Last week, there was a breaking info that immediately got picked up by movie blogs across the web faster than you can say “Holy Smokes!” The info was that Ratner had decided to direct CONAN reboot for Nu Image/Millenium instead of taking on BEVERLY HILLS COP 4, personally I didn’t want him to handle either one but what the hell!
But today, producer Avi Lerner who broke the news to the world admitted to LA TIMES that everything wasn’t actually a done deal quite just yet. This is the case of somebody speaking too much way too soon. Ratner who heard about it isn’t too happy and he really wants to direct BEVERLY HILLS 4 before everything else now… here’s an excerpt from the article..
Lerner acknowledged that even though he sent out a press release announcing Ratner’s involvement with the project, the deal wasn’t actually done. “We still have a few obstacles,” he said. “Brett is only committed if we agree on a budget, on how to do the special effects and exactly where we’d shoot the film.” Lerner has a studio in Bulgaria, so he’d like to shoot most of the movie there, with some exterior work in China.
But is Ratner actually committed to doing the film? In two words: Not really. When I called him today, he sounded somewhat agitated, unhappy that news of his negotiations with Lerner had surfaced, especially since he is extremely close to getting a green light from Paramount to make “Beverly Hills Cop 4.” “Let me make this very clear,” he told me. “I am not doing ‘Conan’ now. This is totally premature. For now, ‘Conan’ is only a development deal. I have a deal at Paramount and I’m doing ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ first, no matter what. Avi shouldn’t be telling you or anyone else in the press what I’m doing.”
Lerner is gettin’ the heat left and right for blabbering. He’s always wanted Ratner to take the CONAN gig. If Lerner isn’t willing to wait until Ratner is free again, he’ll go hunting for another hot director.
I say let Ratner go… let him do his BEVERLY HILLS Crap 4. We all know it’s going to be in the same style as Rush Hour but rated R and damn Eddie Murphy needs employment for pete’s sake! He could use this as a salvation after lamers like Meet Dave and Norbit.
Lerner also explained that for CONAN, he’s looking for a younger version of Arnold Schwarzenegger, someone who could sign to a three- or four-picture deal, because I see this as a real long-term franchise.
The interesting part is.. Lerner at one point has asked Guv’nah Ahnold Schwarzegger to do a cameo in the new take on the Barbarian hero mythology.
“I saw Arnold in Las Vegas at the premiere of ‘Rambo,’ ” Lerner says. “He said, ‘Wait two years for me–I’ll be coming back.’ But I can’t wait that long.” Lerner says he offered Schwarzenegger $1 million just to do a one-day cameo in the picture.
“I told him we could even shoot the scene in Sacramento,” Lerner recalls. “He was smiling, but he didn’t say yes. Maybe he can’t take the money while he’s still governor.”
Just for the sake of argument.. do you think Arnold Schwarzenegger today could play CONAN again?
A younger version of Arnold, who could that be?
