Cowboys & Aliens, based off of the graphic novel, tells the story of how a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, cowboys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation unite against a common enemy: aliens who have crash landed on Earth and are preparing to take over.
Director Jon Favreau has still not confirmed whether or not 3D cameras will be used, which the director has stated before is the only way he would want to do a 3D movie. Shooting has just begun and from the sound of Olivia Wilde's recent tweets, the set looks amazing:
Platinum Studios Vice President, Dan Forcey, took the time to give a few updates on the movie. At this point, Dan couldn’t go into a lot of details but assured me announcements will be coming. Also included with this is a fan made poster from
(www.facebook.com/cowboysandaliens).
Bryan Kritz: How closely will the movie follow the comic book?
Dan Forcey: Bob and Alex (the writers, along with Damon Lindelof) have taken a lot of liberties with the look at feel of the adaptation, but not to the level that a project like Wanted did. With a title like ours, though, there are going to be similarities no matter what you do with it. Cowboys and Native Americans still band together to fight invaders from space. Past that, you’ll have to wait and see. I can say that fans of the comic won’t be disappointed or feel cheated by any of the changes made. We’re certainly not and we’re the biggest fans around!
BK: What type of budget is the film set at and what percentage is for special effects?
DF: Sorry, I can’t reveal numbers like that. With the kind of talent involved, you can guess it’s not small.
BK: As for the aliens, will they be all CGI or actors in prosthetics/suits?
DF: Can’t reveal that either, I’m afraid. For the best, most up to date information about the film, people should keep an eye on Jon’s twitter (www.twitter.com/jon_favreau) . Jon's twitter is where a lot of information, like what the aliens look like, will be appearing as it’s released. He’s already given us one photo of Daniel Craig in costume there. I’m sure more will come. I can say that I’ve seen them and they’re like nothing I’ve ever seen on screen before.
BK: C & A is scheduled for a July 29, 2011 release date. Any concerns following the next week after Captain America, another big comic book movie?
DF: Not really. They’re both going to be exciting releases, but I think we’ll appeal to a totally different summer movie goer. I also think there will be tons of people who go see our movie without ever knowing it was an adaptation. To this day, I still get people who are surprised that Men In Black is a comic book adaptation. Scott Rosenberg, who originally published and set up MIB has a real knack for movies that don’t need to depend on comic fans to drive the box office.
Cowboys & Aliens stars Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Wes Studi, Adam Beach and Ana De La Reguera.
For more info on other Platinum Studio projects, check out
Part 1 of my interview with Dan Forcey.
A big thank you to Dan Forcey from myself and ComicBookMovie.com