"Conan the Barbarian" Works as a Reboot

Directed by Marcus Nispel, “Conan the Barbarian” works as a reboot. "We're going back to the mythological Conan as he's described in the Robert E. Howard stories," he explains. "But at the same time, we can't deny that the popular consciousness has changed and things have shifted. People's demands of who Conan should be have changed, and yet there's a certain amount they wouldn't want us to change. So the mantra in making “Conan the Barbarian” is 'give people what they want but don't give them what they expect.' " The obvious first step in this endeavor was finding Conan himself— no small task considering the character's towering physicality and stoic charisma. In December 2009, the filmmakers had been actively reading actors for over a month when casting director Kerry Barden suggested Jason Momoa, fresh off of shooting HBO's upcoming "Game of Thrones."

"When we first met Jason, we saw everything that we hoped Conan would be," remembers Weldon. "He has the imposing physicality. The confidence. And there's a sense of unbridled energy to him that's essential for the character." Adds Lerner, "I can't imagine a single actor that I have worked with or seen on screen that could fit into those shoes as perfectly as Jason does. He is a natural athlete. He has the aggression, the power, the energy needed. And when you actually read Robert E. Howard's descriptions of Conan, they describe Jason exactly."

The half-Hawaiian, half-Irish actor made his name in the globally popular "Baywatch" series, followed by extended runs on "North Shore" and "Stargate: Atlantis." Momoa was only six years old when Milius' film was released, but he remembers encountering the images of Conan created by visionary comic book artist Frank Frazetta, whose darkly sensual, lush style helped define not only the Conan comic book universe (and the film's poster) but the entire sword-and-sorcery genre. "When you see those drawings, they just they speak to you," says Momoa. "Our goal has been to capture the hero featured in Frazetta's pictures. That was our aim." Frazetta's images also considerably impacted Nispel's and production designer Chris August's vision of the film. "You can't shoot Conan in a vérité style," says Nispel. "You have to paint it, choose new angles, light it all very graphically, and then you're able to tell the story in such a way as to easily suspend the disbelief of an audience."

That said, both Nispel and August agreed that the film should feel like a lost piece of history, an epic about real people in a real ancient time. Explains August, "We decided the environment should become a huge part of the film and that it should have a very dirty, gritty feel. Magical, but in a more brutal way. Marcus had this vision to try to do as much of Conan as possible in camera, meaning we actually saw what was being filmed without adding a whole lot of CGI," recalls Weldon. The reality-based approach that Nispel proposed married well with Lerner's and Weldon's plan to shoot the film at Nu Boyana Studios and locations throughout Bulgaria. Says Lerner, "In terms of production value, it was far easier in Bulgaria to create the set pieces and props and dressing to bring Hyboria to life and create a visceral experience."

Nispel and August found everything they were looking for during an extensive location scout across the country. "Bulgaria has an amazing landscape and a long cultural history that was perfect for the project," reports August. "While scouting along a river, someone would point up and there would be caves that monks had carved out of the hills. It really felt like Conan's world, very tough and harsh but at the same time stunningly beautiful."

"Nowhere are the middle ages more prevalent than they are in Bulgaria," avows Nispel. "Why create fake digital sets when there's a gigantic cave (Prohodna Cave in Lukovit) or a prehistoric forest (Pobiti in Kamani, Varna, near the Black Sea) right there in front of you?" With a production schedule taking shape, Momoa headed straight into an intensive training regime, spending six hours a day for a month and a half with the Los Angeles based action design team 87eleven before heading to Bulgaria. "That process really helped me understand the character," says Momoa, who did most of his own stunts. "Conan speaks through his sword. He's got to because he's not one for words. So the sword training with Master sensei Chad Stahelski really helped me find Conan's core." Weight training with Eric Laciste rounded out the day's work and helped the six-foot-five actor bulk up before cameras rolled.

