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ROBERT E. HOWARD'S

A MARVELSUPERSPECIALMAGAZINE THEHE OFFICIALMARVEL COMICSDAPTATIONF THE ADVENTURE FILMF THE CENTURY

*6f


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DINODELAURENTIIS..EDWARD R. PRESSMAN,

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER - JAMES EARL JOBES -"CONAN THE BARBARIAN"

SANDAHL BERGMAN BEN DAVIDSON GERRY LOPEZ MAKO WILLIAM SMITH MAX VON SYDOW.MILIUS OLIVER STONE BASIL POLEDODRIS EDWARD' SUMMER a'CONSlANTINECONTE,, EDWARD R. PRESSMAN

BUZZ FEITSHANS - RAFFAELLA DE LAORENTIIS JOHN MILIUS

STAN LEE PRESENTSA MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL MAGAZINEAdapted, penciled and inked by JOHN BUSCEMA

Scripted by MICHAEL FLEISHERColored by D. PEDLER and L. VARLEY Lettered by JOE ROSEN

MICHAEL Z. HOBSON Vice-President PublishingJIM SHOOTER Editor-in-Chief * LOUISE JONES EditorDANNY FINGEROTH Associate Editor * DANNY CRESPI Art/Production CoordinatorNORA MACLIN, BARRY SHAPIRO Design * MILTON SCHIFFMAN Vice-President Production

ELIOT R. BROWN, RICK PARKER, JOHN MORELLI, ROB CAROSELLA,HARRY CANDELARIO, BOB CAMP, JOHN TARTAGLIONE, ANDY YANCHUS,DEB PEDLER, PAUL BECTON, FRANKI SIENKIEWICZ, EVE FREBERGE StaffGLENN LORD Technical AdvisorSoul and Inspiration ROBERT E. HOWARD Creator of Conan

Volume 1 No. 21 Summer 1982TABLEOFCOMTEINITS

CONAN The Illustrated Story 5FROM HYBORIA TO HOLLYWOOD The Making of Conan S3OUT OF THE DEPTHS The Creation of Conan 54MILIUS An interview with the screenwriter/director 54THE MAN WHO WOULD BE CONAN An Interview withArnold Schwarzenegger 56HE DESIGNED AN AGE An interview with Ron Cobb 60FROM DARTH TO DOOM An interview with James Earl Jones 64

MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL2* V( M By MARVEL COMICS GROUP, Jamas E. Gneaayear.OFFICEOFPUBLIGATIOR:387P,earing onpages S3 through


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r^ Xnow, O Prince, thatbetween the years whenthe oceans drank Atlantisand the rise of thesons of An/as,there was anage undreamedof. Shiningkingdomsspread acrossthe world. Andhithercame I, Conan,a thief, a reaver,a slayer, to tread thejeweled thrones ofthe Earth beneathmy sandaled feet.But now my eyesare dim. Sit on theground with me, foryou are but theleavings of myage. Let metell you of thedays of highadventure..."


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so i becameSLAYER! A KILLER 'SOMETIMES I THOUGHTOF HAVING MY GUTSRlPPEP OUT AND LYINGTHERE IN THE Pit,GAZING UP AT THE MOON,WITH THE CROWD SPlT-TINS AT MSI

I DIDN'T CARS IF I DIED.' BUTI PIDN'T P16.' I WON ALL MYBATTLES/

WAS FEP WELL NOW,LIVING THE LIFEAN ATHLETE-.. < iJ-~-ill

""* % ("iV ^m^ Fi1 ' KBr j \ vftR-- -mi?^L // V 11

t / -Y' t

Vyif/* V.RJi .^fc**"* 1*=X 4 ^^^-ln&L?rk 51^"^J


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WITHOUT A REAL WEAPON,WAS NO WAV I COULP HOPEREPSL AH ONSLAUGHT BVTH6PACK. I BACKED AWAY,SMELTER PMQHG THEROCKS. .

.

'-- I GAVE HI*A GREETING HEWOULP NOTSOON FORGETi

"while above /ae the wolvessnarled in frustration...and waited;


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THE PITCH DARKNESS OFCAVE, I WITHDREW AAND STEEL FROM MYAND MADE A FIRE..."ON THE WALLS WEREBOLD CARVINGS ANDSTRANGE SIGNS, THELEAVINGS OF SOMELONG-FORGOTTEN RACE

"FOR ASTRIDE A HUGETHRONE SAT THE SKELETALREMAINS Of A GIANTWARRIOR,SHEATHED INCOPPER ARMOR TARNISHEDWITH AGE..."

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ft f AND THE/ FIRST USETO WHICHI'LL PUT THETHING WILLBE TO FREE

. MYSELF FROM\ THIS CURSED//^^ CHAIN.[>

':' - M \U r~

WITH A SINGLE BLOW,I WAS FREE ANDUNENCUMBERED. .

.


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SPHERE OF CRl/WSON FIREOT FROM THE FIREPLACE,AND CRACKLING...

WAS JUST BREAKING AS I PR6PAR6P TO DEPART.FOOPf GIVE ME FOOD SO THAT I WILL. HAVERENGTH WHEN THE WOLVES COME.' LET MS PIENOT IN HUNGER BUT IN COMSAT/


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RAH...eveRywneRg we ran. we crossedGREAT STEPPE, RUNNING. HE TOLD ME HISTALE AND I TOLD HIM AAINE.


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then apassedsuch haunt-spellbindingauty as to bebeyondcapacity ofinvagination,concbveOF IT...

" VACANT- EYED FLAGELI.AMT3, WHO LASHC0ATTHGlROWN BOPIE5 WITH SNAKKKINWHIPS --CHANTIMG535/^(^^74 ^* doom!

