HEAT VISION

Brian Grazer Regrets Making 'Cowboys and Aliens': "I Don't Like Cowboys or Aliens"

by Ryan Gajewski
The "Blaster"
<p> Like the other alien artifacts in the film, Lonergan&#39;s &quot;blaster&quot; was designed to appear like other 19th-century technology of the time. Although enhanced by CG effects, many of the lights and moving parts were a part of the real prop.</p> <p> Says property master <strong>Russell Bobbitt</strong>: &ldquo;We wanted a prop that wouldn&rsquo;t stop the whole town when they saw it, so it was designed to look like something that could&rsquo;ve been familiar to them, a kind of shackle, something that could&rsquo;ve been used to imprison him.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <p> &nbsp;</p>   |   Zade Rosenthal/Courtesy of Universal Studios and DreamWorks Distribution Co.
"Anytime the lightbulb goes, 'That's good enough,' it's shitty!" the prolific producer says about the filmmaking process.

Brian Grazer would apparently like his memories of Cowboys & Aliens to ride off into the sunset. 

The accomplished producer told The Atlantic that one of his biggest career regrets is his involvement in the 2011 Jon Favreau-directed film. 

Heat Vision breakdown

"I agreed to be part of a movie called Cowboys & Aliens," said Grazer, who was a producer on the project. "I don't like cowboys — or aliens! But there were a lot of superstars involved with it — [producer] Ron Howard; [executive producer] Steven Spielberg; the director of Iron Man, Jon Favreau."

Grazer recalled a meeting early on in the film's development when the team was discussing the title. "I said, 'We aren't really calling it [Cowboys & Aliens], are we?' [The others said,] 'Yeah, of course we are!' I was going, 'I don't get this at all.' "

The producer admitted that he occasionally allows himself to be involved with subpar material. "We know what excellence is," Grazer explained. "We know what better food is versus not good food. But there's a rationalizing process — 'That's good enough.' Anytime the lightbulb goes, 'That's good enough,' it's shitty!"

The film, which starred Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde, grossed $174.8 million worldwide on a $163 million budget. It currently has a 44 percent approval rating on review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

Email: Ryan.Gajewski@THR.com
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski

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