I’ve often lamented that, despite there being no less than four films released which claim to be based on his work, none could truly be considered an adaptation. The world of television was not much better, with the three Conan programs virtually unrecognizable as Howard’s creation. It would seem that despite the hundreds of stories and eighty years’ worth of influence on many genres of fiction, there hadn’t been a single professional adaptation of a Robert E. Howard story.

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In the wake of Miguel’s amazing scoop on the new pictures of Jason Momoa as “Conan,” Lionsgate really have to up their game before even more blurry photographs from camera phones and film festivals predicate official releases. In the meantime, Stephen Lang spoke to MTV about the film.*

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Here, to my knowledge, are the latest leaked pictures of Jason Momoa as Conan, or to be more accurate what you can contemplate are photos of photos taken at Cannes. The Film Festival started yesterday in that seaside city of Southern France, which hosts numerous screenings, market discussions and the like in addition to the official competition.

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Generally, first shots make an important impact in the buzz for a film. Be they tantalizing glimpses of the set, blurry images of actors in costume, or even a prop lying around, early shots do a lot to generate excitement about a project. Of course, the reverse can also be true: sometimes early pictures can be underwhelming, laughable, or scandalous.

The first photos from the set of “Conan” are out, as well as the first pictures of Jason Momoa (pictured above with an ecstatic fan) as our favourite Cimmerian. What can they tell us about the direction of the film?

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The upcoming DragonCon has become a lot more interesting for Robert E. Howard and Conan fans:

New guests have been added to DragonCon’s guest list, and another has been hinted at, but not yet confirmed. First up is one of my favorites, Jason Momoa, who played the character Ronan Dex in the SyFy series Stargate: Atlantis. He has also been chosen to play the title character in the reboot of Conan the Barbarian.

Anyone eager to meet The Man Who Would Be Conan can do so this September in Atlanta:

Dragon*Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!

This year, Dragon*Con will be held Labor Day weekend (September 3–6, 2010) in Atlanta, GA.

Man, if only I could be there to pose questions to Jason: what was his favourite Conan story, his favourite quotation or moment from the tales, his favourite non-Conan Howard story, what he thought of the poems, things like that. By September, it’s likely the first production pictures of Momoa as “Conan” will have surfaced, leading to much renewed interest in the project. I foresee that interviews from most outlets would be more interested in making moronic Arnold comparisons and asking what it’s like working with the bad guy from Avatar than getting an insight into how Momoa approached the world’s most famous Cimmerian. It’s largely up to Howard fans to get in there with questions that we want answers for, instead of hoping TMZ or MTV ask Momoa what he thought of Conan’s relationship with Bêlit, or his views regarding ”The Phoenix on the Sword” and “The Tower of the Elephant.”

Hopefully any Howard fans going to Dragon*Con will be able to chat to Jason, and report their experiences to Howard fandom at large, maybe even capture it on video if possible. It would be nice to get some further confirmation that the cast are reading REH’s tales in Bulgaria, however little it might help the story. It’d certainly cheer my heart to hear Momoa quoting a real Conan yarn.

Among Steve Tompkins’ many interesting blog entries written here on The Cimmerian, there was this piece about Lovecraft-inspired motions pictures.  The movie he was looking forward to see (as I am), Del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness, is not even in production yet, but another story written by the Man from Providence should make it to the silver screen sooner. Thanks to Grim Blogger, I learned a few days ago that the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society had released a new trailer for their adaptation of  Howard Phillips Lovecraft‘s horror/science-fiction short story first published in the August 1931 issue of Weird Tales, ”The Whisperer in Darkness.” The film is supposed to be released in October.

Beware, Howard fans, viewing the video embedded in this blog post (thanks to shieldbrother Al for helping out someone who is only semi-literate with computers) might be painful. To see the (impressive) effort of a bunch of enthusiasts, who are genuinely caring for the source material, with this attempt to adapt their favorite’s author creation into film format, is something we’re not accustomed too. No compromise, no update of the story to a contemporary setting in a lame effort to please a modern audience; just the honest attempt to adapt faithfully on the silver screen what was written in the tale. In short, a purist’s dream come true. Exactly what has always been needed for movies based on Robert E. Howard’s stories, and never been supplied. When will the Texan’s tales get this kind of treatment?

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William Stout's concept art for the dreaded Wheel of Pain

I’m sure some might be enjoying the break I’ve taken from reporting on the upcoming “Conan” film–Crom knows it’s done wonders for my blood pressure–but the most recent news is worth reporting, seeing as Howard heavyweight Patrice Louinet has more to say.

