conan becoming Amra in the Black Kingdoms, after Belit. Maybe this is the first half of the third film, intercutting with scenes of Thugra Khotan amassing his army, and then Conan finding himself in Shem.
- The 4th film could feature Conan has head of the Zuagir or Kozaks. We could wrap this one around A Witch Is Born. From a life of luxury among the elite of Khoraja, Conan leaves again, like he left his clan in the first film. Wanderlust takes over. And we move into A Witch is Born or an entirely new story to feature Zuagir or Kozaks--the focus here being these camel bandits and desert.
- The 5th film is Red Nails. We can set 90% of the film inside this ancient, one-building, covered city of green stone. Talk about a different flavor!
- 6th film. Now, we need a story about the Picts. Going from a film set in a city-building to the deep dark Pict wilderness will defintiely be a flavor change. I'd like to see Aquilonian forts and life in the Westermark. The film could be set around Beyond the Black River.
- 7th film. At this point, this film series is 14+ years old. If it makes it this far, it will be time to show Conan as King. That's the flavor here: Conan is King of Aqulilonia. We could do a story about Conan becoming king, then an 8th film that features The Scarlet Citadel or The Hour of the Dragon.
So, that's how I'd like to see it done--at least in this once over. If I were ever lucky enough to participate in the planning and making of these films, I'd put a lot more work into this, that's for sure. The above is just what has come out of my finger tips as I typed and answered the question in the OP.
I'm sure there are some other great ideas out there.
Trilogy One....takes Conan from his first steps into civilization to that of being a commander of men.
1. Conan and the Tower of the Elephant.
2. Conan and the Queen of the Black Coast.
3. Conan and the Black Colossus.
Trilogy Two....various adventures of a hardend, seasoned Conan that is well familiar with civilization.
4. Conan The Barbarian: A Witch Is Born.
5. Conan The Barbarian: Red Nails.
6. Conan The Barbarian: Beyond The Black River.
Trilogy Three...that sees Conan fulfill his destiny and become king.
7. King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword.
8. King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel.
9. King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon.
Where the 1st film focussed on a young Conan, trying to be a thief in Zamora, with memories (via the flashbacks) of his native Cimmeria in his head....
And, where the 2nd film gave us a master thief Conan who, though more mature and more used to the ways of civilization, still finds himself in over his head, leading to a new career as a buccaneer and experiencing the death of the love of his life....
We move into the 3rd film with a more solemn, morose Conan. This is a man who has seen the world, tasted the best of life, and lost it.
3rd film: The flavor of this one will be...HUGE ASS MASS COMBAT. There's only one story that begs to be brought to the screen. That's BLACK COLOSSUS. Most of this film is already written in that story. Still, we'll need to flesh it out--all the details that Howard assumes and skips over in his tale. We need to do as Dark Horse did in their telling of Black Colossus--how Conan came to power was explained.
This film will pick up after Conan has traveled north, through the Black Kingdoms, by ship past the coast of Stygia, into Shem. Thugra Khotan will be massing his army as this is going on. And, the story will progress until Conan finds himself leading the opposition to Khotan's massed horde.
The amazing part of this film will be the incredible mass battle that happens at the end--and the coda scene where Conan beds Yasmela in Natohk's temple with the sorcerer's dead body lying close by.
Other films and flavor ideas:
- 3rd film is the story after Belit. The story of Conan becoming Amra in the Black Kingdoms, after Belit. Maybe this is the first half of the third film, intercutting with scenes of Thugra Khotan amassing his army, and then Conan finding himself in Shem.
- The 4th film could feature Conan has head of the Zuagir or Kozaks. We could wrap this one around A Witch Is Born. From a life of luxury among the elite of Khoraja, Conan leaves again, like he left his clan in the first film. Wanderlust takes over. And we move into A Witch is Born or an entirely new story to feature Zuagir or Kozaks--the focus here being these camel bandits and desert.
- The 5th film is Red Nails. We can set 90% of the film inside this ancient, one-building, covered city of green stone. Talk about a different flavor!
