Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were recently honored at the Saturn Awards and gave some updates on their forthcoming projects. The one they talked about most is their most current project shooting in New Mexico right now: Cowboys & Aliens. The script went through many rewrites especially after Daniel Craig took over the lead role from Robert Downey Jr. The writers couldn't be more happier though. "Daniel feels like the perfect version for us" said Kurtzman.
Having Steven Spielberg involved with this movie also helped wrangle in Harrison Ford who committed after seeing the concept art. As for Ford's take on the character in the movie, Colonel Dolarhyde, Kurtzman says
"What a lot of fans will love about it is its a throwback to, certainly, a lot of what we loved about Raiders and what he was in Raiders." Orci quickly chimes in though that we'll be
"seeing him in a new way."
The movie is going to be a balancing act between the western genre and the sci-fi genre. Kurtzman feels they have found
"the right pitch" to stay true to both genres. Since shooting has just begun, it is highly unlikely we will see anything at this year's Comic-Con.
In the second part of this interview, Collider caught up with the duo again after the awards. Much of the rewrites were done before shooting started since this is such an ensemble cast.
Bob Orci also gave a little insight into Adam Beach's character Nat Colorado.
"Adam plays someone who's of both worlds. He's someone who was born Apache but who has actually become a cowboy. So he helps to be one of the bridges between what you call your traditional cowboys in our movie and what turns out to be the Apache Nation in the movie."
As for how many different kinds of aliens are in the movie, the two danced around the question a little making sure not to speak to soon. There is possibilities for more in the special effects stage. Many have wondered how people from the Old West could effectively fight off an alien attack. Kurtzman touched on this saying:
"How do you, as a human being, defeat an alien, a creature, with technology that is so far superior to yours?" "It focuses people to rise to the best versions of themselves in order to defeat the aliens. That, I think, is the template we followed."
As for
Star Trek 2, they are about half way through writing the story and in the second part of the interview, it sounds like a main villain has not been nailed down exactly. It sounds very much like a work in progress that will get much more attention after C & A wraps up.
Throughout both videos, the screenwriters/producers also talk
Fringe, Hawaii-5-0 and other future projects in the works such as
View-Master.