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DO YOU NOT FEAR \THULSA DOOM,CIMMERIAN? THEY JWORSHIP STRANGE /GOVS IN THERE.' Ja

(they are notv my gods.' j

fflI ' '= mZ I 1. \"VM W\

' A i hm W* \ulU,\YOU KNOW \ ( NO.' 1 iHORRORS J N^ ,_->' iBEYOND JH / ' GOOD.' \


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'ABOVE US WE COULD HEAR THE VOICE OF YARO,THE HIGH PRIEST. WHOM VALERIA HAD TOLD USWAS SGCOMD IN POWER HERE ONLY TO THULSADOOM HIMSELF. AMD BEHIND YARO WE COULD HEARTHE DEEP, RHYTHMIC CHANT OF SET'S ACOLYTES,..

'SUBOTAI AMD I,MEANWHILE, HADEMERiSED ON THELEVEL 6ELOW. LOOK-ING UPWARD, ICOULD SEE A YOUNGGIRL PERCHED ATTHE VERY BRINK OFTHE YAWNING ABYSS.HER GAZE WASFIXED, HYPNOTIC-- fe


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"THE MUSCLES CORDED IN MY ARMS LIKE CABLESAS I REACHED OUT. . .FURTHER- . AYE, ANDFURTHER...["... UNTIL FINALLY.- -

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^^-.j^J '* mSZ^~^fe^St_ mr^^.W^-' f j^g1îr &^ \dV%g ^JtSSfc&r\^t>2 *sN^

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/'THERE ON THE ALTAR.' ITSTH6 SYMBOL THEY BORE ON ,THEIR STANDARDS WHEN THEY/A. DESTROYEP MY VILLAGE.' J


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v^^X \"-viMl^\-\ Â. Ajfe-m^^^b % r^

'- ^^^FASTER,BOTH^^H-'^^r op you.' climb ^^|SOT TO REACH 31THE TOWER ROOF ^HBEFORE YARO'S ^H^^^ HOWLING HORPES J H

^^^^ÛOI^^J^^.^.

W WE'LL. NEVER 6E ABLE TO CLIMB DOWN IN ^^HTIME, GIRL.' THOSE PAMHED REPTILE /JUj^ WORSHIPPERS ARE RIGHT BEHIND US I _^^lîry /thgmN. fASW FORGET H^H^climbing!/ JW^sB'

Krir^^x \9Blif^BPW' f

rJ3Ira?. 'v*=îlESSsSml ^? A POOL"^ ISSK^r GL( STEMS^SME^^ BELOW US.'fiS*J" ilfet\ WE'LL HAVE"THE MOON shone rich ANDFULL ON OUR BODIES AS WECLEAVED THE WATER LIKEKNIVES...

1 WE SURFACED, ALL OF US, EXULTINGIN THE DARING OF OUR EVENING'SEXPLOIT...


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W6 EXULTED. / AND WHAT WIL.L YOU BUY,AFTERWARD, SUBOTAI , WITH YOURCELEBRATED... A_ SHARE OP OUR NEWNAY, HYRKANIAN/ FOR WHY SHOULD 1A WAN BUY THAT WHICH HE JALREADY HAS ? ^^S

"


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SUMMONED \

^J ' AT YOUR.COMMAND,L IR6J

=^.MU

aye .'theyare rubies!TAKE ALLyou cmcarry:TAKE ENOUGH OFTHEM TO BECOMEKINGS YOURSELVES.

f ONLY SWEAR TO ME THAT )i YOU WILL BRING MYDAUGHTER BACK/

"THE SUN HAD BARELYRISEN OYER THE CRAGGYZAMORIAN BUTTES ASI SPURRED MY MOUNTEASTWARD TOWARD THEMOUNTAIN OF POWER'BEHIND ME. IN5HAPIZAR.I HADLEFT VALERIA, AYE.AND ALSO SUBOTAI..


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TOLD ME THETO TH6 MOUNTAINPOWER. THEY URGEDTO THROW AWAYSWORP ANP MYAND TO JOINTHEM...

"...UNTIL IARRIVED AT APLACE WHEREA SERIES OFGREAT "ROSE ":eat mqunps :, , \,

llAMD RINGED ROUNP THEM WERESTAKES ON WHICH WERE IMPALEDTHE PUTREFIED BODIES OF MENLEFT THERE TO PIE BY THULSftDOOM"-


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ITHE


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each neared the entrance, hethe Shard a bronze me-VERY LIKE THE ONE WHICH ISTOLEN FROM 5ET'S TOWER IN

"MY RtiseAPPEAREDTO HAVESUCCEEDED-.

ALAS, IN MY AGEIN ANY OTHER,ARE NOTALWAYSAS THEY SEEM.' Pjr~H 111 *< ^*mi^-'-cf >^yllliHmi

"MEANWHILE, IN THE HEART OF;THE AMPHITHEATER,THE EYESOF THE FAITHFUL WERE fiRIVETED ON ONE NHYPNOTICALLY CAPTIVATINGFIGURE OF "

t / THE DAY OFJ "rrnasA U DOOM 15 SOONAT HAND,^children; A^j\e

THE DAY WHEN*iI WILL CO^MANP ^iYOU TO STRIKE >POWN THE PARENTSAND LEAPERS WHOHAVE LIEP TO YOUAND LED YOU ASTRAY/,

jfl


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ONLY CROW HAD-. .GRANTED WeV^MINUTE LONGER... I WOULD f**KILLED YOU TOO....^/4^5|

SUCHHATRED'

RKILLED MY ^^^HAND MOTHER,' VTOOK MY FATHER'S

.. -SWORD...' JP1 LOOK WHAT IT: YOU! THE STRENGTH OF YOURWILL IM YOUR EYESPESlRE IN YOUR HEART.'YOU THIS. ..AND5UCH A WASTE '


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"THE wizard METHODICALLY PAINTED figuresOF AN ANCIENT UNKNOWN LANGUAGE ON M'

'

FACE AS VALERIA ANPSUSOTAI WATCHED.-.

