Anyone who watches a lot of movies and TV knows that a lot of it sucks. That’s not a judgment: making movies and TV is really hard; a ton has to come together just right for it to be good, and often it doesn’t. And that’s without accounting for studio interference or lack of budget or a million other things that can knock a project off course.
But even though a lot of movies and TV sucks, you won’t hear the people involved saying as much very often, which is understandable; even if it sucks, they still worked hard on this, and they know that everyone involved worked hard on it, so of course they don’t want to badmouth it.
But every once in a while something breaks through. For instance, pretty much everyone who saw it knows that the 2011 Conan the Barbarian movie sucks; it’s just really really bad. But it’s refreshing to hear star Jason Momoa come out and say it. “I’ve been a part of a lot of things that really sucked, and movies where it’s out of your hands,” the actor recently told GQ. “Conan was one of them. It’s one of the best experiences I had and it taken over and turned into a big pile of shit.”
Jason Momoa hints at eventual return to the Dune universe
Conan did indeed have a lot of production problems along the way. That’s common, and yet another reason why movies and TV are so hard to make. But of course, Momoa has been involved in plenty of projects he’s been very happy with, including Game of Thrones, where he played the short-lived Khal Drogo, who died at the end of the first season. “It would have been great to stay on it across the seasons, but it’s just the way Drogo had to go,” Momoa said.
Drogo was Momoa’s calling card for awhile, but it came with its share of challenges: because the great majority of his lines were in Dothraki, casting directors assumed he didn’t speak English, which made it tricky to get parts.
Obviously it worked out, though; witness Momoa’s role as Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe. “These superhero movies dominate our market, which I have my own thoughts on because I love cinema, but we try to put out a positive message and go on an adventure. Aquaman is the most made-fun-of superhero in the world. But it’s amazing to be able to bring awareness of what is happening to our planet. It’s not some story that’s been told over and over, movie about what’s happening right now but in a fantasy world.”
The upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, will double down on the environmental message, and also be “a lot funnier” than the original 2018 movie “I don’t want to give too much away,” Momoa said. “But we really get to speed up what is going to happen to this earth, and it’s not because of aliens.”
And then there’s Dune, where Momoa played the Atreides family swordmaster Duncan Idaho. Duncan died at the end that film, so Momoa won’t be back for the sequel…but if they adapt the later books after that…
“Have you read the books?” Momoa asked slyly. “Well, I mean the books are proof… so I’m not the one spoiling it here. So, you should continue reading. I love that world and I’m very happy to be a part of it.”
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