Brett Ratner is not Officially Directing Conan. Let's hope it stays that way.
Remember that time when we reported that the trades were reporting that Brett Ratner was directing the new Conan movie. Well, thankfully that news was not official! Prayers have been answered. There are still a few things I found in this article from LA Times that I found quite disturbing. Like this statement here:
One of Hollywood's most persuasive salesman, Lerner told me this morning that Ratner was the perfect director. "He has the passion and feeling for this project--he even wrote a story about Conan when he was 10 years old," Lerner explained. "He understands the character, he analyzed the script really well. He knows how to make this a really big movie. I like his childlike enthusiasm--he almost sees these movies as wonderful toys. What can I say, he's a nice, likable Jewish boy."
Perfect Director? Really? A nice Likeable Jewish boy? What? Are you kidding me? Did he really say that? Is that why they want to give him the job? Then The Rat chimes in with his 2 cents. If he's one of Hollywoods most persuasive salesmen, why has he not persuaded me?
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."
Wasn't The Rat going around telling people he was doing it anyway? Oh! And check this shit out! They refer to The Rat as an A-List director!
Lerner was probably eager to make a splash with the news that such a high-profile project was moving ahead with an A-list director attached.
Do you think The Rat is an A-list director? I sure don't. There is still a chance The Rat will end up directing Conan but there is also a chance he wont:
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.
Let us continue to pray that they don't agree on a budget, how to do the special effects and where to shoot the movie. Because if they don't reach an agreement then we don't have to worry about the Rat directing Conan. Right?