As casting continued, the role of Tamara, Conan's accomplice and eventual love interest, went to action-veteran Rachel Nichols (STAR TREK, G.I. JOE). A novitiate of a Greek-influenced monastery and a master of martial arts, Tamara is a "pureblood," a direct descendant of the Sorcerers of Acheron whose blood will awaken the power of the Mask of Acheron. After meeting with Nispel, Nichols jumped at the chance to play a smart, capable woman who breaks the mold of typical fantasy heroines. "This is not a case of Conan doing all of the action and Tamara sitting by passively as the damsel in distress," explains Nichols. "Tamara is smart and strong and if given the choice of fight or flight she chooses to fight. She's Conan's female counterpart and she goes toe to toe with him."

Still Spellbound by True Blood

I actually had to wait over 48 hours and use lots of ice to cool down from watching the most recent episode of True Blood, appropriately entitled, "Spellbound" before I could write about it. Sunday night Executive Producer Alan Ball revved up the non-stop plot twist bus and literally floored it. It was like being hit by an oncoming train... or in Jason Stackhouse's case, an oncoming Jessica. Jason saves Jessica in the best intro to the show... ever. Just as Jessica flings open the doors to step outside during the daylight; Jason swoops in through the white light and saves her. She turns on him at first and is about to take a massive chunk of his neck out, but as the witch's spell wears off, she hits him with a sensual arched-back kiss that he couldn't resist enough not to kiss her back. This was character chemistry 101 at its finest. Later, to keep us all sexually frustrated, he rescinds her invitation to his house and starts doing push-ups. Such a typical yet also sexy Jason move. Deborah Woll enjoys the idea of Jessica and Jason having a romance... “I kind of love the idea of Jess and Jason,” Deborah said with a smile. “It’s fascinating because they are literally thrown into a life and death situation— Jason saves Jessica... so we’re really going to learn who they are together through this experience. I’m excited about it.”

I also loved discovering that the werewolf pack leader is the ex-husband of Sam's new girlfriend. I never saw that one coming. The actress, Janina Gavankar, who is now playing a sleek shape shifter to perfection, was also seen on Showtime's now defunct "The L Word" playing Papi, the Hispanic/Latin version of the commitment-phobic, womanizing Shane (Kate Moennig). Talk about doing an acting 360! I was not even aware of the fact that Gavankar had done a short stint on "The L Word" as her "True Blood" character is the antitheses of the cocky, overly confident lesbian. Gavankar has an impressive resume as she has had a number of television roles under her belt starring opposite a number of solid lead characters- Alex O'Loughlin, Eliza Dushku and Benjamin Bratt. She's a welcome addition to "True Blood" as the multi-faceted actor Sam Trammel definitely needs a storyline which will allow him to shine as we know he can.

Sookie and Eric are still in the throws of an intriguing passionate turn for both characters. During the last three seasons we felt the sexual tension between Sookie and Eric manifest itself as torrential anger, although both characters dove in to save each other regardless of their love/hate connection. When Eric takes his chains off after the daylight spell, he needs blood to heal. Sookie offers him hers. In return, he gives her some of his. Cue a totally Grateful Dead, Narnia trippy high-on-V scene where they step into the shower and snow falls on them. Then Sookie's bedroom becomes a dark forest covered in snow with a bed and fur blankets in the middle of it. The scenes were filled with such a sweet longing from both characters as they explore each other in an entirely different "light", every pun intended.

Actor Alexander Skarsgård (Eric) shows us an almost child-like vulnerable Eric, filled with awe and the joy of a new love. One cannot help but feel his anguish at the possibility of regaining his memory. Eric would prefer to remain a blank slate, giving him what so many of us long for at certain points in our lives... a "do over". Skarsgård puts Eric into a "better place", much like his maker Godric who "chose" to face the sun as a way of atoning for the atrocities he had committed against humanity. Eric, in essence, discovers the part of himself which had been lost after his soul was taken.