"AND THEUALL AT ONCE,HETHREW UP HIS HANDS AMDSCREAMED--


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MK5WTPAU. BY THE TWE WETHE SREATRlVER-RU-EDTMATGA4 LIKERcwSSEO SCAR B6H1ND THE MOUHTAItJOF POWER---to the mouth op a great cghtep b> the glow of a motPiRe Burning v


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we SAW THE ARCHFIENP THUlSA VOOfA TRANSFORM HWSSlP INTO THE VERY IMAGE OF --


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ME...CONAN..,; \>*J9ME BREATHE i^^^fe*.LAST BREATH.. .


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''THE BLOW CLANGED SAVAGELYAGAINST MY HELMET AMP SENTe reeling gounpware>,..

"THE HORSEMAN WHO FOLLOWEDSO HARP UPON MY HEELS,HOWEVER-- "


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now th&t My eyes AREMORE CLEAR OFWitch's speLuru.carve you into'

"50 NOW REXOR WAS PEAD-- jM~ \ftjfr' A--ANPONLYTHE MOSTHATSP OP 1My MORTAL 1ENEMIES YET 1 /*rv\ 1 !'REMAINEPto woe MY ',!


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j'~I YOU. . .VOL) WOULD \'*5^KILL YOUR OWM...


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FROM

toHOLLY-WOOD

articles andinterviews by

DAVIDANTHONYKRAFT

In an ageundreamed of, whenshining kingdoms lay

spread across the worldlike blue mantlesbeneath the stars,

hither cameCONAN

_ onan! The name instantly con-^^^r jures imagesdark images,powerful images, images of a world thatfeels, perhaps uncomfortably, like ourown dim past and yet is truly like nothingwe have ever experienced before. It is aworld of terror and triumph, of crueltyand survival, of magic and cunningworld of the powerful and the morepowerful!

It is not always simple to isolate asingle cause for one character's phe-nomenal popularity. Many forces comeinto play, and some of those may bedeeply hidden. Conan is a lone warrior, abarbarian living by sword and wit, yet heis by no means that simple. There is agenuine depth and complexity in thecharacter and his world that speaks insome way to almost anyone who en-counters him.To those who enjoy high fantasy in

whatever form (books, comics, televisionor film), Conan has become a modemmythology that informs us about our-selves, including our darker nature. It is,perhaps, this element that has madeConan the barbarian, the thief, reaver,slayer, warrior, and future King a trueimmortal!While it is true that Conan is essen-

tially synonomous with the term "heroicfantasy," his presentation, the creationof his world, has exclusively been the do-main of the printed page. He has beenimmortalized in the writings of his crea-tor, fantasy writer Robert E. Howard, firstin magazines during the nineteenthirties, then in book collections from thenineteen sixties forward. Many of thosebook volumes were adorned by paint-ings executed by Frank Frazetta.Frazetta, one of the most distinguishedfantasy illustrators alive today, most viv-

idly visualized Howard's world. Frazettain many ways determined how future il-lustrators would look at the Cimmerianand his world.

Finally, in 1 970, Conan blazed his wayinto the world of comics (and, we mod-estly add, took it overwhelmingly bystorm)! Many fine illustrators and writershoned these images of the world RobertE. Howard created, always striving to re-main true to Howard's original concepts.For those who became involved, it wasalways a labor of love. And, slowly, thelegend grew.

But, always on the printed page!This latest great stride in the career of

the wandering Cimmerian was, if not in-evitable, certainly predictable. Conanhas made the heady leap from printedpage to giant screen. If you have not yetseen the movie, the super special younow hold in your hands should havemore than whetted your appetite. Need-less to say, everyone involved hasknocked themselves out to capture thescope and the granduer of the bigscreen production. If you have seen themovie, you know that there's an addedthrill in seeing Conan and his worldbrought to life by nothing less than thesheer wizardry of Hollywood artistry andtechnology.

That should come as a surprise to noone, considering the impressive roster ofactors, athletes, production people andtechnicians. You are probabry familiarwith most of thempeople like ArnoldSchwarzenegger, John Milius, Dino Oe-Laurentiis,Ron Cobb, James Earl Jonesand others. If you aren't, you soon willbe, as we take you on a special behind-the-scenes visit with some of the folkswho helped bring the film into being.


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OF THE DEPTHSCreation of Conan

" The Barbarians-**

mms=

mSSIHE

MIUUS^iFohn MiNus is widely

acknowledged as one of Hollywood's fin-est storytellers, whose films are charac-terized by a spirit of rugged individualismwhich harks back to men like John Ford.He has previously written and directedDillinger and The Wind and the Lionand written scripts for such blockbustersas Dirty Harry, Jerimiah Johnson, BigWednesday, Magnum Force and Apoc-alypse Now. In all of his efforts arises thetheme of man's instinctive and frequentlyviolent reaction to circumstances thatdefy compromise.

All of this would seem to prepareMiiius to be the man to be the drivingforce behind a project such as Conan.In many ways, that is just what Miiius'role has been. It was Miiius who fought

acting ability) rattier than just searchingout bankable box-office superstars. Itwas Miiius who brought in Ron Cobb asProduction Designer because he be-lieved in Cobb's artistic vision. It wasMiiius who did considerable historical re-search, in order to create a fantasy set-ting that might have been, before com-posing his final version of the screen-playadapted from an original draft byOliver (Midnight Express) Stone.

