Fresh off her stint on TNT’s medical drama “HawthoRNe,” Abigail Spencer of “Mad Men” fame is ready to blast off onto the big screen when she stars alongside Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano, among others, in Jon Favreau’s comic book adaptation “Cowboys & Aliens.”
The film details a group of Apache Indians and Western settlers who must put their feuding aside when a spaceship crash-lands in their territory in 1873. We think Favreau should have put this aside after his last sci-fi adaptation, “Zathura,” crash-landed back in 2005 and failed to turn a profit. This time however, Favreau returns with heavy hitters Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Steven Spielberg to produce with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, (tag team duo behind “Transformers”) and Damon Lindelof of “Lost” to pen the script (plus “Iron Man” writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are also getting some kind of credit). It’s a little worrying just how many writers have stuck their fingers in the pot, but let’s give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
In any case, Spencer is reported to play Alice, a prostitute and former lover of Daniel Craig’s leading character, who helps him “change his ways.” O prostitute with a heart of gold, where have ye been since “The Hangover”? Little else is known about her character, but shooting is already underway in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Wilde tweeted and seems to be pretty happy with the new addition. “Abigail Spencer, welcome to the cast of Cowboys & Aliens!!! She is lovely, funny, gorgeous (duh), and talented. this cast ROCKS.”
“Cowboys & Aliens” is set to burn up the screen (and hopefully not your wallet) July 29th 2011. [Variety] — Omar Ipa