Conan the Barbarian

John Frederick Milius (born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.

Early life

Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth (née Roe) and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected due to chronic asthma. He ascribes his fascination with guns and the military to this disappointment.

Career

A former student at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, Milius started his movie career in a student film contest in 1967, taking first prize for his entry Marcello I’m Bored. Milius wrote, co-wrote or directed the films Jeremiah Johnson (with Edward Anhalt), Dirty Harry (uncredited), Apocalypse Now, Dillinger, Magnum Force, The Wind and the Lion, Rough Riders, Big Wednesday, 1941, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, Flight of the Intruder, the TNT feature Motorcycle Gang, Geronimo: An American Legend, the HBO television series Rome, and contributed writing to the film adaptations of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger. Milius coined the famous “Charlie don’t surf” and “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” lines from Apocalypse Now. He was also involved in creating the famous USS Indianapolis monologue in the film Jaws and the famous Dirty Harry one-liners delivered by Clint Eastwood, including “Go ahead, make my day” and “Do you feel lucky?” monologue.

Following his experiences with how his scripts for The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean and Jeremiah Johnson turned out, Milius decided he had to become a director.

Through work on Rough Riders (1997), he became an instrumental force in causing President Theodore Roosevelt to be awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously), for acts of conspicuous gallantry while in combat on San Juan Hill. Milius has made two films featuring Roosevelt: The Wind and the Lion (where he was played by Brian Keith) and the made-for-TV film Rough Riders (where Tom Berenger took the role). He considered himself too much in awe of Roosevelt to do a full-on biopic of him, but says he hopes to make a third film to complete a Roosevelt trilogy – though with Martin Scorsese’s upcoming adaptation of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, that seems unlikely. Milius is writing and directing the movie Journey of Death, a modern day western starring WWE superstar Triple H and Academy Award nominee Clive Owen. He is a frequent guest on The History Channel’s show Modern Marvels.

The character Walter Sobchak in the film The Big Lebowski, made by his friends the Coen Brothers, was based on Milius.

A third Conan film, tentatively titled Crown of Iron, was drafted in 2001 by Milius, and was to be produced by the Wachowski Brothers. There was talk of either having Arnold Schwarzenegger reprise his role, or it being filmed with the wrestling star Triple H.

Milius was also instrumental during the startup of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) organization: it was his idea to use the octagon-shaped cage, and his association with UFC helped provide interest and investors to the startup UFC.

In 2007, Milius was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award.

John Milius is currently working on a new HBO series called Pharaoh. In March 2011, he finished writing for THQ and Kaos Studios for the video game Homefront, about a North Korean conquest of America. Mickey Rourke said that he was in talks with John Milius to bring to life a new Genghis Khan movie. John Milius is also in talks to adapt the novel Aztec into a miniseries.

Personal life

He is a self-proclaimed “Zen anarchist.”

He is also involved in a military think tank, the Institute for Creative Technologies, as a consultant.

Milius was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association, an avid firearms collector and authority on firearms, and a vocal opponent of gun control legislation. Milius, a very popular personality among gun hobbyists, can be routinely seen visiting local gun shops and shooting and socializing with the public at target ranges near his residence when not at remote movie locations. Milius was one of the many people interviewed in the documentary Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood.

His filmmaking idols are John Ford and Akira Kurosawa. He has also mentioned Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, David Lean, and his friend and mentor John Huston as important influences as well. His favorite films are reportedly Red River, The Battle of Algiers, They Died With Their Boots On, The Searchers, They Were Expendable, The Wild Bunch, Seven Samurai, Sunset Boulevard, La Dolce Vita, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Lawrence of Arabia and Citizen Kane.

Milius is Jewish and has been married three times.His current marriage (since 1992) is to actress Elan Oberon (who appeared in his 1989 film Farewell to the King and who is seen—and heard—singing Garryowen in Rough Riders). He has two children by his first wife, Renee Fabri, and one child by his second wife, Celia Kaye. —Wikipedia