John Miiius is a strong-willed perfec-tionist. Much of the credit for the Conanproject belongs to him. And, yet, Johnwould be the first to say that Conanwas a group effort. As with a goodrepertory company, it was this groupchemistry that made Conan possibleincluding Miiius 1 ability to channel that


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Conan movie?MILIUS: I first heard of the Conanprojectwhen I was working on a movie ofmy own. The more I learned aboutConan, the more I liked it, until I eventu-ally dropped the work on my own film todirect Conan.DAK: What was the reason for chang-ing scripts?MILIUS: Oliver Stone's script wasbased on the Robert E. Howard story,"Rogues in the House." I felt the filmshould more be a story of how Conancame to be.DAK: Could you elaborate?MILIUS: Well, over the years, I felt thata lot of the different interpretations ofHoward's work, and the different inter-pretations of the sword-and-sorcerygenre had, in a way, diluted Conan. I feltthat he should revert back to being amyth return to the concept of being apure, undiluted legend, a primal exampleof mythology. I wanted to achieve theaura of such heroes as Beowulf,Siegried, etc.DAK: Did you find yourself in any wayinfluenced by the super-hero genre films

that were either already released, or inthe works?MILIUS: No, not at all.DAK: Do you think that the popularity ofthese other films will help Conan?MILIUS: Well, we'll never know that un-til the movie comes out.DAK: Why was Spain chosen as thelocation for Conan?MILIUS: When I went to the othercountriesYugoslavia, Germany andothersand examined the cost ofoperating there, and the efficiency ofoperating there, compared to what I hadlearned in Spain, well, Spain came outthe best. Also, I had made The Wind andthe Lion there, so I knew the locationsand I knew the people and how theyworked. In tact, the people who liked TheWind and the Lion should love Conan.DAK: Whatwas your working relation-ship with Arnold like?MILIUS: Arnold had never had a work-ing relationship with a director in a fea-ture film before. It became a real plea-sure and honor to work with him.He is absolutely disciplined and totallydedicated to the nth degreeso superb

in everything he does. He works harderthan anyone I've ever seen. He reallyputs himself into his work.

It's a crude way of putting it, but, insome ways, my relationship with Arnoldand the other actors in Conan was, asArnold put it, like, "I was the dog trainerand they were the dogs." I think that hap-pened because Conan is a crudeprimalmovie. Everything was re-duced to its most basic level.DAK: What were some of the special ef-fects used in this film?MILIUS: One scene that had a lot ofspecial effects work was when Conan isbrought back to health. You have his girl-friend Valeria, and God all together in thescene. That had a lot of special visualeffects.

Then, in the Temple of Set, there is thegiant snake and the special effects withthat.

This movie has a very surreal, dream-like quality, much like Apocalypse Now.DAK: If the Conan movie is well re-ceived, is there a possibility of a sequel?MILIUS: Yes, in fact, work is alreadybeing done on it.


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ertiaps the mostmonumental problem that might havearisen in doing a film version of Conancould have been casting the title role.This was a job greatly simplified by theexistence of an actor who might havebeen made-to-order for the role.

His name is Arnold Schwarzenegger.Most people know Arnold as a famous

international athlete and body builder.But, like Conan himself, Arnold is by nomeans that simple!Arnold was bom in Graz, Austria in

1 947. His father was a former militaryofficer turned police chief and Arnoldspent most of those formative years inthe small Austrian village called Thai. Atthe age of fifteen he discovered body-building. At the time, he told his father: "I

The man who would be Conan...

ARNOLD SCWARZENEGGERwant to be the best-built man in the worldand then I want to go to America andbe in the movies. I want to be an actor."Arnold pursued training and body-

building with the fervor of someone whohas a clear goal in mind. He describes itthusly: "I set a goal. I visualize it veryclearly and create the drive, the hunger,for turning it into reality. There's a kind ofjoy in that kind of ambition, in having avision in front of you. With that kind ofjoy, discipline isn't difficult, or negative,or grim. You love doing what you have todo."He spent a few years in the Austrian

army, where he was able to maintain hisbodybuilding {and even won his firstaward). Then, at 21 , Arnold garnered his

first Mr. Universe title and realized hisdream to come to the United States.Here, he attended UCLA (studying psy-chology!) and the University of Wiscon-sin (where he emerged with degrees inBusiness Administration and Internation-al Economics) even while continuing topile title on title for his athletic accom-plishments. So much for the weight-lifter-as-meathead sterotype!

In 1975, Arnold made his film debut inBob Rafelson's Stay Hungry with SallyField and Jeff Bridges, a film which wonno small amount of critical acclaim. Forhis role, he received the Golden GlobeAward for "Best Newcomer."Arnold Schwarzenegger found acting

an enormous but fulfilling challenge.

Physical competition is a solitary pursuit,one in which great discipline is requiredto keep emotions in check, to build a wallagainst anything from within or withoutthat might negatively affect performance.Acting is quite the opposite. The need tobe sensitive to others and to interact isparamount. An actor often must be openand keep defenses down. Still, as witheverything he sets out to do, Arnoldfound he adapted and learned quickiyand that the results were exceedinglygratifying.

Arnold went on to do Pumping Iron(1977), The Villain (1979with KirkDouglas and Ann-Margaret) and TheJayne Mansfield Story (1980, forCBS-TV).


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-h:^

Conan marks Arnold's most importantrole to date and the achievment of yetanother goalacting in an adventurefilm, the perfect form tor combining histwo great loves, acting and athletics. It isa combination he handles witffthe sameflair with which he has handled all otherchallenges, and which will continue togather him titles, awards and kudos fromadmiring audiences!

