xenaverse-bts

"But what we really want to do is Conan!" said Raimi and Tapert. The answer was no because there was a lot of confusion over who possessed the rights to do Conan for television. (Keller ended up getting them and did a horrible job, and then they went to Threshold who made a lot of promises, and from there perhaps financially endangered Stan Lee Media!)

So Raimi and Tapert sat down in front of the VCR to do their research watching the old Steve Reeves Hercules movies among others. They failed to find any inspiration for a series that would be successful in the '90s (they were barely successful in the '50s and '60s). The only exception to the lackluster collection was "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) with special effects by the famed Ray Harryhausen. Additionally Dan Filie suggested to Tapert that they give their Hercules a "contemporary sense of humor" like what they did in their recent "Army of Darkness" movie. Raimi and Tapert like the kind of fun that was in the original Star Trek series; "a little sexy with weird fights." It was a start.

Brainstorming session included (in addition to Tapert and Raimi) Dan Filie, representing Universal, David Eick, to expedite production, and head writer Christian Williams. Williams fleshed out Tapert's vision making Hercules a "likeable guy" modeled on star quarterback Joe Montana. Williams compiled his ideas of an "All-American" Hercules into a memo that served as a template for their fresh interpretation of Hercules. Rules were established restricting the use of togas, parthenons, acropolis, chariots, and period dialogue to create the illusion of a mythic reality comfortable to modern viewers and distinct from Mediterranean trappings. Initially, Raimi did not want the Greek gods personified.

Christian Williams was to be the head writer for the Hercules Action Pack movies. He wrote "Hercules: The Journey Begins" to be shot and aired first. However, Tapert wanted the script reworked to make it more accessible. The order of the films was switched to allow time for director Harley Cokeless to get the script turned around. It was renamed "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom" and Andrew Dettmann and Daniel Truly were brought in to write "Hercules and the Amazon Women" and the final three telemovies.

Sam Raimi offered Williams the title of Co-Executive Producer rather than the standard (and lesser) Supervising Producer title given to head writers but Williams insisted on the full Executive Producer title putting him on equal billing with Tapert and Raimi and got it. He then insisted he be given "created by . . . " credit for his role in the creation of Hercules' characterization. Tapert had already begun shaping Renaissance's unique vision of Hercules by the time Williams had joined the team and so resisted the notion. It went before an arbitration hearing of the Writer's Guild and Williams was granted sole credit.

Tapert's aide Eric Gruendemann scouted locations for filming the adventures of Hercules. He went to Florida, North Carolina, Portland, Seattle, Toronta, and Vancouver. Tapert wanted something more exotic (and with longer days) and considered South Africa but was strongly in favor of Australia. A friend made Tapert aware of the natural wonders of New Zealand and he soon convinced everyone involved to move the Renaissance operation there becoming Pacific Renaissance.

When it came to casting their hero they wanted a recognizable actor in the role so they offered millions of dollars to Dolph Lundgren. He turned it down. They found their Hercules in the fresh face of K evin S orbo but he was the fifth to audition and they made him do it again and again to be sure. M ichael H urst was the first person thought of for the part of Iolaus.

Tapert and Williams wanted a big star to play the role of Zeus, King of the gods and the father of Hercules. They had Charleton Heston in mind for the part but he was not interested. (Ironically he voiced the character of Zeus in Disney's 1997 animated Hercules.) Dan Filie suggested Anthony Quinn and he soon signed on for all five telemovies.

When they wanted to cast the part of Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen, they tried out many different people including local actress Lucy Lawless (she got the second-in-command part because she was kiwi)! They ended up with three primary choices; Elizabeth Hurley, Vanessa Angel (British star of the tv series "Weird Science"), and R oma D owney (later the star of "Touched By An Angel"). Despite some reluctance to cast her Roma Downey got the part.

There was still another hurtle to overcome that would later affect the entire series; the death (or not) of Iolaus! Williams did not want "Hercules and the Amazon Women" to end with time being turned back but Tapert insisted that Iolaus not remain dead. Neither would back down. Tapert went to writers Dettman and Truly and had them do it his way.