- 6th film. Now, we need a story about the Picts. Going from a film set in a city-building to the deep dark Pict wilderness will defintiely be a flavor change. I'd like to see Aquilonian forts and life in the Westermark. The film could be set around Beyond the Black River.
- 7th film. At this point, this film series is 14+ years old. If it makes it this far, it will be time to show Conan as King. That's the flavor here: Conan is King of Aqulilonia. We could do a story about Conan becoming king, then an 8th film that features The Scarlet Citadel or The Hour of the Dragon.
So, that's how I'd like to see it done--at least in this once over. If I were ever lucky enough to participate in the planning and making of these films, I'd put a lot more work into this, that's for sure. The above is just what has come out of my finger tips as I typed and answered the question in the OP.
I'm sure there are some other great ideas out there.
Trilogy One....takes Conan from his first steps into civilization to that of being a commander of men.
1. Conan and the Tower of the Elephant.
2. Conan and the Queen of the Black Coast.
3. Conan and the Black Colossus.
Trilogy Two....various adventures of a hardend, seasoned Conan that is well familiar with civilization.
4. Conan The Barbarian: A Witch Is Born.
5. Conan The Barbarian: Red Nails.
6. Conan The Barbarian: Beyond The Black River.
Trilogy Three...that sees Conan fulfill his destiny and become king.
7. King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword.
8. King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel.
9. King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon.
Edited by Boot, 23 September 2012 - 03:08 AM.
#4
Lunatic
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Posted 23 September 2012 - 02:17 AM
While we are dreaming... 
First movie- Conan the hunter/barbarian/warrior.
Conan grows up in a violent enviroment. Clan to clan fights, Vanir and pict raids. Would like it to be kind of a "Rocky" movie where he trains as a warrior. Learning the riddle of steel...love that stuff. But also hunting scenes, monsterfights and some mystic content like a witch foretelling his future. Maybe he discovers some clues to the past. Kull legend, some stuff from the hyborian essay maybe. Breaking a bulls neck...
A certain Atlantean sword might pop up, handed to him to kill something (and then it gets hidden again). Heirloom of his granddad(mentor) maybe. I would like to have an explanation to why he wanders. Perhaps he is just trained to be a raider...sort of sent out in the world by his people, chosen to mess around with cimmerias enemies. Making chaos to bring them down a bit while learning to bring the cimmerians up somewhat. I loved the Nispel movie, but yeah I would like some more mystery/fantasy stuff...romantic wilderness...frontier. Should be bloody though...fierce combat and sexy wenches, magic tentacles. Just like the stories.
What would be the so called plot then? I would say Venarium and the advance of the Aquilonians trying to civilize the cimmerians. So it could be a "frontier" story, but where the natives win. Then because of a feud, he must flee and as it turns out he becomes a slave for a while insted of a king. He flees Hyperborea and lands in Zamora. The Frostgiants daughter and good pastische could be weaved into this of course.
Maybe a young Numedides could be the villain and then Thoth-Amon showing up somehow...creating a connecting storyline in the trilogy. Perhaps he steals that ring of the stygian so he becomes a slave as well. Basically a battle between "civilization" and "barbary" the way REH conveyed it.
Second movie
Conan starts out as a thief, making allies and friends here that can be useful in the third movie. Meanwhile Thoth-Amon retrieves his ring and sure, you could make him to be Yara...but rather staying true to core material. He might also be working in the shadows trying to influence the courts of the Hyborian world. Sending yara to Zamora. Sending Tsotha-Lanthi to Koth, waking the Iron statues and the black colossus...and so on. Preparing to wake up the great Xaltoun. Conan on the other hand thwarts his plans as a thief, as a mercenary, but then ends up with Belit. Dreaming of kingship Amra and Belit rules the waves, but it ends with tragedy. Why is Conan in the midst of these things? I don´t know, destiny perhaps, the work of Epimetreus or Kharantes or the witch told him so..