Eric says he wants to remain with Sookie, forever. "There's no such thing as forever," Sookie replies as she explains to him that they cannot abandon Bill. It was priceless, awkward and actually very funny to watch Sookie, Bill, and Eric having a discussion about helping Bill to face-off against Antonia/Marni. The dynamic between these three characters is always complicated but it always comes down to Sookie making the call for both vampires... and rarely do they decide not to do exactly what she wants. Both Eric and Bill (regardless of the history and shift in the triangle) DO love Sookie, that continues to be more than obvious.

Sookie is very taken back by Tara's decision to stand with the coven. Under the guise of parlay, Antonia/Marni starts to cast a spell in her mind. But the mind-reading Sookie catches wind of it and warns Bill. Eric runs off and rips out a random witch's throat. Antonia/Marni ripostes with a fog spell. Everyone starts running around in the dark. Pam corners Tara and is ready to kill her when Bill stops her. Props have to go to Bill for protecting Tara from Pam. I do believe this will weigh heavily on Tara as he could have easily let Pam have her way. In this sense, Bill Compton, now the Vampire King has evolved into a much more complex and sophisticated character... always the politician with such diplomacy... it's difficult to know what his agenda will turn out to be.

As the chaos continues... so much for sticking with the "neutrality of the werewolf pack".... Alcide sprints to look for Sookie as he hears her scream, followed closely (unbeknownst to him) by his girlfriend Debbie in wolf form. King Bill gets hit in the face with silver. Antonia/Marni hexes Eric all over again and we are left to guess what she's done to Eric this time around. Then out of seemingly nowhere, Sookie is shot. This was very surprising and not at all anticipated as Sookie had been holding her own by using her Faerie powers to fend off the angry coven. Alcide rescues her while an angry Debbie watches. We were VERY pleased to see Alcide FINALLY make his move to show Sookie how he really feels about her. Up until his desperate run to get to Sookie, he seemed to be in a state of denial about his feelings. This move now adds yet another potential suitor for Sookie as Alan Ball has told us that Alcide is one of the most beloved characters in author Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels (which "True Blood" is based upon).

The show, according to those of us who have taken the time to read the novels, is following the novels rather closely. Although I do believe that Alan Ball "may" not have counted on the unbelievable chemistry between real-life husband and wife (Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer), who were officially married last year... Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton. We've received tons of e-mails from fans who refer to themselves as "Team Bill". Of course, there is also a "Team Eric" as well as a "Team Alcide" so "True Blood" will undoubtedly continue to capitalize an the extensive fan base all of these characters have easily amassed. The fans are indeed an extension of the show itself.

Accepting Life Exactly As It Is

Common definitions of compassion read like the following: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken with misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. These definitions create the idea that compassion requires us to join another in their misery. Does this really help anyone? We may need a definition of compassion that is more powerful. For true compassion we will have to expand our understanding so we don’t mistakenly create more sorrow from suffering.

Let us consider a definition which does not require us to suffer. What if compassion is simply the active expression of acceptance for the world and people just as they are? It entails a state of mind where there is no judgment about a situation or a person. True compassion is being able to look at the whole world without expectations that it should be any different. We can still hold a vision of possibility for the world, but we don’t use it as a standard of comparison for rejecting where the world is right now. In this way we can avoid the personal emotional reactions that create sadness, sorrow or pity.

While the desire to make someone feel better is a natural human desire, it can be distorted in our mind. If we react to another person’s situation with sadness, frustration, or anger we will desire to stop feeling these unpleasant emotions. Our mind holds an outside situation as responsible for our sorrow or pity. Unaware of how we are creating our own reactions, our desire to make ourselves feel better drives us to change others. We are overlooking the role of our beliefs, assumptions, and interpretations in creating our own emotions. In trying to change another we have lost our respect and acceptance of another for where they are.