Filming of "Hercules and the Amazon Women" began in November 1993 and it was released April 25, 1994 (with guest appearance by L ucy L awless). The next film, "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom" was released May 2, 1994 (with guest appearance by R enee O 'C onnor). There wasn't another new one until October 31, 1994. Although 4 films had orginally been commissioned a fifth was made to compensate for the failure of another Action Pack movie team (probably "Knight Rider 2010" or "Fast Lane").

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Since its January 1995 series premiere, "H ercules: The Legendary Journeys" has taken the world of syndicated television by storm, setting the trend for a host of new fantasy-action hours including its own enormously popular and colorful spin-off, "X ena: Warrior Princess." After quickly establishing itself as the highest-rated new show in syndication, the series became a runaway hit in its second season, vying weekly with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" for the number one spot among all syndicated dramatic hours. Spectacular action, superb special effects and tongue-in-cheek humor have become trademarks of both shows.

Renaissance Pictures productions for MCA TV from acclaimed action filmmakers R ob T apert and S am R aimi, "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" stars ruggedly handsome K evin S orbo as the mythical demigod, a "Hercules for the '90s" and "Xena:Warrior Princess" stars New Zealand actress L ucy L awless as the fierce and fearless warrior, a mythic heroine with a dark past.

Hailed by critics at Newsweek, People, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone as wonderfully stylish and fast-moving fun, "Hercules" and "Xena" feature exotic locales, wild Hong Kong-style action, state-of-the-art visual effects, contemporary dialogue laced with humor, and dramatic stories that pack a moral message. Much of the comic relief springs from the friendships between Hercules and his best friend Iolaus, played by series star M ichael H urst, and between Xena and her fast-talking young protegee Gabrielle, played by series star R enee O'C onnor.

The shows are set in ancient times, in a fantastic mythical world of great beauty and danger. Life is difficult under the yoke of cruel and fickle gods, all clamoring for sacrifice. Taking the side of the much-abused mortals is Hercules, the son of Zeus and the mortal beauty Alcmene. Surrounded by barbaric tribes, slave traders and countless other evils, Xena is on a mission to protect and defend the powerless, freeing them from tyranny and injustice.

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Space . . . the final frontier . . . these are the continuing voyages of . . . HERCULES!?! Okay, wrong show! But it WAS the success of Paramount's "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in syndication that prompted Ned Nalle, the executive vice president for Universal Television, and Dan Filie, the senior vice president for drama development, to ponder a way for Universal to profit from the syndication arena.

The idea they came up with was a movie "wheel" of alternating movies-of-the-week. Rather than do mystery movies (that had been done before and was sooo '80s) they would do action movies with an option for series syndication. Originally intended to be a "Magnificent Seven" they began signing on talented directors and producers for what would soon be known as the Universal Action Pack.

As the original inspiration was "Star Trek" there was no one better suited to provide a science fiction theme for the wheel than William Shatner himself. Shatner adapted his "TekWar" novels for a series of 4 movies. Hal Needham did 4 "Bandit" movies - a continuation of his "Smokey and the Bandit" film series. Rob Cohen provided "Vanishing Son" (4 movies) and George Gallo - "Midnight Run" (4 movies). According to "Hercules, The Legendary Journeys: The offical Companion" by Robert Weisbrot John Landis was going to do "Fast Lane" but I can't find any information on it anywhere else. There was also a single "Knight Rider 2010" movie that went over like a lead balloon.

So anyway, in late 1992 Dan Filie called David Eick at Renaissance Pictures. David was the head of TV Development and had formerly been with Universal and asked him if they were interested in doing "Hercules." David contacted his boss R obert T apert who was in New Orleans shooting "Hard Target." Robert was reluctant to commit, despite a life-long desire to break into television, because of two previous false starts; a proposed "Darkman" series and the "M.A.N.T.I.S." pilot movie. He said to call his partner S am R aimi who was then working on "The Hudsucker Proxy."

In early 1993 Sam Raimi participated in the Action Pack Presentation Tape to be presented to Tribune Stations for syndication (they bought all of them). His part consisted of clips of "Conan the Barbarian," "Army of Darkness," and himself saying "Get ready for Action! Get ready for Adventure! Get ready for Hercules!"