Third movie
Conan is older and more of a commander. Starting as a Bamula chief then Barachan Piratelord, but ends up as a general. Numedides is now insane while Thoth-Amon is overthrown by his own wizards. Conan however find the treasure of Tranicos and then leads a rebellion with his many allies. Numedides is an old and new enemy. And he has his head. But then with the bloody crown on his head, the ordeal starts, when Thoth-Amon gets his ring again. Waking Xaltoun...and then later a final battle between him and Thoth when king Conan still standing, kills the stygian sorceror. Zenobia is an important character that gives him new strength I think. Perhaps she also should be a character. Queen of Ophir or something. Struck by Nemedian imperialism.
First movie- Conan the hunter/barbarian/warrior.
Conan grows up in a violent enviroment. Clan to clan fights, Vanir and pict raids. Would like it to be kind of a "Rocky" movie where he trains as a warrior. Learning the riddle of steel...love that stuff. But also hunting scenes, monsterfights and some mystic content like a witch foretelling his future. Maybe he discovers some clues to the past. Kull legend, some stuff from the hyborian essay maybe. Breaking a bulls neck...
A certain Atlantean sword might pop up, handed to him to kill something (and then it gets hidden again). Heirloom of his granddad(mentor) maybe. I would like to have an explanation to why he wanders. Perhaps he is just trained to be a raider...sort of sent out in the world by his people, chosen to mess around with cimmerias enemies. Making chaos to bring them down a bit while learning to bring the cimmerians up somewhat. I loved the Nispel movie, but yeah I would like some more mystery/fantasy stuff...romantic wilderness...frontier. Should be bloody though...fierce combat and sexy wenches, magic tentacles. Just like the stories.
What would be the so called plot then? I would say Venarium and the advance of the Aquilonians trying to civilize the cimmerians. So it could be a "frontier" story, but where the natives win. Then because of a feud, he must flee and as it turns out he becomes a slave for a while insted of a king. He flees Hyperborea and lands in Zamora. The Frostgiants daughter and good pastische could be weaved into this of course.
Maybe a young Numedides could be the villain and then Thoth-Amon showing up somehow...creating a connecting storyline in the trilogy. Perhaps he steals that ring of the stygian so he becomes a slave as well. Basically a battle between "civilization" and "barbary" the way REH conveyed it.
Second movie
Conan starts out as a thief, making allies and friends here that can be useful in the third movie. Meanwhile Thoth-Amon retrieves his ring and sure, you could make him to be Yara...but rather staying true to core material. He might also be working in the shadows trying to influence the courts of the Hyborian world. Sending yara to Zamora. Sending Tsotha-Lanthi to Koth, waking the Iron statues and the black colossus...and so on. Preparing to wake up the great Xaltoun. Conan on the other hand thwarts his plans as a thief, as a mercenary, but then ends up with Belit. Dreaming of kingship Amra and Belit rules the waves, but it ends with tragedy. Why is Conan in the midst of these things? I don´t know, destiny perhaps, the work of Epimetreus or Kharantes or the witch told him so..
Third movie
Conan is older and more of a commander. Starting as a Bamula chief then Barachan Piratelord, but ends up as a general. Numedides is now insane while Thoth-Amon is overthrown by his own wizards. Conan however find the treasure of Tranicos and then leads a rebellion with his many allies. Numedides is an old and new enemy. And he has his head. But then with the bloody crown on his head, the ordeal starts, when Thoth-Amon gets his ring again. Waking Xaltoun...and then later a final battle between him and Thoth when king Conan still standing, kills the stygian sorceror. Zenobia is an important character that gives him new strength I think. Perhaps she also should be a character. Queen of Ophir or something. Struck by Nemedian imperialism.
Edited by Lunatic, 23 September 2012 - 02:21 AM.
#5
Boot
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Mauler of Shadizar
Posted 23 September 2012 - 03:04 AM
While we are dreaming...
First movie- Conan the hunter/barbarian/warrior.
What would be the so called plot then? I would say Venarium and the advance of the Aquilonians trying to civilize the cimmerians.
I thought about going this route, but the problem would be you'd have a Conan age 15 at the end of the movie. The entire movie would be about a kid. That's OK when reading short stories or novels, but I don't think it would fly as a motion picture.
What 13-14-15 year old kid would play Conan? And, how could you entertain audiences with a barbarian kid for two hours?