An example of this was a woman who was intent on saving the world from suffering. She saw people being unhappy and was sad for them and frustrated for their circumstances. She saw people drowning in a sea of emotional suffering and her emotional reactions motivated her to dive in to save them. I asked her if she could lift herself into a boat of happiness with the world the way it is. “No,” she replied. She was an unhappy person that wanted to guide the world to be happy, but couldn’t get herself in the boat… no matter how hard she tried.

I pointed out that if we followed her logic we would all end up drowning together. If I saw her suffering and unhappy then I would feel sad for her. Now there would be two unhappy people. If two people saw us and took the same approach then there would be four people suffering over our frustration and sadness. Four more people could feel saddened and frustrated by our plight and then there would be eight more in the water. If we keep going in this direction the whole world would end up feeling sorrow and pity because one person was unhappy. She began to see that her logic of outrage, sorrow, and pity helped no one.

Helping someone from drowning in emotional suffering has to be done from within the boat of compassion, acceptance, and love. Diving into sorrow and pity your self will not help anyone and only adds to the number in the waters. Some resist this approach and call it selfish to put your happiness first. I disagree. Having emotional reactions and feeling offended when the world is not living according to our personal beliefs is the act of selfishness. I see expressing love for yourself and for others is the most generous thing you can do.

Becoming aware of the emotional pain born out of these beliefs will motivate you to suspend your belief in these artificial standards. In this process it may seem sensible to let go of our expectations for ourselves first. This is actually one of the hardest places to start. You may find it more productive if you begin with an inventory of expectations of other people.

This process can be humbling. When I challenged my own beliefs and break the cycle of my emotional reactions I realized how difficult it was to identify and change beliefs. Realizing the challenge helped me be more accepting of other people trapped in their own beliefs. I no longer expected them to change their emotional state simply with my suggestions. I knew that they would have to change their point of view and beliefs before their emotions could change. Sometimes the process can be quick; perhaps a wise teacher can help with a change of perspective. Other times what is called for is being present and unconditionally accepting for life as it is. As my awareness grew I became more accepting of all the different dimensions of life. I also became more humble as I let go of my personal agenda of how the world or people should be.

There is no difference between compassion and forgiveness. Both share an attitude of unconditional acceptance for a situation or person as they are without judgment or expectation of something else. When you forgive people you let go of your attachment to your expectations and wishes for something different. This is the same as actively accepting life as it is. When you forgive people and the world for whatever they will do in the future you will be accepting of them however they are. This act makes it possible to live without judgment and the resulting emotional reactions. In this way compassion for the world is the same as a complete act of forgiveness. This is the pathway to a happy and truly compassionate life.

Yelawolf— Call Him Catfish Billy

Envision a humid world of slow-rolling Monte Carlos and slaughter houses; meth labs and rusting Mossberg’s, inked up arms and haircuts that look like they’ve been chopped by hatchets. Trunk muzik. Southern Pine trees, smoking pine, and pine boxes. Call him Catfish Billy or Yelawolf, just don’t go make him go pop the trunk on you.

Enter Yelawolf’s Alabama— a backwoods badlands of sinners and salvation. He claims Gadsden, but he’s from everywhere. Born Michael Wayne Atha to an absentee father and a bartender mother, he attended over 15 schools while soaking up slang and spiritualism in Baton Rouge, Antioch, Tennessee, and Atlanta. While trying to stay afloat in a turbulent home life addled by drug and alcohol abuse, he discovered rap music in Tennesee and it soon became an obsession, along with the classic rock (Lynard Skynard, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers) that he was raised on.

“When I lived in Antioch, they’d bus us down to the projects in Nashville to go to school and everything just started clicking with me with rap music and in life,” Yelawolf said. “I felt the connection, these kids had the same problems that I had at home. And the weed, the dope...” His music is a new strain of soul food, the traditional Southern cuisine that fortified the Dungeon Family, 8ball & MJG, and UGK, but infused by Yela’s unique experiences as a cross-country vagabond with no place to call home. And, of course, his unparalleled ability to snap off double-timed staccato raps unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

His manager bestowed him with the nickname Joe Dirt because his experiences are so unbelievable. There was the stint commercial fishing in Alaska. An attempt to become a professional skateboarder in Berkeley thwarted by various injuries. Time spent in Seattle and New York, and of course, spots all over the South. The cross-country Greyhound tours around the country like a modern-day Jack Kerouac with the rhyme skills of LL Cool J circa the “Jack the Ripper” era.

