By Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit
Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. are bringing their iron-clad collaboration to another comic-book property: "Cowboys & Aliens."
Downey has been attached to the DreamWorks/Universal project since last summer, when "Iron Man" co-screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby were working on the adaptation of the Platinum Studios Comics graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley.
In the fall, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are executive producers on the project, took over scripting, along with "Lost" exec producer Damon Lindelof.
Now Favreau has come on to make "Cowboys" his next directing gig.
The sci-fi Western explores what would happen if the traditional Old West enemies -- cowboys and Native Americans -- found the prairie attacked by aliens in mid-1800s Arizona. Long in development, the "Aliens" project originally was set up at Universal and DreamWorks in 1997 with Steve Oedekerk writing and directing. It later moved to Columbia, with "Sahara" scribes Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Donnelly writing.
The Favreau-Downey-Kurtzman-Orci-Lindelof nexus represents the current nucleus of geek-genre pop culture. Kurtzman and Orci recently delivered the sci-fi megahits "Star Trek" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," Lindelof maintains his control over the "Lost" mind screw, and Favreau and Downey will serve up another highly anticipated "Iron Man" saga next year.
For DreamWorks, the property represents an essential tentpole to help elevate its newly independent status now that the studio's first round of financing is complete. DreamWorks included "Cowboys" among the 17 projects it bought from Paramount upon leaving last fall.
As part of that exit arrangement, Paramount has an option to co-distribute the film with new DreamWorks distributor Disney, an opportunity it presumably will engage given Favreau's $585 million worldwide success on the Paramount-distributed "Iron Man."
Imagine Entertainment principals Brian Grazer and Ron Howard -- the latter once a possibility to direct -- are producing with Platinum topper Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Universal, where Imagine is housed, co-developed and is co-financing the project.
As it ramps up production for the next few years' slates, DreamWorks likely would anchor its 2011 summer to "Cowboys." DreamWorks and Kurtzman and Orci also are developing the Platinum property "Atlantis Rising," another big-budget sci-fi hybrid, with director Len Wiseman and writer Joby Harold.
The CAA-repped Favreau is in postproduction on Paramount/Marvel's "Iron Man 2," slated for a May release. As a writer and actor, he will next appear in the Oct. 9 Universal comedy "Couples Retreat." He is also providing a voice to the MGM comedy "The Zookeeper."
wow, my old bosses were attached at Columbia to produce this. Spent blood, sweat and tears on it and lost it to this group. Sad, what a missed opportunity.
Posted by: deadre | September 01, 2009 at 04:38 PM
If "Cowboys and Aliens" is a to be a heavy Political Statement on the PC Incorrectness of Global Administrations, with it and IT Morphed into a Virtually Real Genre, which is Presently Current and Future Perfect Bound in ITs ProgramMING, there is as much XSSXXXXual Content as anyone would ever Need to Feed the Hollywood Machine in a Real Live Operational Virtual Environment, Manifest and HyperRadioProActive in CyberSpace and NIRobotIQs .... and Networks InterNetworking Java Applications ..... with Virtually AMPlified Ire ..... for MODified Aggression with Dedicated Denial of Service Attacks/Prime Protocol Assaults with Beta Anger Management Tools as Weapons ....... for is not the following a Mirror in AIMission Accomplished ..... "Wild West v2.0 ? The Windows Alamo and Modus Operandi?
By amanfromMars 1 Posted Monday 31st August 2009 10:54 GMT
Who else see a Parallel in the Past which had Foreign Cowardly Cowboys stealing Apache Lands now morphed into a Total Information Awareness Assault on Private and Powerful Intellectual Properties/VPNInterNetworking Applifications?" .... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/31/dziuba_apple_fcc/comments/
Or is that, when we don't Think, too Saul Bellow for Movie MainStreaming/Intelligence Dambusting with Blockbuster Epic Sagas?
Posted by: amanfromMars | September 01, 2009 at 11:55 PM
Wow, that Downey Jr dude is pretty cool!
RT
www.anonymous-web.be.tc
Posted by: Jhn Davis | September 02, 2009 at 05:02 AM
I think it'll be good to see Downey in some comedic roles.
www.concretelyambiguous.com
Posted by: ConcretelyAmbiguous | September 02, 2009 at 05:32 AM
Could b good.
www.electroniccigarettesinc.com
Posted by: jill H | September 02, 2009 at 08:18 AM
In 1969 we had The Valley of Gwangi: Cowboys Vs. Dinosaurs and now we have Cowboys Vs. Aliens.
A coporation, not individuals, comes up with stoylines and scripts for movies nowadays i fear.
Posted by: gft | September 02, 2009 at 02:46 PM