The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Robert Downey Jr. — recently reported as an Iron Detective Vampire for his increasing number of film franchises — will be teaming up with his Iron Man director John Favreau to put on a show with Cowboys & Aliens.
As you might expect, Cowboys & Aliens pits some cowpokes against some laser-beamin’ extraterrestrials. The film, based on the Platinum Studios book by Fred Van Lente, has been in development since 1997, when Universal and Dreamworks first acquired the property.
Yet despite the high concept, this project has bounced around seven different teams of writers — and the question remains with Platinum’s legal woes with the Wowio system, exactly how this might impact their former stable of writers and artists.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Seeing as Wowio’s been legally separated from Platinum (purchased wholly by Platinum COO Brian Altounian), I don’t expect to see C&A’s possible success affecting publishers and creators owed money by Wowio much.
If you’re referring to the writers and artists who worked on Cowboys & Aliens specifically, I believe we were all contracted on a WFH basis (I know I was) and so won’t receive any direct compensation from a successful movie franchise based on the comic (or, more likely IMO, based on the comic’s title.)
Indirectly, I suppose there’s an outside chance it could inspire enough sales on the book for royalties to someday kick in, but I’m not holding my breath. Beyond that, it’s neat to see one’s name in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. That and 90 cents will get me a Mars bar.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 am
Platinum doesn’t own Wowio anymore. They sold it last month.
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:12 am
This looks like something I wish I had thought of.
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:55 am
I like Robert Downey, I really look forward to!
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 am
Lan, just create two wheel of fortune type spinners. On one put realistic people and on the other put unrealistic things. I have one available for writer’s block moments.
{spinning} {spinning}
Here ya go, you can do Accountants &/Vs. Abominable Snowmen.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:25 am
Why the heck haven’t I read this yet by now? Anyway, if this means more visibility and prestige and all that other junk for FVL, great. I can’t think of any current writer who I’d rather get it.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:57 am
Check out Territory 51 from Law Dog Comics if you like this.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:07 am
Don’t remember this title from back in the ’90s, but it sure looks like a kick-ass concept… so much so, I wish it was my idea, ha, ha! I’ll have to see if I can find any copies in the back issue/ GN section.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:14 am
On freecomicbook day last year my lCS had STACKS of this $9.95 gn giving em out for free. Never read it, may have to peek at my copy.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:37 am
Hollywood has been talking about making this into a movie for years. Spielberg even thought about doing it. Good luck in someone finally being able to make it. It looks like it could be some fun Saturday afternoon cheese (of course when there is no football on).
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:32 am
can’t wait for the crossover with robot dinotrucks
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I have a copy of this & it wasn’t that great…can’t believe they are optioning it for a movie.
Oh wait, never mind…Hollywood made ‘Daredevil’
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Personally, I think C&A is a crap concept. Ever seen Wild Wild West? Also crap. Just can’t envision this film going well, in any director’s hands. Hope to be proven wrong though.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I would rather see Pigs in Space (seriously, as in the Muppets).
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Who’s marketing this thing to Hollywood, because I didn’t like the story or the art. The concept was marginally clever at best…
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Reason C&A has gone through so many writers is that the graphic novel sucked, and Territory 51 came out YEARS before C&A.
Hey Hollywood, actually READ C&A and then look at Territory51…you are making the wrong movie!
Highly biased and proud of it!
M
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I agree with those preferring Territory 51 over C&A. The book s still in print and can be purchased here: http://www.atomicavenue.com/Atomic/IssueDetail.aspx?ID=5247
Interestingly enough, while I was googling to see if the book was still available, I found the following Newsarama article about Territory creator James Heffron and his trip to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina:
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=53236
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
If I recall correctly, the GN of this series was given away in mass quantities, which shot it up to the no. 1 spot for “sales” for about a month. Studio sees sales figures, options property. It’s all numbers. It could have been 64 pages of a tuna salad sandwich, and someone would have optioned it.
That being said, Fred Van Lente is one helluva writer, and if he wrote 64 pages of a tuna salad sandwich, I would probably like it.
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Here’s a link to the “scandal” concerning Cowboys and Aliens.
http://captionbox.net/loosepages/?p=222
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Cowboys & Aliens was easily the worst thing I’d read in years when I got dupped into buying it two years ago. A shame to see two great names attached to this dung heap.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
According to THR:
“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 project pre-dates the graphic novel, according to the above, by almost a decade. How is the movie based on the comic then? At best, it was a movie pitch that was made into a comic in hopes of generating buzz/interest and, with the reports of Platinum buying tons of copies through DM retailers, the astroturf buzz was guaranteed.