In Contention

Tag: Cowboys & Aliens

  • OFF THE CARPET: Closing the book on summer 2011

    The summer movie season has come to an end, and what an interesting season it was.

    We saw three billion-dollar grossers for the first time ever in one year, let alone one three-month spread (thank you, 3D). We saw a bit of a glass ceiling for comic book movies, proving nothing is a sure thing in that game. We saw indie darlings with more stamina than the big dogs and we saw R-rated comedies find impressive footholds.

    But what does it mean in the spectrum of a film awards race, seeing as we have one knocking on our door in a bit more than a week’s time? Let’s consider.

    First and foremost, as reported here last year (and confirmed by Variety a few weeks ago), Warner Bros. Pictures is all set for a balls-to-the-wall Best Picture push for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” With 10 digits in the bank and counting, and with a breathtaking critical pass, now is the time, and it’s a smart tactic. DVDs will be out right in the thick of the season, adding fuel to the fire. And it’ll be a nice counter to the other in-houses pushes, dramas like “Contagion,” “J. Edgar.,” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” (The studio could also go screenplay hunting for Dan Fogelman and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” if it wants.)

    (more…)

  • BOX OFFICE: ‘Apes’ rose

    I’m no box office expert, but while $54 million is obviously a great late-summer number for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” I can’t help but wonder if it would have had a shot at more bank if it had been let out of the bag earlier via advance press screenings. Regardless, word of mouth could keep its legs strong, and I’m sure Fox is more than happy with this. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” hit a billion worldwide earlier in the week and will be lapped domestically by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” later this week. “Cowboys & Aliens,” meanwhile, is toast.

    (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

  • BOX OFFICE: ‘Cowboys’ and ‘Smurfs’ photo finish

    After winning the day Friday, “The Smurfs” (which somehow has an audience) managed to dip down and line up neck and neck with the under-performing “Cowboys & Aliens.” Meanwhile, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is on course to be the fastest worldwide billion-dollar grosser, and is likely to take the domestic crown, too (a first when the franchise was up against a “Transformers” installment). “Midnight in Paris” dropped out of the top 10 again but still managed a million more bucks.

    (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Cowboys & Aliens’

    I already glossed over my feelings on Jon Favreau’s “Cowboys & Aliens” at Comic-Con. In short, I find it to be an incredibly taxing exercise with zero character development, vacant of energy and held together by incredibly lazy screenwriting. But for the sake of the western, I hope it does well at the box office. So if you happen to see the film this weekend, come on back here with your thoughts.

  • COMIC-CON: It all ends

    Well, like I said. Another year, another Con.

    For a convention I expected to be a bit more laid-back than usual, it sure was anything but. I guess I put that on myself by hustling back to LA for a concert and back down again to wrap things up, but even having covered just a sliver of the event (compared to the thorough coverage from outlets with multiple on-hand correspondents, who do it so well), boy am I glad it’s over.

    If you’ve read the coverage then you know my extended thoughts, but here’s a recap nevertheless.

    The highlight of the entire weekend was, for me, finally seeing Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” The film is an invigorating experience, an artful meditation that takes the most simplistic of narratives and turns it into a thorough character study.

    (more…)

  • Another year, another Con…

    …and a thinner Con, at that.

    There was very little on the convention schedule that grabbed my attention when it was released last week. I’ll be on hand for the Fox panel tomorrow, hoping to get some good vibes from Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus.” I’ll be there for Paramount and Steven Spielberg on Friday when we all get a glimpse of “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.” I’ll definitely be on hand for Francis Ford Coppola’s first appearance here on Saturday when he brings a slice of “Twixt,” and, of course, I’ll saddle up to the Entertainment Weekly “Visionaries” panel, this year featuring Jon Favreau and Guillermo Del Toro.

    Speaking of Del Toro, I’m intrigued by “Pacific Rim” enough to poke into the Legendary Pictures panel (which won’t be in Hall H, interestingly enough). I also feel the need to check out the “Beavis and Butt-Head” event (as the terrible twosome will be back on MTV later this year and I am, I must confess, a die-hard). Maybe I’ll make it to Relativity’s “Immortals” event, maybe I’ll head to the Hilton Bayfront tomorrow morning for a focus on makeup artist Rick Baker, but I’ve literally just given you my role call of interests this year, easily half the amount of events on my list in years past.

    (more…)

  • The Super Bowl spots

    7. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
    Outrageous.  Make it stop.

    6. “Cowboys & Aliens”
    Though cluttered, expands on what we’ve seen.

    5. “Captain America: The First Avenger”
    Not a bad trailer but something lingering still has me on guard.

    4. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
    A true teaser, promising escalation but more contained.

