Towards the end of August I was invited by Universal Pictures to visit the stage set ofCowboys & Aliens . product was cease up shooting in New Mexico at the metre - before moving to Universal Studios in LA to work on some midland stage shots .
We landed and stick in Santa Fe then take a shuttle to Albuquerque with a chemical group of journalist to visit the output , which had been plow with some recent scheduling and production challenge due to flash flood . At this breaker point int ime we had only come across the 10 transactions of unfinished footage present by directorJon Favreau at San Diego Comic - Cona few week earlier , footage that Favreau push the mold , crew , Industrial Light & Magic and the studio to work out extra days on just so they could quiz it with the hardcore audience of Comic - Con attendees . Favreau love this crowd and realise the hype from having bring theIron Manfilms to SDCC in days prior .
Cowboys & Aliens is skill fiction Western that reckon cowboys and Native Americans battle extra terrestrial forces during the American frontier .
What we ascertain during that Hall H panel was a total bunch - pleaser and everyone purchase into the authenticity of the westerly element that Favreau and crew were attempt to convey . Cowboys & Aliensis not a slapstick , spit - in - cheek comedy poking playfulness at the over - the - top construct of alien battle cowboy . The photographic film stays genuine to what both genres represent and that ’s the sales pitch of how it ’ll be able to ferment .
This is by far the key takeout food I require to emphasize from my set visit . The title of the movie pull in a few laughs as theCowboys & Alienstrailerpremiered alongsideHarry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1the weekend before last in San Diego but that ’s okay because until the logo popped up at the end of the teaser , everyone in those theatre of operations seats was sell on look Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in a full-strength westerly . remark that there was not a individual shot of what the foreign creatures look like in that firstCowboys & Aliensteaser trailer . The laggard and Comic - Con footage work the same way in that respect and this is what Jon Favreau is go for . You ’ll find out more about where Favreau draws his inspiration from and what types of exotic movies work and do n’t work , which are more interesting and bewitching , and how he equilibrize that intoCowboys & Aliensfrom our coverage .
Throughout this hebdomad we ’ll write clause on our talk of the town with Jon Favreau , producer Bob Orci and more , as well as several interesting treatment pieces from what we learned about the production of the film . But for now , let me take you along the journey I experienced before we get down and dirty with the details .
I was in the first group to country in Albuquerque , the largest metropolis of New Mexico . From there , I was driven an hour or so to our hotel in Sante Fe . We were still over an hour out from where the set sojourn would take place the follow day , but it still offered a ripe indicator of the temperatures on set . take action scenes is a hard and heavy process . Doing it in the live desert weather and avoiding destructive ostentation floods is another challenge entirely . This was but one of the obstacle look by the cast and bunch at the finical location we were going to visit .
We traveled out the next sunup in a bus and went into the wilderness . The landscapes and scenery on this ride is reminiscent of any visuals you could conjure when think of a Western ( or recreate the picture gameRed Dead Redemption – more on that later ) . As we made our way to the crew parking lot , we transferred from fomite to vehicle to yet another vehicle as we glide by through the rocky path and finally through the trailers for shape , equipment , and props .
From this point ahead , no one was appropriate to take photos ; Not of the trailer before we got to the curing and not even of the surrounding scenery . It was our own little Area 51 and secrecy was of the utmost grandness .
As we make it at the canon where shooting would be taking place , we entered a large cast tent which would be our base for most of the day with over two XII chairs and a admonisher at one end to view the shots charter topographic point . Sam Rockwell was in there restore his grimed up and battle - fag out cowherd outfit , greeting us before beak up his rifle and heading back out on set . Noah Ringer and Keith Carradine move to and from the tent as well , chitchat with us when they can .
About the scenes being fool away , I have practiced and defective news regarding what we visualise . The good word is that due to a last minute scheduling change , we ended up see them shoot one of the net and most important scenes of the film where everyone was included . The bad news is that we ca n’t tell you about anything we witnessed or how epic it was .
UPDATE: BY ROB KEYES
We can now tell you what we witnessed on the Cowboys & Aliens limit sojourn !
What was saw on set we could n’t reveal at the time of embargo lift due to spoilers as it was the large third act activity dress piece where the cowboy cabal and natives team up to assail the alien tower . And so much of it was practical , including a base and large subdivision of the tugboat . There were so many mold members , spear carrier , horse , props , and set pieces helping fulfil out the amazing scene .
The sequence was being shot at White Place ( Plaza Blanca ) , a beautiful and renowned rocky canyon own by Dar al Islam Mosque in Abiquiu , New Mexico . A location whereThe Missingwas shoot down and not far from where previous westerly films such as3:10 to Yuma , Young Guns , Legend of the Lone RangerandWyatt Earpwere made as well . Other projects that used these landscapes includeCity SlickersandEarth 2 .
What I can say about what was being shot ( and this harkens back to the big call out of the motion picture ) is that this movie is a straight - up Western at its heart and in its style . Yes , alternatively of the traditional feuds between cowboys and Apache natives , Cowboys & Alienspits them all against a new menace . But who these fibre are and how they react to this situation is all within the kingdom of the westerly genre pilot … and it completely works .
Even when Favreau first entered the collapsible shelter with us for a few hour , one of the very first thing he say to us was about the authenticity of what and how they were spud . He asked us if it was“better than a green screen”which reminded me of exactlywhat he talk of at SDCCwhen he come out on stage and introduced the presentation by speak of the “ breaking news ” thatCowboys & Alienswould be hail in 2D , shot on motion picture , not digital video to keep the unquestionable look of the period piece . The use of on - localization shot and hardheaded impression offers authentic / raw visuals which mate the picture ’s tonicity .
pic are a occupation , but they ’re also an amusement artistic creation anatomy and it ’s courteous to see that balance shift key in favor of the moviegoer for once . As Favreau re - emphasize to me on set and to our own Roth Cornet the other week at theCowboys & Aliensedit bay , the film was not shoot or convert in 3-D as per most upcoming self-aggrandising budget blockbusters and instead was buck like traditional western in 35 millimeter anamorphic by Matthew Libatique , the same cinematographer who contribute us the arresting visuals ofThe Fountain .
Throughout our day on solidifying , we had the chance to meet and chat with most of the cast , including Sam Rockwell , Noah Ringer , Keith Carradine , Paul Dano , Ana de la Reguera , Walton Goggins and Raoul Trujillo . We also of course of action had little sojourn by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford which made for some of the most special moments of the day .
Stay tuned toScreen Rantall this week for your in - depthCowboys & Alienscoverage as we ’ll have something new up every day , from consultation with Jon Favreau , Bob Orci and Sam Rockwell , a look at what it take to build up an authentic Western with a sci - fi twist , to why Daniel Craig taking over the lead part from Robert Downey Jr. may have been the best matter that happened with the project .
We ’ll also spill the beans about why this film is quite a bit different , not only in style but in ontogenesis , for producers Bob Orci , Alex Kurtzman and manager Jon Favreau and whether or not there ’s potential of a sequel .
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Cowboys & Aliensis schedule for release on July 29th , 2011 . It is directed by Jon Favreau and produce by Brian Grazer , Ron Howard , Alex Kurtzman , Roberto Orci and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg . The screenplay is written by Roberto Orci , Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof , inspire by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg ’s graphic novel .
