Link:
http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5297:director-et-al-talk-new-bloodier-conan&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=167
Copio y pego:
“I think the appeal of Conan is that he doesn’t conform to
anybody,” explains director Marcus Nispel, who helmed two other reboots fright
fans are probably familiar with: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and FRIDAY THE
13TH. “He’s not politically correct. He’s not living by anyone else’s moral
standards. He’s a barbarian who depends on no one but himself.”
With such a pedigree, you’d think a new origin story
wouldn’t be necessary, but the new film’s creators say such is not the case.
“If we get Conan right, we have re-established the franchise and we can then go
ahead with adaptations of the original stories,” explains producer Fredrik
Malmberg, who bought the rights to the character 10 years ago and has fought to
get a film made since. “First we have to get the Conan character into people’s
minds. He’s a complex character, and I believe we, like [1982 film director
John] Milius, had to tell some kind of origin story. Fans don’t think that’s
necessary, but we still have to please the studio system and the executives and
marketing. And you see, the majority of the audience will not know where Conan
comes from. They never saw the Milius movie. We need to create something that
today’s audience will appreciate. ‘Give the people what they want but not what
they expect’ is the mantra.”
While it’s hard to deny the impact Milius’ movie had on the
character’s popularity, Malmberg also acknowledges that times have changed. “We
respect [that feature] for what it was, but we capture Howard’s Conan better.
We really wanted this one to stand on its own. There were even a couple of
actors from the original who came and wanted to do little parts, but we had to
say no.”
Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo in GAME OF THRONES) took the lead
role and the heavy task of portraying a cultural icon. “Jason just feels very
contemporary, yet he fits the description that Howard wrote for Conan much more
to me than Arnold [Schwarzenegger],” Malmberg boasts. “When you see Jason,
you’ll say, ‘That’s Conan.’ Better than that walking special effect.”
Speaking of special FX, Malmberg adds that the new film will
appeal to horror fans and gorehounds who are unfamiliar with the titular
savage: “It’s a more gritty, realistic violence. This is a world where a sword
cut is fatal and heads fly and arms get cut off. Marcus has an extreme visual
knowledge. There are some scenes that will make you cringe. Then there are
others where we said, ‘Maybe that’s a little too dark, and we’ll put that on
the extended version.’ ”
Fright fans should be familiar with not only the film’s
director, but its composer too: Tyler Bates has composed for films such as
SLITHER, SEE NO EVIL, Zach Snyder’s DAWN OF THE DEAD and Rob Zombie's
HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN II and THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. If all else fails, audiences
will be treated to “dark drums that really elevate that feeling of a
prehistoric, gritty, dirty world.”
The film’s 3D status shouldn’t be much of a surprise to
anyone who’s attended a movie theater over the past few years, but Malmberg
promises this isn’t just another ploy to put more butts in seats. “I believe 3D
is really great for getting immersed in a world,” he says. “ ’Cause otherwise
people say, ‘Oh, Conan, it’s a big guy with a sword,’ and that’s where it ends.
But that’s not enough today; fans now are so much more sophisticated. It was
Lionsgate and their marketing team who were saying, ‘We really want this to be
a spectacle and big event.’ I think 3D will really work to give it depth.”
CONAN is slashing its way onto North American screens over
25 years since the barbarian’s last big-screen appearance, and Nispel believes
this is a particularly opportune time to be revisiting the iconic hero. “We
live in a very artificial world,” the director says. “We spend most of our day in
front of computers, borrowing knowledge, borrowing real experiences. Conan gets
you into a world where you still get dirt under your fingernails and where you
don’t have to ask everybody for permission.” Adds Malmberg, “Conan’s a man who
lives now. He’s not gonna brood over past times much. It’s a refreshing theme
of barbarism vs. civilization. Many people feel it would be nice to be in
control of your own destiny, because we’re all squished inside this
civilization and feeling hopeless. Conan represents freedom.”