DAK: How did you first become in-volved with the movie?ARNOLD: I met a gentleman by thename of Ed Pressman, who had pur-chased the movie rights to Conan. Heapproached me in a restaurant andasked me if I was interested in playingConan. Of course, I said yes. My involve-ment turned out to be part of a step-by-step process that took about three years,getting all the different aspects to the filmsettled. Ed Pressman eventually got

John Milius to be the director. This was avery good choice, because John has hada lot of experience with adventure films.DAK: What interested you most aboutthe Conan character?ARNOLD: Well, first of all, I was at-tracted to the whole project because itwas an adventure filma bigger-than-life type of adventure film. And this issomething that I've always wanted to do.I had read the books and comic-booksabout Conan, so I was familiar with thecharacter, and I very much wanted toplay the part it was more than what Iexpected to receive as an actor. Themore I got involved with the film, themore I came to love the character,DAK: Was there a lot of physical chal-lenge for you in the movie?ARNOLD: I always wanted to be in aJohn Milius film. John likes his films to bevery physical, and likes for his actors tobe very committed to their roles.John was always in there pushing for

more and more action. I had to learn ailkinds of fighting techniques I had tolearn sword fighting, how to throw axes,ride the horses the way John wanted meto, lift large, heavy objects, so it was verychallenging for me to team how to do allthe different things John wanted me tolearn, especially since there were a lot ofthings that I had never done before.The reason why I think everything

went well for me in the movie is becauseI had to do all this physical training. Johnwas an excellent motivator. Wheneveryou were in pain, or frustrated during ascene, he would say something like,"pain is only temporary; film is per-manent." And, I believe that is truenotonly in film, but in life. You can't achieveanything good without first experiencingsome sort of pain.DAK: James Earl Jones mentioned thathe received a lot of inspiration for his partfrom the sets created by production de-signer Ron Cobb. Did you find yourself


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similarly affected?ARNOLD: One of the many things thatyou do think about, when you're doing afilm is the set designing. Everything,from the buildings down to the weaponsRob Cobb designed, was so realisticthat you felt as if you were right there. Itwas so wonderful, the way all this stuffwas built. The villages, the interiorseverything he did was so realistic thatthere was no way that you could not beaffected by what you saw. And, if you didnot know that they were just stage sets,you'd think that they actually were thereal things.

This is one of the key elements thatcan really go far to help make the spec-tatorthe viewerfeel as it he really isright there. So that, for the time that he'swatching the film, the viewer can actuallybelieve that he is back in that time, ratherthan seeing that the film is obviously shotin front of a set. ft was one of John's keyissues to make things so believabletomake everything appear the way it oughtto be, from the design of the clothes tothe weapons and buildings to every partof people's lives. Everything had to bedone right. Clothing that was supposedto have been used a lot, or worn bypoorer people, had to be torn and dirty-looking and grimy, I think that Ron Cobbhas done the perfect job. He made you,as an actor, feel as if you were rightthere. You didn't have to work that hardto get into your character. Automatically,you felt that you were back in that timeand that you were the person you weresupposed to play.DAK: Could you elaborate on the work-ing arrangement you had with JohnMilius?ARNOLD: Basically, I felt that Johnknew exactly what he wanted in Conan,and also what he wanted out of me. Hehad such an exact visiona finishedproduct in his mindthat it seemed bestnot to interfere. Like, a lot of actors say,"Well, the way / interpret this scene . .

.

the way / see it . . .or the way / have readit . . ." You know, some actors try to thinktoo much. Then, what you have is avision of the director's conflicting withthat of the actor's. When that happens,

you can have serious problems. I thinkthat the vision of the film belongs to thedirector. That is why he is called thedirectorhe is the one who directs youin the scene. You talk about the sceneand the character ahead of time, butthen, when you do the scene, you runthe risk of ruining things if you do notfollow the director's instructions. So, intalking with John, I realized that becausehe had such a vision of the scene, that Icould totally give myself over to him, lethim direct me through the scene, and lethim have the responsibility of making theshot work or not work, I felt my job was to

kind of a joke on the set.DAK: Did you find a real challenge inmaking the many fight scenes believablefor the audience?ARNOLD: Again, becausewe had suchgood trainers, and further coaching fromTerry Leonard, the stunt coordinator, andJohn Milius, it was very easy to do, inone sense, because John had such aclear and easily visualized sense of howthe fights should be done. He was verymuch into doing realistic fight scenes,you know. That means that you really dotake a metal sword and you really doslam it down on a metal shield, and if that

do exactly what Johrr said. And I did that.I developed a '"Dog Theory" during the

rehearsals for Conan. John called us intothe office every day, and us actors wouldwork with him, going through everyscene in the script, and we did just ex-actly what he said. He'd say, "Now, do itover again, I want to hear that dialogueagain." And we'd do it twenty times. And,"do that over again, " 'lie down on thefloor, get up," and so on. The effect wasvery similar to that in dog trainingclasses, and we all felt as if we actorswere in the position of the dogs and Johnwas the trainer. It wound up becoming

shield is not at the right place at the righttime, the sword really will hit you over thehead! So, doing it John's way, with realweapons, you do have facial expres-sions that show your real emotion. In away, you don't have to actyou're reallyfighting!DAK: Since Conan is such a physicalmovie, did you feel that you were in anydanger of getting seriously hurt duringthese fights?ARNOLD: I think that the potential fordanger is what helps make this film reallywork. The fact that you are facing a veryreal danger shows in your face. For in-


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1* 9

BMBSMBBiiiiMif you were in a no-risk situation,

far as your self is concerned, I thinkyou would really have to act to beto act as if you really were in

This way, having that danger al-there, you don't have to actyou

in trouble!Which scenes did you like work-on the most?

Basically, I liked scenessets were built like, theof Power, the Torture

the Temple of Set, those kindthings.