That's why I had Venarium as a long flashback in my suggestion for the first film above. We would live with an older Conan, young to civilization, to be sure, but an adult by today's modern standards. And, we'd see moments from his childhood in the long flashbacks, a la Highlander.
#6
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Posted 23 September 2012 - 03:31 AM
Lol, thats true...
I like that idea with flashbacks.
Well the Venarium thing can be an ongoing development, the battle taking place early on in the movie. Maybe this is how Conan is noticed by his tribesmen and they decide to make him into that guy. But I think cimmerians should be bad-ass overall...not just Conan.
However, if Conan is 15 at Venarium he better be some freak played by a 25 year old looking guy. I just can´t see a guy looking like a teen doing all that...lol again... That would make the cimmerians or at least Conan to a freak people growing real fast, perhaps never stopping. Nevertheless one could turn it around letting him spend some young adult years as a reaver in the north or raiding in pictland, then as a slave for some more years until he escapes to Zamora.
Either or, I did not mean to argue your post.
I like that idea with flashbacks.
Well the Venarium thing can be an ongoing development, the battle taking place early on in the movie. Maybe this is how Conan is noticed by his tribesmen and they decide to make him into that guy. But I think cimmerians should be bad-ass overall...not just Conan.
However, if Conan is 15 at Venarium he better be some freak played by a 25 year old looking guy. I just can´t see a guy looking like a teen doing all that...lol again... That would make the cimmerians or at least Conan to a freak people growing real fast, perhaps never stopping. Nevertheless one could turn it around letting him spend some young adult years as a reaver in the north or raiding in pictland, then as a slave for some more years until he escapes to Zamora.
Either or, I did not mean to argue your post.
#7
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Posted 23 September 2012 - 04:18 PM
But I think cimmerians should be bad-ass overall...not just Conan.
Definitely agreed on that!
Either or, I did not mean to argue your post.
LOL! No worries! We're all just dreaming here anyway, as you said at the top of your post!
#8
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Posted 23 September 2012 - 05:29 PM
First id go straightto PoTs...with arnie as older king conan....flashback or two with younger new guy to continue playing him in next fliks and introdusr a new conan
..arnie passing the torch so to speak...make it pretty straight adaption...arnies swan song..written and directed perfectly...100% true to REH...next fliks would star new actor as young conan..prolly start with fgd...have that lead in to btbr...good excuse to go south away from the freaky north...do btbr perfectly....after..prolly red nails as third...
..arnie passing the torch so to speak...make it pretty straight adaption...arnies swan song..written and directed perfectly...100% true to REH...next fliks would star new actor as young conan..prolly start with fgd...have that lead in to btbr...good excuse to go south away from the freaky north...do btbr perfectly....after..prolly red nails as third...
"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars--Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingaria with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom in the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a SLAYER, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."
....."let me live deep while I live , know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate , the hot embrace of white arms , the mad exultation of battle when the blue-blades flame and crimson - and I am content. Let teachers priests and philosphers brood on questions of reality and illusion . I know this much ; if life is an illusion , then I am no less an illusion , and being so that illusion is real to ME .I live , I burn with life , I love , I SLAY , and I am content . "
....."let me live deep while I live , know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate , the hot embrace of white arms , the mad exultation of battle when the blue-blades flame and crimson - and I am content. Let teachers priests and philosphers brood on questions of reality and illusion . I know this much ; if life is an illusion , then I am no less an illusion , and being so that illusion is real to ME .I live , I burn with life , I love , I SLAY , and I am content . "
#9
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Posted 24 September 2012 - 12:44 AM
As has been mentioned several times in these fora, I think the best bet for a revitalization of Conan would be on the small screen as a series or mini-series, probably on some sort of premium cable channel since there would have to be violence and nudity. Maybe even in the format of the recent BBC Sherlock Holmes show, which was a series of TV "movies." If I were in charge, the plots would simply be strict-as-possible adaptations of Howard's stories. Each episode would even vary in length, from a half an hour for some of the shorter stories (maybe even two 15 minute stories in an episode), to a full two hour movie or series of one hour shows for something like Hour of the Dragon.