Finally settling back down in Gadsden, Yelawolf hooked up with Gheto-O-Vision, who helped him land a deal with Columbia in 2007. Suddenly, the last 20 years of life as a vagabond seemed to be at an end. Yet the perpetual state of chaos soon re-emerged, when Rick Rubin took over the label and started cutting artists left and right. Before he had the opportunity to even finish his debut album or prove himself on a large scale, he was unceremoniously dropped. “It was frustrating. I was just like, ‘you don’t get it? Alright, that’s cool, then I guess I’m extra special,” Yelawolf said. “I had to be arrogant because I could have been fucked up. I mean, Rick Rubin didn’t like me? But that’s just not my style. I refuse to quit.”

The only solution was to go harder, taking his anger at being slighted and turning it into something undeniable. He dropped a flurry of mixtapes, including “Stereo,” which found him riffing on old classic rock cuts from Fleetwood Mac to Pink Floyd to Heart. But while he continued to build a fan base with each release, something was missing. “Not everybody in hip-hop messes with classic rock. There was no real element of surprise. I’m from Alabama, I’m into classic rock— it was obvious and there was no shock-value to it,” Yelawolf said. “After that, I wanted to focus on making sure that people understood that I respected the craft. “Trunk Muzik” was dedicated to the trunk riders, with 808s and hard ass music. It had a dirty Southern sound, and it opened things up.

Which is something of an understatement. “Trunk Muzik” dropped on January 1st, 2010, and within a matter of weeks, he was the toast of every blog. The New York Times raved about a live performance, describing him as “fully ascendant” and “striking and assured.” The LA Times declared he was “as safe a bet for stardom as anyone out right now— the rare rapper capable of earning respect from both Kid Rock and Kid Cudi fans.” His insanely energetic performances at SXSW were the stuff of instant— legend.

Songs like “I Wish” and “Good to Go” found Yela capable of going toe to toe with lyrical giants Bun B and Raekwon. While “Pop the Trunk” epitomized his 808-heavy trunk rattling sound, full of vivid pictures of rural redneck life and violence lurking around every bend. But Interscope didn’t just offer him a deal only to tell stories about the South. There are a million rappers capable of doing just that. But none of them can match Yelawolf’s versatility. Whether he’s rapping over the beat for Cypress Hill’s “Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade,” or The Doors’ “Waiting for the Sun,” Yela has the ability to adapt his style to each song. He doesn’t kick 48-bar freestyles, he re-interprets the song to fit a new meaning. He can spit with the most lyrical underground types or he can write an upbeat party anthem like “I Just Wanna Party,” alongside Gucci Mane.

“I can go any direction— arena rap or even the bluegrass hip-hop shit. I would never sign myself down to any style,” Yelawolf said. “I’m always gonna have the darker edgy music— it is always in my pocket because it comes so natural to me. You’ll never stop getting records like “Pop the Trunk” or “Good to Go”— the crunk south stuff. It will always be a part of what I do in some way. But I plan on evolving. You have to. I’m out to make long lasting records.”