Could you explain the work in-

volved in the fight scene you had with thegiant snake in the Temple of Set?ARNOLD: Well, the scene took threedays to shoot, and everything had to bedone step by step. You had to start outwith the snake curled around this Jewelthe Eye of the Serpent. Then, therewas my stealing the jewel, and the fightbetween me and the snake. And, in thefight itself, I was picked up and thrownaround a lot. But it was really importantto stage the fight, because there was alot of set-up work for each part of thefight. You also had to constantly go backto check your continuity before you could

begin any part of the fight, too. It was amiserable experience for me, personally,but the whole scene was very well done.The snake was very well designed. Andthe set, a sort of snake pit, with all kinds ofdead bodies lying around, was veryrealistic.DAK: Are you looking forward to doinga sequel?ARNOLD: Of course, that all dependson how well the audience receives thefirst Conan movie, and all the legal workthat would have to be taken care of be-fore a sequel could be shot. But, yes, Iwould like to do it again very much! 9


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pm on Cobb's art career didI not seriously begin untilafter he was discharged from the Army.Despite little formal training, Ron felt thit was high time to do something with thskill and talent that he had developedover the years, and immediately after hwas discharged, he made his big pushinto the art field. His first exhibitions wedisplayed at a Los Angeles area theatrcalled "The Encore," where his work attracted the attention of such notables aRay Bradbury. From these exhibitions,Ron was commissioned to do a numberof record album jackets and also re-ceived a number of personal paint-ing commissions from director JohnMili uswho would, almost sixteenyears later, tap him for the productiondesigner's job on the epic Conanmovie.

In 1 965, Ron began a five year car-tooning stint with the famous under-ground newspaper, "The Free Press."Always interested in traveling and livingin different countries, and seeing theunderground phenomenon beginning tfade, Ron moved to Australia in 1 971where he lived for a year, travelling ex-tensively through the area. He returnedto Los Angeles and was almost immedi-ately contacted by Dan O'Bannon towork on the movie Dark Starfor whichamongst other things, he designed theexterior of the space-ship used in themovie. This film proved to be a big stepfor Ron, Dan and a man named JohnCarpenter, for all wound up going on tomuch greater endeavors. Dan to workwith Steven Spielberg and to do work onthe Star Wars film, and John Carpenterto become a director, known for his un-forgettable horror film, Halloween. RonhimseJf soon became involved in theAlien movie, and, as everyone knows,his work on that famous film received enthusiastic acclaim. Then, Conan called,and he was elevated to the position ofproduction designer. But, if you think thaRon has reached the pinnacle of his success and ambition, guess again. For asyou will see, as far as Ron's concerned,it's only just begun!

DAK: How did you become involvedwith the Conan movie?COBB: Shortly after I had finished mywork on Alien, I was introduced to EdPressman who was, at the time, puttingtogether the Conan movie. He saw somsamples of my work, liked them, andasked me to do a number of productionpaintings for Conan. I was familiar withthe Conan character, from the Robert E.Howard stories, the comic-books all theway through the Frazetta paintings, butwas not what you would call a real fan. Iliked what Ed told me and showed me,and agreed to do some work for him. But


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him that my time would be limitedI had already obligated myself

John Milius. John was developing aman film at the time, and sincehad contacted me before Ed, I felt

I would have to begin work onfilm when he called. Ed said that

fine with him, as his own project wasvery much in the formative stages. I

up putting in about a month'sof design work on Conan, before I

the call from John to start in on hisman movie.

in the middle of his own film,heard more and more about themovie and became increasingly

in directing it. Eventually, Eddid approach John with the

Suddenly, all work on the mountainmovie stopped and we were off do-Conanl Not only that, but John did

that was really extraordinarye fought to have me made produc-designer of the whole film! This wasunusual, and John did have to fightthis done, because I had almostno experience in that position!most I had ever done in that areawas some work on Alien, but in no

did that really qualify me for the job.John won out and I was given

highly responsible position. To sayleast, it was a tremendous opportun-

for me. And, I am very, very grateful tofor giving me the chance and forme and my ability to do the job.Given the fact that this was your

time out as a production designer,much latitude were you given?Of course, I don't have other

I could compare it to, but, judgingcomments made by other produc-designers and art directors, I woundhaving enormous latitude and free- restricted only by the budget and

of location sites. John prettyleft the whole look of the picture upIn comparison, Ridley Scott, theon Alien, worked very closely

his designers and art directors be-e he is a more visual director. Being

out on my own, especially tor my firstout.was a little bit frightening, but as

out, John loved everything IWhat challenges faced you in theof Howard's Hyborean Age for

movie?Johnandl.rightfromthestart,

to give the film an almost histori-lookvery believable within this ob-

fantasy film. At the same time, weto incorporate that dynamic spirit

is so evident in Howard's stories andpaintings. So, from the begin-

the vision of the sets was a mixtureown vision, and bits and pieces ofdifferent genres that had proceededbalanced, of course, by the practi-

limitations of movie making.was very much intrigued by the pros-of designing whole new (or old, as it

were) culturesfrom costumes, archi-tecture, life-styles down to even thesmallest details.Where I was really able to cut loosewas with the Cult of Setthe religioussect that Conan fight's against in this film.John borrowed the King Kull villain, sor-cerer Thulsa Doom, and used him as thehigh priest of Set. Around him, and thesnake symbols. I wanted to give an ex-otic, sort of Aztec, lookcombined withthe feel that one gets from visiting thegarish, ornate temples found in south-east Asia. When I was living in Australia,I travelled a lot through Asia and wasvery much struck by the exotic, gaudyquality of the Hindu templesthepainted plaster, the garish colorsthealmost psychedlic imagery. So a lot ofwhat I saw and experienced during thosetrips was adapted into this movie.