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Posted 24 September 2012 - 06:59 AM
Yeah, I would suggest an ongoing tv series:
1st Season: Conan the Thief
All the thief/cat burgler stories, plus some filler pastiches
2nd Season, Conan the Mercenary.
Some of the early merc stories. End the season with a cliffhanger when he meets Belit
3rd Season. Amra/Queen of the Black Coast
Some pirate pastiches, culminating with the death of Belit.
4th Season. Conan the Reaver
More merc stories, with bandit and pirate and kozak stories. BC, DiI, IoIS, PotBC, AWSbB, SoBY, RN.
5th Season. Conan the Frontier Scout
Beyond the Black River, Wolves beyond the Border, etc, culminating in the Aquilonian rebellion, ending with a cliffhanger
6th Season. King Conan
Begins with the resolution of the cliffhanger and Conan crowning himself. Then the King stories.
That's the way I'll do it after I inherit a fortune and buy HBO, or the SyFy channel, or something.
1st Season: Conan the Thief
All the thief/cat burgler stories, plus some filler pastiches
2nd Season, Conan the Mercenary.
Some of the early merc stories. End the season with a cliffhanger when he meets Belit
3rd Season. Amra/Queen of the Black Coast
Some pirate pastiches, culminating with the death of Belit.
4th Season. Conan the Reaver
More merc stories, with bandit and pirate and kozak stories. BC, DiI, IoIS, PotBC, AWSbB, SoBY, RN.
5th Season. Conan the Frontier Scout
Beyond the Black River, Wolves beyond the Border, etc, culminating in the Aquilonian rebellion, ending with a cliffhanger
6th Season. King Conan
Begins with the resolution of the cliffhanger and Conan crowning himself. Then the King stories.
That's the way I'll do it after I inherit a fortune and buy HBO, or the SyFy channel, or something.
Edited by Ironhand, 24 September 2012 - 07:09 AM.
"Did you deem yourself strong, because you were able to twist the heads off civilized folk, poor weaklings with muscles like rotten string? Hell! Break the neck of a wild Cimmerian bull before you call yourself strong. I did that, before I was a full-grown man...!" - Conan, in "Shadows in Zamboula", by Robert E. Howard
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
#11
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Posted 25 September 2012 - 08:28 AM
BTW, if I were responsible for crafting a profitable TV series, I simply can't imagine doing Vale of Lost Women as a TV episode (presumably in the 4th Season). It is simply beyond my creative ability, unless I were to make massively radical changes in the story, which I would be reluctant to do.
On the other hand, when it came time to do Servants of Bit-Yakin/Teeth of Gwaluhr, although I have said that this portrays Conan at his dishonest worst, I think that would be a fairly easy fix.
On the other hand, when it came time to do Servants of Bit-Yakin/Teeth of Gwaluhr, although I have said that this portrays Conan at his dishonest worst, I think that would be a fairly easy fix.
Edited by Ironhand, 25 September 2012 - 08:36 AM.
"Did you deem yourself strong, because you were able to twist the heads off civilized folk, poor weaklings with muscles like rotten string? Hell! Break the neck of a wild Cimmerian bull before you call yourself strong. I did that, before I was a full-grown man...!" - Conan, in "Shadows in Zamboula", by Robert E. Howard
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
#12
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Posted 26 September 2012 - 06:13 PM
Actually I would want to edit my post. Conan should not be the Rockymovie-gladiator perhaps. The Nispel movie is more on the spot portraying him as a born genius of battle.
Also, civ vs barbary...in the sence that civilization is wicked and degenarate. But the older Conan probably see the benefits, he just barbs it up a bit giving more power to the people rather than the lords. In a way democratizing it? Then would that be a big step away from the brooding philosophizing King Kull, who rules with his axe, simple as that. As a comparison then Conan is wiser.
Also, civ vs barbary...in the sence that civilization is wicked and degenarate. But the older Conan probably see the benefits, he just barbs it up a bit giving more power to the people rather than the lords. In a way democratizing it? Then would that be a big step away from the brooding philosophizing King Kull, who rules with his axe, simple as that. As a comparison then Conan is wiser.
