August 24, 2011 
Marcus Nispel‘s Conan the Barbarian remake was met with bad reviews and worse box office over the weekend, grossing a meagre $10 million in the United States against its $90 million budget.
I personally liked the film, although I noted the dialogue ranges “from dumb to inexplicable and even occasionally unintelligible”.
The man who penned those lines, Sean Hood, has written a refreshingly honest and ultimately heartbreaking account of his experience watching the film fail at the box office.
A choice excerpt:
“Since you had planned (ardently believed, despite it all) that success would propel you to new appointments and opportunities, you find yourself at a loss about what to do next. It can all seem very grim. You make light of it, of course. You joke and shrug. But the blow to your ego and reputation can’t be brushed off. Reviewers, even when they were positive, mocked Conan The Barbarian for its lack of story, lack of characterization, and lack of wit. This doesn’t speak well of the screenwriting – and any filmmaker who tells you s/he “doesn’t read reviews” just doesn’t want to admit how much they sting.”
Discuss: What were your thoughts on the screenplay for Conan the Barbarian?
The full piece is a great read.