Deborah Ann Woll— An Unexpected Star

Deborah Ann Woll stars as Jessica Hamby on HBO's "True Blood." When Bill was forced to turn Jessica into a vampire as punishment for killing one of his own kind, he was devastated by corrupting a young life. But being stuck with the perpetual teenager for eternity inspires a different kind of regret. Petulant, emotional and immature, Jessica makes sure that none of her growing pains go unshared. At the tender age of 17, True Blood's quasi-innocent vampire Jessica Hamby has studied up on carnal knowledge, killed a horny trucker, and attacked her boyfriend's mom. But this works out just fine for Deborah Ann Woll, the actress who plays her, who gets to live out all her unfulfilled adolescent angst. Vulture phoned Woll for more details on her character's season-four exploits, then got to the bottom of other pressing matters, such as her favorite flavor of blood and her policy on biting folks for a photo op.

Part of being a vampire is being loyal to your maker. How would you defend your character's maker, Bill Compton, who's become a jerky politician?
Deborah Ann Woll "He's under incredible pressure. And he has some incredibly powerful people making decisions for him. I think Bill is as disappointed with that as we are. Bill is really alone now. He doesn't have a family except Jess, and I think it's really wonderful that this season they get to [bond] quite a bit. Because things aren't going so great with [her human boyfriend] Hoyt, [Bill] is all that she has."

So… Jason Stackhouse and Jessica? We REALLY didn't see that one coming at all!
Deborah Ann Woll "I'm actually really excited about that story line. The thing is, Hoyt is such a great guy, but the really sad part of it is that his mom was right: She told Jess all those years ago that Jess can't give him what he wants. While Hoyt is more open-minded than his mother, Hoyt really wants conventional things. He wants a wife and a normal life. And that's not something Jess is capable of, nor does she want it."

When Jessica was human, she would've been the perfect mate for him, the perfect wife.
Deborah Ann Woll "You're absolutely right. The only future she had to look forward to when she was a human was being a good housewife. But she's excited that she finally escaped all of that. It's really saddening for her to find out a year later that she's right back where she started. And she did this because she loves him. She had a little two-week rebellion, then immediately was with Hoyt."

Were you rebellious as a teenager growing up in Brooklyn? Deborah Ann Woll "No, I was not. This character is fun because it's a very safe place to act out. I was a very shy, very quiet little girl. I was bullied a lot and really didn't feel attractive. Being so pale and so blonde, I just disappeared, so I started dying my hair red when I was about 14. And I rebelled against my peers. I never once experimented with a drug. I was a theater geek. I had piano lessons, theater rehearsals, dance."

Your co-star Rutina Wesley also studied dance! Have you had a dance-off yet?
Deborah Ann Woll "We have very different dance backgrounds. [Laughs.] Mine was actually partner dancing. And it's been years. You know what I found online? There are, like, whole groups of people in the South who have created line dances to 'Bad Things' [the True Blood theme song]. They're kind of amazing— some of them are really good!"

Is it just us, or does your character cry more than the others?
Deborah Ann Woll "Oh. Yeah. Blood tears! The blood tears are a pain in the ass. Basically they are part physical effect, part digital effect. Sometimes they will tell me not to actually let any real tears fall 'cause that will affect where they have to put the falling tears. They need to make sure that they place a tear so that it matches up later. And when you're lying down, the tears fall in a really weird way, and then you have these strange marks on your face. What we figured out this season is that you need diluted wet blood with runny mascara in it. There's a lot of crying towards the end of the season; we'll see if people like it more."

While we're on the subject of blood, what does it taste like when your character actually bites someone?
Deborah Ann Woll "We have a couple different bloods that we use. The mouth blood tastes like chocolate-y, minty kind of stuff. The stuff that goes on your face is probably a corn-syrup-based kind of thing. A lot of time they'll use alcohol makeup to give it a base. You want to get it out of your mouth. For the 'True Blood' blood, they were using this purple carrot juice."

What's the weirdest request you got from a fan last month at Comic-Con?
Deborah Ann Woll "It's really when you and another celebrity are in the room— it's like, 'Oh, you should bite him!' I'm like, 'Well, I don't know him. Maybe he's uncomfortable with me biting him.' But they want the photo op. I allow too much of it. We've been talking about what kind of boundaries I should have with that. Because I'm pretty much, 'OKAY!"