Platinum Studios (PDOS)

[Raggedy Man]

Get Ready For a Different Breed of Cowboys & Aliens

Based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, adapted to screen by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof, came one of the coolest movies this summer “Cowboys and Aliens”. Directed by Jon Favreau and featuring an all-star cast including Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell, this will be one sci-fi actioner that crosses the classic Western theme with the alien-invasion movie. Also joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers in producer credits - Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci - Favreau brings an all-new movie experience that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. In a way, “Cowboys & Aliens” is similar in hybrid ambitions to John McTiernan’s “Predator,” a commando movie bonded with a sci-fi extraterrestrial concept, and Joss Whedon’s underappreciated series “Firefly”, which verified that “Star Wars” rocks were matched with “High Noon” blues. For this new movie, the pitch of a true genre mash-up was intriguing but also intangible and plenty risky. However, if we can be certain of anything about Favreau's newest film “Cowboys and Aliens”, it's that it'll be new and original and won't contain any elements of any of his previous films, especially “Iron Man”. Or will it?

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Ride the facts to the outer space:

# The screenwriters struggled with the tone of “Cowboys & Aliens”. The screenplay originally had a broad, jokey tone before it was decided to take the approach seriously.

# The aliens were loosely based on the Anunnaki gods of Babylonian religion, who have a distinct interest in gold.

# Robert Downey, Jr. dropped out as the main star of the film because of his commitment to “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and Daniel Craig replaced him to take the lead role of cowboy Jake Lonergan. Favreau cast Craig because the actor could play a "badass hero." The director stated: "Though Daniel Craig has never been a Western gunfighter, he has been James Bond. He has been the lead in crime dramas, like “Layer Cake." "On the one hand, he's [Craig] like this Jason Bourne type, a leading man who's also a lethal character, but on the other hand, he's also got a lot of humanity and vulnerability to him," he also said.

# Ford who described his character as a "grumpy old man" and Spielberg did not want to have the character wear a cowboy hat because they were worried that it would remind audiences of the Indiana Jones films, which starred Ford and were directed by Spielberg.

# Talking about the casting of Ford, Favreau said: "We never thought [Ford would] want to come back to genre. To have him bring that pedigree, it's almost like when you cast John Wayne in a Western." Howard stated: "For years, I’ve thought the Western – as a genre – needed this guy. (...) Harrison has this persona that fits the Western. In a way he was a cowboy in “Grafitti” and “Star Wars” and when you see him on screen in this setting it just feels right."

# In the original script, Sam Rockwell’s character, Doc, was described as a huge Mexican. Once Favreau and the writers learned that Rockwell was interested in the film, they reconceived and expanded the role.

# Craig recommended Eva Green for the role of Ella after working with her in “Casino Royale” (2006). However, Eva turned the role down and Olivia Wilde was cast.

# Favreau who’s known for appearing in his films chose not to act in “Cowboys & Aliens” because a director cameo could break the tone of the film. He said: "I wanted the characters to be freaked out, but the audience to be laughing."

# A bidding war for “Cowboys & Aliens” ensued between Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Fox, but Universal Pictures and DreamWorks partnered to purchase the film rights.

# The comic’s writer, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg formed Platinum Studios to help produce the film, and Steve Oedekerk was initially hired to write, produce and direct the project with an estimated $3.5 million salary. He planned to start writing the screenplay after completing the script for “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps” but left because of his interest in a remake with Warner Bros. on “The Incredible Mr. Limpet” with Jim Carrey.

# When approached with the 3-D idea by DreamWorks, Favreau was not interested, stating that Westerns should be shot only on film (as opposed to being shot digitally, which is required for modern 3D technology). "That would be like filming in black and white and colorizing it," he reasoned.

# Before the production of the film started, Spielberg went over the script as well as the artwork, and educated the director and the writers on Western and science fiction. He screened “The Searchers” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” for them. Orci mentioned: "[Spielberg] even did commentary in the theater with us. (...) He got a new print of “The Searchers”, and he took me and Jon and Alex and Damon to the Warner Brothers Theater. (...) Where's the horizon? Why do you think the horizon is there? What is the horizon's relationship to the actors mean about the scene? (...) and we're taking notes." Favreau revealed that Spielberg gave him an iPad loaded up with classic Westerns.

Mark your calendar on:

July 29: Canada, USA
Aug 05: Italy
Aug 09: Singapore
Aug 11: Netherlands, Thailand
Aug 12: Lithuania
Aug 18: Hong Kong, Malaysia
Aug 19: India, Ireland, UK
Aug 25: Czech Rep, Germany, Hungary, Portugal
Aug 26: Paraguay, Poland, Sweden
Aug 31: France
Sept 02: Finland, Norway
Sept 16: Japan, Turkey

Sources: IMDB, Wikipedia – Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures


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