    (more…)

  • Videos du jour

    A number of videos have been making the rounds this week, so I figured I’d consolidate.  Starting with Facebooking Aaron Sorkin’s sharp dialogue:

    (more…)

  • ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ trailer

    Yes, another trailer. I’ve been champing at the bit for “Cowboys & Aliens” since Jon Favreau decided to spring some sweet footage on the crowd at Comic-Con. The teaser poster hit yesterday, and today, we get a trailer (which is largely built around the set piece we saw in San Diego). Check it out via Yahoo! Movies by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

    (more…)

  • 11/16 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Cooper to remake ‘Carancho,’ Liman talks ‘Fair Game,’ dogpiling on Harrison Ford

    • Scott Cooper set to remake “Carancho.” [Deadline]

    • Erik Childress looks forward to the self-aware “legitimate opinions” of critics groups. [Cinematical]

    • John Lopez writes up Oscar’s longshots. [Little Gold Men]

    (more…)

  • ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ teaser poster

    I have to say, the highlight of Comic-Con this year, for me, was Universal’s “Cowboys & Aliens” panel featuring a 10 minute reel of surprise footage that was enough to have me waiting with bated breath for Jon Favreau’s comic adaptation.  Today, Yahoo! Movies has debuted the teaser poster from the film.  There’s also a countdown clock indicating that the trailer will hit in two days.  I’m totally on board.  Check out the full image after the jump.

    (more…)

  • COMIC-CON: Wrapping it up…are we getting through?

    My Comic-Con experience ended a bit sooner than I expected this morning when I woke up and decided whatever was on the Sunday docket wasn’t as fetching as a three-hour ride in traffic back to LA. That’s how exhausting the convention was this year.

    Here’s the thing. We all know Comic-Con and its 125,000-plus attendees form nothing more than a marketing bonanza in this day and age. No need to preach down to those who were there if you decided to remain back on your high horse and wait it out. You’re not enlightened. We get it. The event’s roots had a completely different shade and Hollywood has invaded the territory. But at the same time, as Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher shrewdly pointed out before Saturday’s Warner Bros. presentation, Comic-Con — or comics, in general — has also invaded Hollywood.

    So what we have is a symbiosis that plays right into the hands of studio marketing chiefs. No one can fault businessmen for making business decisions, but I think it would be worth it for Comic-Con brass (whoever they are) to take stock of what’s happening here. A craven desire to sell as many passes as possible, secure as many big names as possible and bloat the festivities with dubious material has taken things far from where they started, yes. But the thing is so stressful, people are stabbing each other!

    (more…)

  • COMIC-CON: Universal brings ‘Paul’ and ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ oh my

    With its “Scott Pilgrim” presence already dominating the scene here at Comic-Con, Universal publicity didn’t need to do much else to be top of the nerd mountain this weekend. Then they went and blew the roof off.

    The studio first offered up a sizzle reel for Greg Mottola’s sci-fi comedy “Paul,” which went over well with its tip of the hat to the Con (early scenes show a recreated convention). The director and most of the cast were here to discuss the road trip movie with a twist, but that was just an hors d’oeuvre.

    The roof-blowing was owed completely to Harrison Ford’s first-ever appearance at the convention. It was a geek’s wet dream as Han Solo/Indiana Jones took to the stage at Hall H in handcuffs (which we all thought was making light of an earlier incident where a stabbing occurred in the hall, but was actually a pre-planned gag, as in Favreau had to drag Ford to the convention in shackles). Ford was there to help promote Jon Favreau’s “Cowboys & Aliens,” which had a surprisingly robust presence during the presentation.

    (more…)

  • Comic-Con 2010 on the way

    Well, the inbox is getting stuffed with this and that regarding breakfasts and panels and viral marketing and yada, yada, yada.  That can mean only one thing: Comic-Con is around the corner.  And as I poured over the recently released schedule over the weekend, I found myself excited for…very little.

    DreamWorks Animation will make its first appearance with the Will Ferrell-starrer “Megamind.” Disney will pretty much take over the place as “TRON Legacy” makes its third trip in as many years to San Diego.  Sony will be in Hall H two days, first offering up action fare with “Salt” (which opens the Friday of the convention) and “Battle: Los Angeles,” then coming back with comedies “The Other Guys” and “The Green Hornet.”

    Warner Bros. will tease “Green Lantern,” “Sucker Punch” and the new “Harry Potter” while Overture will have “Let Me In.”  Lionsgate will break out “The Expendables” and Universal is planning some hijinks for “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” to go along with Hall H presentations for the new Greg Mottola film “Paul” and the more appropriately positioned “Cowboys & Aliens.”

    Oh, and fresh off of giving Edward Norton the heave-ho for, I imagine, deigning to try and make “The Avengers” a better movie than it’s likely to be, Marvel Studios will strut its stuff with “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

    (more…)