Cowboys and Aliens Screenwriters Explain Why Audiences Should See the Movie
Posted 07.28.11 by Ryan
We've already given you five reasons to see director Jon Favreau's adaptation of Cowboys and Aliens, but screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci also recently offered their three reasons to see the sci-fi and Western mash-up in an interview with EW.
While the two writers have been working steadily since scripting the 2009 reboot of Star Trek, they aren't asking audiences to see the movie based on their (and co-screenwriter Damon Lindelof's) work, but hope that producers Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg will bring some clout to the production. Said Orci:
It’s an historic match up of talent. The keepers of the western and the sci-fi genres — Howard and Spielberg — hashing their point of view onto this new generation in [director] Jon Favreau. They were like referees as the rest of us generated the story. They would push us back on the field if we went too wrong on the western or too wrong on the aliens.
Orci and Kurtzman seem to agree with us that the pairing of Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford is too good to pass up. Orci revealed that the two actors "really came to respect each other" but initially "busted each others’ balls like guys on a sports team."
There were a few situations between Ford and Craig. They were like two bulls coming into the ring and they did sort of do the thing with the foot. Like when they were picking out clothes. Harrison joked that he wanted the chaps but then he saw Daniel in them with his ass sticking out, and he was like, "You keep the chaps."
Lastly, the two writers agree that mixing the sci-fi and Western genres equals an original movie. "We’re not asking the audience to acclimate themselves to something unfamiliar, but at the same time we’re hoping this feels fresh," says Kurtzman. Orci concurs. "This sort of genre mash-up reflects a movement in music, to sample and mix stuff together. But, in a way, we’re mixing genres that have already been mixed. Star Wars is a space western. Star Trek was pitched as Wagon Train to the stars. We’re just not hiding it in this movie."
Based on the Platinum Studios graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Cowboys and Aliens co-stars Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano, Keith Carradine, Abigail Spencer, Noah Ringer, and Sam Rockwell.
Next Showing: Cowboys and Aliens opens Friday