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Cowboys & Aliens

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This article is about the film. For other uses, see

Cowboys and Aliens.

Cowboys & Aliens
Official one-sheet poster
Directed by	Jon Favreau
Produced by	Brian Grazer Ron Howard Alex Kurtzman Damon Lindelof Roberto Orci Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Screenplay by	Damon Lindelof Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby
Story by	Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby Steve Oedekerk
Based on	Cowboys & Aliens by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Starring	Daniel Craig Harrison Ford Olivia Wilde
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography	Matthew Libatique
Editing by	Dan Lebental Jim May
Studio	Fairview Entertainment K/O Paper Products Platinum Studios Imagine Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (United States) DreamWorks Pictures through Paramount Pictures (International)^[1]
Release date(s)	July 23, 2011 (Comic-Con) July 29, 2011 (United States)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$163 million^[2]
Box office	$174,822,325^[3]

Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 American

science fiction Western film directed by

Jon Favreau and starring

Daniel Craig,

Harrison Ford, and

Olivia Wilde. The film is based on the 2006

graphic novel of the same name created by

Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. The main plot revolves around an
amnesiac
outlaw (Craig), a wealthy cattleman (Ford), and a mysterious traveler
(Wilde) who must ally to save a group of townspeople

abducted by

aliens. The screenplay was written by Damon Lindelof,

Alex Kurtzman,

Roberto Orci,

Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby, based on a story by the latter two
along with

Steve Oedekerk. The film was produced by

Brian Grazer,
Ron
Howard, Kurtzman, Lindelof, Orci, and Rosenberg, with

Steven Spielberg serving as

executive producer.

The project began development in 1997, when

Universal Pictures and

DreamWorks bought film rights to a concept pitched by Rosenberg,
former president at

Malibu Comics, which he described as a graphic novel in development.
After the graphic novel was published in 2006, development on the film
was begun again, and Favreau signed on as director in September 2009. On
a budget of $163 million, filming for Cowboys & Aliens began in
June 2010, in
New
Mexico and

California. Despite pressures to release the film in
3-D,
Favreau chose to film traditionally and in

anamorphic format to further a "classic movie feel". Measures were
taken to maintain a serious Western element despite the film's
"inherently comic" title and premise. The film's aliens were designed to
be "cool and captivating", with some details, such as a fungus that
grows on their wounds, created to depict the creatures as frontiersmen
facing adversity in an unfamiliar place.

Cowboys & Aliens premiered at the

San Diego Comic-Con International on July 23,
2011. It was released in the United States and Canada on
July 29, 2011. The film is considered to be
a financial disappointment as it barely grossed more than its budget,
earning an estimated $174.8 million worldwide. The film received mixed
reviews, with critics generally praising its acting but with some
criticizing its blend of the

Western and

science fiction genres.