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The syndication deal for the Universal Action Pack included an option for two weekly series to be developed from among the movies. During May sweeps Dan Filie showed a rough cut of "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom" to representatives of Tribune syndication and they ordered thirteen episodes. (The Hercules telefilms actually had the best ratings of the Action Pack!) The series set for the following hour was "Vanishing Son." "TekWar" was also picked up by a cable (?) company.

When Hercules went weekly it needed some tweaking to make it more viable as a continuing series. This job went to writer and co-executive producer John Schulian. First off with one stroke of Hera's fireball he established a new direction for our hero. Hercules could suffer through the loss of his loved ones and Hera was now very much an ongoing threat. Without family to tie him down he would be a wandering hero like Conan but with his best buddy Iolaus at his side. Together they would be like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!

John Schulian also created the character of Xena for the Hercules episode "Warrior Princess" because he wanted to do a story where a woman drives a wedge between Hercules and Iolaus. This worked well with Tapert's plans for an evil warrior princess arc (he was not thinking spin-off yet). However, many others involved with the show (including Eric Gruendemann) thought Schulian's idea to be implausable with the relationship that Hercules and Iolaus shared. Tapert came up with the name Xena because, he says, the producer Dino De Laurentiis told him that words spelled with the letter "X" are more attractive to children.

Casting Xena proved difficult. Vanessa Angel (star of "Weird Science") was cast as Xena but became ill three days before filming was to begin. Desperate to find someone the role was offered to five actresses (I don't know who they were) each of whom turned it down. David Eick suggested L ucy L awless but it was not a popular idea. Universal wanted someone well known, preferably not a "Kiwi" (New Zealander). Despite this, Tapert became determined to track down Lawless who was on a wilderness camping trip over New Year's weekend. She was very surprised when they found her and offered her the part!

studio committed to replacing Vanishing Son which followed Herc. - suggested to Ren Pic to make series out of Xena (liked ep Warrior Princess - filmed not aired yet) - Sam Raimi was doing The Quick and the Dead - did not think it would work w/ female lead - he wanted to do Jason and the Argonauts - Rob thought too similar to Herc. went ahead did Xena anyway - Rob talked to Lucy during filming of final 2 parter in Jan 1995 about Xena series - originally going to have Xena killed at end of Unchained Heart - quick rewrite kept her alive for spinoff series - when Xena 1st offered to tv stations in 1995 - initial reluctance (Wonder Woman = marginal success) - struggle at first but Tribune Group ended up thinking it good

Rob Tapert wrote Bible for Xena:WP + 1st Xena ep - David Pollison (works for Ren Pics - office production assistant - portrayed by Joel Tobeck in Yes, Virginia There Is A Hercules on HTLJ) got hooked on H. Kong action films - gave The Bride With White Hair + Swordsman Part III to Rob + told him Brigitte Lin IS Xena - Rob's vision - saw The Bride With White Hair - wanted to make Xena very much in that style - from then on started looking at H. Kong films for ideas - David P. made series of tapes "Asian Stunts" 1-8 of stunts maybe could do (see Laura Irvine's "The Xena Hong Kong Connection" at http://www.slip.net/~redbean/xena/xena_hk.html) - directors are sent package of video tapes to view - condensation of action sequences from HK films + Herc/Xena eps - very intentional approach

R.J.Stewart was asked to write pilot + create character of Gabrielle (Rob wanted her in + wanted Renee O'Connor) +their relationship + to create good Xena (could not be too faithful to Herc's Xena - non-productive) - also created Callisto (because Xena got off too easy) + Joxer

Mar. 5, 1995 = 1st media reference to Xena:WP in Daily Variety
Mar. 9, 1995 = New York Daily News Gossi section - trying to spin off a pilot
Mar. 13, 1995 = 1st Xena Herc. ep released (Warrior Princess)
May 3 or 5(?), 1995 = Daily Variety = official press release about XWP - during May sweeps - MCA to begin production on 22 (later 24) eps starting late June 1995 to be released Sept. 9, 1995

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