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Thursday
07May2009

Hooray! Brett Ratner Not Directing 'Conan'

DateThursday, May 7, 2009 at 3:11PM
Well, this is good news: Rush Hour and music video director Brett Ratner won't be mis-directing Conan. Producer Joe Gatta tells Empire that the project is still looking for a director, admitting that Ratner was a big consideration for a while.

“For the past six months we were discussing the movie with Brett Ratner, and for more timing issues than anything else we had to part ways with Brett," says Gatta Gatta Hey. "We all wanted him to do it, believe me; just the timing didn’t work. But you never know what can happen.”

Two things cross my mind at this moment: 1) Can there be that many Guitar Hero commercials left for Ratner to direct instead of a big-budget reboot like this? 2)Who ought to take the reins?

The first question is just me being snarky, so there's no need to dig any deeper there. As for the second one, Gatta says they're still on the hunt because "we have a potential start-date on Conan of August 24." There will also be an open casting call for Conan, which will begin once a director is hired.

OK, let's do the math: This is going to start in a little more than 90 days and there's no director and no star. In theory, if you were going to hire Brett Ratner to make a movie that completely whiffs in relation to his skills, you can find a replacement pretty quickly. But then you still have to find a Conan. And I'm sorry, it's not as simple as just cruising the gyms. That's also really creepy.

I think the director helps determine the level of the star you might get. If the producers elevate an editor or special effects guy, which happens pretty frequently, then you probably won't get a big name to star. Plus, don't forget that they want to shoot before Labor Day. So now Conan is working around a bunch of immediate schedules to find a face for the franchise.

That's not going to be easy.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

Wow. That is the best news I've heard since nick cage stopped trying to petition himself for superman in the 90's. The rumor of Rob Zombie directing would have been interesting. He could definately capture the brutality of the genre but not Conan's intelligence or humor. Plus I dont see the barbarian dropping that many F-bombs. I don't think going with a staight action director would work. Paul Thomas Anderson would be interesting if he kept it in the vein of "There Will Be Blood", maybe not the most commercial idea but no more strange than Micheal Gondry on The Green Hornet.

Thursday, May 7, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterRorschach007

go to You Tube Drasko Andjic Conan Casting 2010.he is the beast chois for the new Conan!

Sunday, May 17, 2009 | Unregistered Commenterralf

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