What this all means, is that Robert Downey Jr. is a fantastic actor and he equals money. From what I’ve read, the offers this man is getting is pretty nuts. Well today The Hollywood Reporter have word on one offer that Robert Downey actually liked and snatched up.
I don’t blame him either, for several reason. One, he’s Robert Downey Jr. So anything he does is going to make money right now. Two, DreamWorks/Universal are looking to make this flick their 2010 summer tentpole. Downey loves summer tentpoles. Three, the producing team includes: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Ervin Rustemagic, Rich Marincic and some guy named Steven Spielberg. And lastly… the project is called COWBOYS & ALIENS and is based off a graphic novel.
I think the flick already made 130 million just from those last two paragraphs! Imagine when a director is announced?
Joking aside, this looks like it’s got a lot of potential, regardless of the actual synopsis not really catching my fancy. The graphic novel, which comes from Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley is about an Old West battle between the Apache and Western settlers, including a former Union Army gunslinger named Zeke Jackson (Downey), that is interrupted by a spaceship crashing into the prairie near Silver City, Ariz. The story draws a parallel between the American imperialist drive to conquer the “savage” Indians with its advanced technology and the aliens’ assault on Earthlings, who must join together to survive the invaders’ attack.
See… not really eye-catchingly appealing… but with a talented group this could be something hugely great. Just the idea of Robert Downey Jr as a cowboy fighting a bunch of aliens… I can hear the smartass comments already! I’m sure a director will be announced soon, so we’ll keep you updated.