FIRST COWBOYS AND ALIENS POSTER LANDS

For a movie called COWBOYS AND ALIENS, it has a very grim poster.

I was thinking the same thing. I assume "fun" would be an integral part of this film, but it looks more like COWBOY BEGINS.

I'm betting that Favreau (who, even with his successes, can't get studio marketing to use a Drew Struzan poster) would've loved to have a fun poster (should that be the film's tone), but got denied.

I kind of am digging that poster. Although I would have loved to have seen them do a 40's or 50's style Western Movie poster for it.

Seriously, is all movie marketing done by the same half dozen individuals these days or what?

Crushingly uninspired.

I'm really looking forward to this! I just hope the epic failure of Jonah Hex doesn't turn people off of quirky, genre mismash cowboy movies.

I agree with you guys... this movie really needed a fun poster - preferably an old-school horizontal one-sheet that sold it as an adventure, not some grim-n-gritty reluctant hero pose. Boooo.

Although I got a great laugh from COWBOY BEGINS, michael.

The comic book (available online somewhere) is really, really Avatar-like and trite. At least it has actual Indians.

I didn't think "fun" was really the angle Favreau was going for.

via an Interview:
ALEX KURTZMAN: We always describe it as, “Imagine you’re watching Unforgiven, and the aliens from Alien land,” but we’re never doing it tongue in cheek, we’re never doing wink, wink at the audience, we are committed to a very serious tone for both, which doesn’t preclude a lot of fun, but I think you have to take both genres seriously, and the collision of the genres seriously, or the movie will not work.

If anyone would actually allow fully illustrated posters anymore, that could've happened. GRAAARGH!

And yet they couldn't help but stick with the silliness of the title. Oh well... it's just a title.

There really aren't enough facepalms.

I shudder to think of a movie that features Cowboys and Aliens that isn't at least a little self-aware, because the poster comes off as silly to me. Hopefully, what he means is that it won't constantly be winking at the camera, as in more like Silverado (which I would classify as fun) and not Wild Wild West (which I would classify as trying way to hard). The serious but fun cowboy/scifi mashup line can be walked, and has many times by Joe Landsdale (too many, some would say).

Hmmm... I just noticed that Rain Dog said exactly what I said in five words. I really gotta learn this whole brevity thing.

The comic book is total garbage, story and art-wise. We should all be encouraged though that if we come up with a goofy concept, we can cash in even if the end product (in this case a comic book) is a piece of turd that can be turned into a movie.

Why not? It's worked so far for Kick-Ass, Red and The Walking Dead just to name a few from this year alone.

I kind of liked the poster because it looked like the Unforgiven one sheet.

Although I didn't notice Daniel Craig's ass until someone pointed it out, and now I can't stop staring. Someone should revoke my Straight Ass Female card for that oversight.

Wow... I can't stop staring either.

Though, I wouldn't have even known that was supposed to be Daniel Craig on that poster if not for the helpful image posted below it.

.....yyyyyyeah... that crack is mad-prominent.

I suppose they were floating ideas, and someone said, "Hey, we need an ass-centric poster, you know, like Tron has!" and then someone either gay or female (but not both) in the marketing department ran with this before they specified that Olivia Wilde's ass was the one in question.

I'm looking forward to the 'serious' tone, to be honest. I was expecting fluffy-Iron Man-light (not a bad thing) so I guess this is news to me, and I kinda like it. What would happen if you dropped the Alien from Alien into a Saloon full of cowboy archetypes? That's far more interesting to me than nudge-nudge-aint-it-cute-yeehaw. But each to their own and all that.

If it's so serious why are they keeping the name? COWBOYS & ALIENS is one step down from PIRATES VS. ZOMBIES.

That's a fair point.

Drew McWeeney from his Morning Read:

I guess I am the only one excited about Unforgiven meeting Aliens.

This does something to help bolster my enthusiasm for the project. The simple fact that this tale sprang from the minds of Orci and Kurtzman ensures that I will never really be able to fully trust in the quality of ideas being developed here, but all the same I'm glad that at least the movie won't be winking at me the whole time. If you're going to do the west, it needs to be deadly serious. America's western expansion entailed a genocide, after all. If you're going to do a western and pollute it with Aliens? The seriousness of tone becomes doubly important

Anyway, I like that the poster is serious, I love that Daniel Craig is wearing a cow boy hat, and the prospect to see Mr Craig and Mr Ford team up is truly tantalizing

With that said, that device on Craig's wrist looks like a bit of IRON MAN gear, and not something from another world, and I'm not particularly fond of this one sheet (though I'll admit it could be worse)

While I can think of several other designs they could have gone with, part of me thinks an old fashioned Struzan style poster is always a good option a western. This poster is a missed opportunity, and might seem boring to the average movie goer (though who really knows, since the public at large seems to be in love with floating heads). It is just a piece of teaser advertising though, so perhaps the next one will be a step up

Not at all. I was happy when I read the interview in Empire where he said it was not lighthearted. A gritty authentic western with aliens sounds awesome, but I do agree about the title. My only guess is they think that basing the flick on a graphic novel (regardless of how shitty it is - I haven't read it) would be better for name recognition and marketing purposes. Probably helps get things green lit nowadays anyway.

My thoughts too.

Serious or no, this flick deserves a poster more... PULPY. ANd if you're going to go with a behind the back shot, THIS is how you do it:



Except replace the dude in the BG with an invader.

That would be a great poster!

Or give the guy in the foreground a ray gun and weird tentacle fingers - god anything would be better than what we got.

More serious than SILVERADO, less serious than UNFORGIVEN. Not everything has to be grim and gritty, but it doesn't have to be campy either.

Cowboys and Indians. Cowboys and Aliens. The name makes enough sense.

True, but I think there's a difference between 'pulpy' and 'campy'

Yeah, I'm okay with pulpy, campy is a bit much. It seems like an action movie/western type thing, not some ultra-serious piece that turns the idea of the Western on its head either.

I guess it's a teaser poster, but there's no actor name on the poster? Kinda weird, since he's right there.

I remember the comic had an image of a cowboy on a horse riding away from a huge spaceship, which might have made for a good poster.

I want the exact same framing for the Olivia Wilde one sheet.