so strong that it could actually lift ArnoldSchwarzennegger off the ground!DAK: Did you work out a very detailedstoryboard for the movie?COBB: I was not in a position to actuallydo this, because the bulk of my time onthe movie two-and-a-half yearswasspent in the actual implementation of thescenes for the story, itself. So, what hap-pened was, we called in fantasy artist BillStout to do some storyboard work. And,when I was overseas, looking at sites inYugoslavia and Spain, John was in LosAngeles working with another artist onstoryboarding some particularly difficultspecial effects. But there really was nooverall storyboard for the film.DAK: Once you had the sites selected,and the designs drawn up, then you hadto go out and get the sets constructed?COBB: Yes. I was very involved in the

It was also very interesting to design areligion from beginning to end, going intoall the details, like the lesser deities, thereligious beliefs from life and death ondown, the symbols like the Eye of Set,etc. I even designed the written lan-guage, a sort of hieroglyphic, and did theassassination dagger.The giant Snake of Set was construct-ed by Peter Forsey, an Englishman, froma series of detailed renderings I did.Peter's a marvelous sculptor, who didsome work on Alien. He did an excellentjob of making the snake realistic. Themost demanding work on the snake wasdone by the special effects man, NickAllder, who did the construction of the in-credibly complicated hydraulic mecha-nism inside the snake. The beauty of thissnake is that it could be operated withoutany external wires. And the snakewas

production and construction of the sets. Ihad two art directors under me who im-plemented a lot of my ideas, but I foundmyself overseeing a lot of the actualconstruction myself. I also was travelingall over Spain, from one set location tothe other, making all manner of aestheticdecisions about color, angles, and any ofthe thousands of little problems that al-ways crop up.When we were in the actual shootingof a set, I would be very involved in theinitial phases of the scene. I would makesure that all of the various elements werein the scene, everything was properly setup, and that it was all done to John'sliking. Once the shooting really got un-derway, I would usually leave the set andgo off somewhere else, like another setunder construction, or the location of thenext set to be used, etc.


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In the course of alt of this, John alsogave me the opportunity to do some ofthe second unit work. This was where Iwould go out with a camera crew andtake some scenes of Conari ridingthrough the mountains, the making of thesword, and some of the atmosphericshots of traveling. Occasionally, wewould use doubles of the principal act-ors. And, occasionally, we would dis-cover that we had missed something ona set, and I'd be assigned to go back andreshoot the scene. That wound up beingvery good experience tor me. TerryLeonard was the official second unitdirector, and he did most of the work,which was very, very good. I just filled inwhen necessary.

DAK: Did you have to make any specialconsideration, in the construction of yoursets, for Arnold's great strength?COBB: Well, in one scene Arnold wassupposed to lift this simulated stone potand huge wrought-iron'cradle. In thiscase, the iron was real. Though wemade the pot out of fiberglass, the wholething wound up being incredibly heavyin fact, he almost could not lift it! It wassomething to watch him strain, his hugemuscles bulging, to lift and carry thiswhole thing the distance required forthescene.

In another case, we had a huge hori-zontal wheelwith great big spokes onit-that Arnold pushed. This was whereArnold supposedly got his great strength.

The wheel was supposed to be a mas-sive grindstone for grain. We built thisgigantic set out of simulated logs andtimber, wrapped around a steel framethat was imbedded in a concrete base.The amazing thing about this apparatuswas that, as massive and ponderous asit looked, it was really very easy to turn.So, when Arnold would get out there andstart pushing, the spokes would startwhizzing around at an incredibly fastspeed. He could actually push it with onehand! So, to give the illusion of great re-sistance, members of the art departmentwould be positioned at other spokes, offcamera, and be pushing in the oppositedirection.DAK: Has your work as a production

designer for Conan whetted your appe-tite to do more?COBB: There is certainly an ongoingfascination and desire to design for film. Isort of knew it would lead to this, and Iwouldn't rule outthe desire for me towork on a Conan sequel. My Conanmovie experience proved that I verymuch enjoy my work. I like to specializein fantasy and science-fiction because,with them, I don't have the restriction ofrecreating something that's already exis-ted, like you would in a period piecewestern, for instance. And I am fas-cinated with the problem of taking anobvious fantasy setting and creating asense of realism in the set.

I'm also thinking of writing screen-playsthis is something I've always had


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back of my mindand possiblydirecting, at a future date. When,

if, that ever happens, I still want towith the production designing.

it is a definite possibility that I will bea movie, because I have had

though it would be very prematurethem in any detail right now.

opportunity does exist, so it more de-on me to get up enough nerve togo out and do it.Has work on this movie in-your artistic style in any way?Welljhopethatitbroadryim-my ability. In the case of Conan, itme an opportunity to think long and

about the ancient world and all thethat go into all levels of life. Now, I

a very good idea of what consti-a technology that is sort of compar-to the Middle Ages of our history. Itespecially interesting, for instance,

through yourmind how one useshow you light a room, wherego. etc. It eventually became sofor me that, for a while, I felt that

actually living in this ancient world Icreating.

source of inspirarion were thethat worked under me. The

crews had a long history ofon films including such movies

Lawrence of Arabia, Sergio Leone'swesterns, and Milius' own The

and the Lion. They were verywith the demands of movie con-and applied an old world crafts-to their labor that, in somewas far superior to anything I had

seen done elsewhere. For instance,the interior of the Cult of Set'sthey finished and polished the

in such a way that, even lookingat the columns, unless you knew

were plaster, you'd swear they wereI was just in awe of the quality of

craftsmen and their work.So you think you've done justice,all, to the Conan mythos with this

Yes. I should mention that Johnhis own vision to the legend.screenplay is excellent and really

the spirit of Conan. What mostdon't realize is that some things

work in text or comics don't comeor can't be done as effectively, in the

and vice versa. Each mediumits own strengths and weaknessesit is the knowledge of these that cana story into an event worth exper-the case of this movie, I think thataudience will find it to be more of anstory than a sorcerous one.wound up being relatively light onmagic and concentrated more on the

and psychological aspects of theBut that was an important part of


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n&: ' .

darth to doom. JAMES EARL JONESJames Earl Jones is per-

haps most famoys not for what hedone on stage and screen, but forhe has dohe in the sound studio.

everyone knows, his is thesepulchral voice of Darth

in Star Wars and The EmpireBack.has appeared, before camera,films his first role was that ofa

in a B-52 bomber in Dr.But Jones' acting career

not been limited to just movies. Hehad a long and illustrious careeron and off Broadway. At press timethrilling New York audiences withtunning performance of Othello.excellent character actor, he nowhimself offered more anti-hero and

roles, not only because of theof his voice, but also because heThe heroes, it seems, are pre-

the younger actors, while theare the older. If that truly be-the case with James Earl Jones,time he reaches age sixty, he will

filmland's ultimate personifica-of evil!