While Patrice cannot divulge much in the way of specifics, what he can reveal is nonetheless very interesting. First, though, let’s get up to date.

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Maxym just read the new Conan script. He is not pleased.

Have you seen any movies lately? We’re making tin gods out of those poor buffoons in Hollywood; I dote on movies and appreciate the scanty art therein but I consider the profession about the most debased and debasing I know.
– Robert E. Howard to Tevis Clyde Smith, week of February 20, 1928.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. These are frustrating times for Howard fans who, like Two-Gun Bob, dote on movies. Solomon Kane has yet to win a distribution deal in the U.S. and Howard purists have thrust their rapiers repeatedly into the movie’s hide, coldly raging at the liberties taken with Howard’s steely Puritan.

And the new “Conan” movie… Arrrgggg!!!

With rare exceptions (which will get their due in due course), Hollywood just doesn’t seem to do well with swordplay, sorcery and barbaric splendor. But wait, dog brothers. All is not lost to the swashbuckling brotherhood. We can find the treasures we seek far from the debased civilization that is Hollywood. Look to the East, where Cossack riders thunder and swordsmen ply their trade in the trenches and upon the high seas.

In an occasional series, we’ll take a look at some films that will stir the blood of the fighting Howardians — and spare their grinding teeth.

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Howard fans of Newport Beach and the surrounding area intrigued by news of Michael J. Bassett’s divisive interpretation of Solomon Kane will get a chance to see it, as the film will be shown at the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival.

Here’s the blurb from the official site, though be warned, there are some substantial spoilers therein:

When English Captain Solomon Kane and his band of pillagers decide to attack a mysterious castle in Northern Africa to plunder its rumored riches, his mission to protect his homeland takes a fateful turn. One by one, Kane’s men are picked off by demonic creatures until he alone is left to face the Devil’s own Reaper — dispatched from the depths of Hell to lay claim to his hopelessly corrupt soul. Though Kane at last manages to escape, he knows that he now must redeem himself by renouncing violence and devoting himself wholly to a life of peace and purity. After Kane fails to thwart the brutal slaughter of the Crowthorns, a Puritan family that has befriended him, he vows to find and free their enslaved daughter Meredith; even if it means jeopardizing his own soul by re-embracing his murderous talents for a higher cause. His determined search eventually brings him face to face with his family’s own deadly secrets as he attempts to save Meredith and all of England from the forces of evil.

Anyone interested can make for the 5:45 PM Saturday screening at Screen 4 of the Edwards Island cinema on 24th April, or go for the 8:30 PM Sunday screening at the Regency South Coast Village Theater on 25th April.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, it now appears the screening has been cancelled. The eruptions of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull is responsible: with no HD or 35mm copies of the film in the United States and Bassett himself stranded in the UK, it appears the wrath of Eyjafjallajökull, which has caused so much trouble over the past few weeks, has spread beyond the fall of its ash.

After a long delay, the third and final Wandering Star Conan volume has been released.

Well, the wait is finally over! Five long years after it was originally supposed to appear, Conan of Cimmeria, Volume 3 has been released and those who preordered their copies from The Book Palace or Terence McVicker should have them in their hands and on their shelves by now. For those who have been collecting this series of beautiful limited editions by Wandering Star over the years, this is a tremendous relief, as it seemed for a while that the Conan volumes were doomed to suffer the same fate as the incomplete Donald Grant Conan series from the 1970′s. Now, with Wandering Star focusing its efforts fully on the big screen rather the printed page, it is possible to step back and take a look at the most ambitious, most beautifully illustrated, most accurately edited, and certainly the most expensively priced series of Howard’s works ever produced.

The first Robert E. Howard book published by Wandering Star was The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane in 1998. Lavishly illustrated by Gary Gianni and edited by Rusty Burke and Patrice Louinet, this beautiful slipcased volume came with a audio CD recording of “Solomon Kane’s Homecoming” and prints of the interior color plates. All the copies were numbered and signed by Gianni and there were three versions created: the standard Limited Edition of one thousand fifty copies, the Publisher’s Edition of one hundred copies with extra illustrations, and the Leatherbound edition of fifty copies which was not sold to the public. The original purpose behind Wandering Star’s production of this book was to have a visual and textual package that could be given to producers, directors, and studio executives in order to help pitch the concept of a Solomon Kane movie. Soon, however, they decided to continue to produce more limited editions, with the lofty goal of eventually publishing all of Howard’s major works in such a format. The series promised to deliver Howard’s verse and prose not only in an aesthetically pleasing presentation, but also in the most textually-pure format possible.

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