What attracted you to the part ofDoom?I had read John Gardner's Gren-

and had, from that moment, had astrong desire to play that role. How-

going to be a live-action movie, I gladlyaccepted the part.DAK: How did you and director JohnMilius approach the character of ThulsaDoom?JEJ: One of the things that John sug-gested that I do was read ail I couldabout the Cult of Assassinsfrom thevery first mention of them, up to presentday. I did this, and I also read aboutThulsa Doom, who was actually a char-acter in the King Kull sagas of Robert E.Howard, because I do a lot of researchfor any character I portray. But, John'sparticular emphasis on the assassinswas very, very helpful and gave me anadded insight into the character hewanted me to play.One thing that John did, which wasactually suggested by Arnold Schwarz-enegger, was very, very interesting to meas an actor, because I had never seenthis done before. When we were on loca-tion, one of the first things that Arnoldsaid to John was, something like, "Treatme like a dog you are training. You wantme to look up, tell me to look up, youwant me to look down and scowl, tell meto look down and scowl," and so on. Thereason for this was that Arnold had nothad much experience as an actor and asa result, literally turned himself over tothe director, saying, "Use me as youwill," I was very fascinated by this, be-

out quite a bit. It places a lot of an actor'sfaith in the director, but if the opportunityshould present itself, I do plan on doingthis same thing again.John is very, very good. He knowshow to stage the action he wants, andhow to get the actors to deliver it the way

he wants without offending anyone. Hewas very demanding, but he treated usall as individuals.DAK: How did you prepare yourself forgetting into character?JEJ: That was perhaps the simplestpart of all, because of the incredible setsconstructed by Ron Cobb. He went intosuch extensive detail, and had such in-credible vision, that the moment youwalked onto the set, you felt as if youreally were back in that time period! Youcould almost literally feel the primalpower, like in the Temple of Set, emanat-ing from the props. So, it was very easyto assume the role of Thulsa Doom.DAK: How long were you involved inthe location filming of Conan?JEJ: Well, my participation occurred intwo stages, because I was, at the time,working on a Broadway play. The peopleon Conan were very understanding, andworked out their shooting schedulearound my performing schedule, soeverything wound up working out verywell. I was first in Spain for two weeks,then I returned to New York and the play,


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ished?JEJ: Oh, no. Once the location workwas done, we had to do the loopinggoing into the sound studios and redoingthe dialogue when outside noise beyondour control interfered with a shot. A com-mon problem we had was jet planenoise.

It is too bad, too, tor in one scene, Ithink

this amphitheatre-like location. Thespeech will actually be much shorter inthe final version, I'm sure. But the effectthat I achieved, from the spot where Iwas standing, I do not think that it will beproperly duplicated in the sound studio.DAK: Did you have an opportunity tosee the dailies, to see how you did underJohn's direction?

JEJ: A little, but everyone was very,very busy, so there really wasn't muchan opportunity to socialize. We were allmemorizing lines, or practicing with ourtrainers, because this was a very physi-cal film, and a lot of us did need trainingfor our parts. I'm not a very athletic manmyself, so the role of Thulsa Doom wassomewhat of a challenge for me be-cause some of the things he did, like ria horse, for instance, I had never donemyself. So, I learned how to ride. And,you might expect, I had the usual embarrassing moment when I wanted to go foward, and the horse wanted to go back-ward, with the result that I fell off thehorse.One thing that I did get involved in waworking out in the gymnasium that hadbeen set up for Arnold and the otherbodybuilders in the film. Arnold had in-vited me to join him and I eventually gotinvolved in the routine of working out onthe exercise machines. The only badthing about working out on the machineoccurred after I was through on locationand returned to the United States. I hadordered my own exercise machine, andit was three weeks before it was set upfor use. The result of that was that mymuscles got flabby. But, that is no longethe case, now.DAK: It appears, then, that you andArnold got along very well. Had you metbefore Conan7JEJ: I was working on the Ted Kennedpresidential campaign, and had phonedthe campaign headquarters in Californiand found out that the person on theother end of the line was Arnold! So,though we did not actually meet until thmovie, Conan, we had already gotten toknow each other through our politicalwork.DAK: What was a day's schedule likeSpain?JEJ: We would be up before dawn,when we would get into makeup andcostumes. We would begin shooting atthe different locations in Spain as soonas light permitted, and work all throughthe day, six days a weekwith lunch, ocourse, served at the set.DAK: Since this was a physical movie,did you do many of your own stunts?JEJ: No. I am not really that physical aactor, as I said, so almost all of my stuntwere done by a stuntman, an excellentman, I should add, who did an outstand-ing job for me. His name is Brubaker,and he is really one of the finest stunt-men I've seen in the business.DAK: What was the most satisfyingscene for you in the whole picture?JEJ: There was no one scene, it wasmore like in a setthe Temple of Set.And, again, that goes back to RonCobb's excellent work. I think that hiswork will be one of the reasons that the


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