Okay. Go to Apple movie trailers (or wherever you can find it) and watch the trailer for this film. Because Russell Crowe is very nice at the acting, and Christian Bale always brings it, but ALAN TUDYK OWNS THAT TRAILER.

I had no idea what kind of role he had, but I never expected this and I should have. He's like lightning. How cool is he? I'm posting about it. Seriously.

Okay. I'm calm. Oh, and it's fairly spoilery (i.e. lays out the entire film like most trailers) but it still gave me joy.

-j.

joss | July 25, 03:30 CET

The poster reminds me of a famous still from Once Upon A Time In The West.

Also... whoa, stealth Joss post!

Craig Oxbrow | July 25, 04:58 CET

Nice poster. Nice trailer. I'm even more excited now. Alan's mustache and spectacles are awesome. I know I should stick to Whedonverse praise, but I got to say Ben Foster wowed me in that trailer. Sweet little Ben, that used to play with sweet little Jewel, is now looking tough and scary. Impressive.

thatweirdgirl | July 25, 05:25 CET

Okay. And now my brain implodes. I was positive -- I watched it three times -- that that was Alan with the beard going all Terminator. But then I saw him with his little glasses and I guess it's Ben Foster. I'm freaking 'cause even knowing that, I'd still swear it's Alan. Is it possible that I'm not that bright? 'Cause I've had my suspicions... or does Ben Foster look a whole lot like Alan Tudyk?

And if it isn't, it's past time someone did give Alan that role. He's well past lovable sidekick territory.

Man, am I confused and unsightly.

joss | July 25, 07:04 CET

Hmmm. Some purply guy seems bored...though not by the trailer for this movie. ;-)

Once Upon a Time in the West! That was one of those movies that was recommended here that I wanted to put on my Netflix queue when I had one. Good timing since I just got one. Thanks.

ETA: Joss posted with new info at the same time I did. So it was not some elaborate hoax born out of boredom after all. (Confused and unsightly? Isn't that what the web is for?)

[ edited by newcj on 2007-07-25 07:08 ]

newcj | July 25, 07:04 CET

The trailer in case anyone's interest is piqued.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/310toyuma/

Simon | July 25, 07:18 CET

Grrrr. I don't suppose the trailer's not working for anyone else? The Quicktime logo pops up as usual, but then a mysterious question mark hovers over it and... stays there. Grrrr.

Jobo | July 25, 09:32 CET

Purple W - what, no sneak peeks?? your past (and hopefully future) actors don't let you watch their movies in advance?
tres uncool. You should demand the Diva status you deserve! :)

hey, what about updates on projects? yes, we are a an unrully and demanding crowd. we must have our updates!

lordsketch | July 25, 10:00 CET

Man, am I confused and unsightly.

Yep, totally very much also thought that so I too was confused Joss, you're not alone. Except on the sightliness thing.

Shame because I really wanted to see him get his teeth into a villain but it still looks cool (if 'actioned up' a bit). Wonder if they'll change the ending ? Not always entirely convinced about Russell Crowe but I reckon he'll be good in this, looking forward to it.

ETA: And do we need a surer sign that the Western's dead than two posts from The Purple one that shall remain named Joss and no posting frenzy ? I think I just heard The Duke sigh.

[ edited by Saje on 2007-07-25 11:19 ]

Saje | July 25, 11:06 CET

No, that's not him. Alan has a mustache, but not full facial hair in the movie. He plays Doc Potter, the veterinarian who is brought along because they need a doctor.

There's a number of scenes with him in the trailer. I think the best is early on right after they take Crowe outside, and the words "The code a man lives by" come across the screen. It then flashes to a shot of Bale and Alan is right behind him in a brown vest and pants to the right side of the screen. There's also a fight scene in the camp towards the end of the trailer where you can briefly see Alan kicking butt behind Bale (he has a brown jacket and hat on in this scene).

I would love to see him get a meaty villian movie role! All one has to do is watch his episode of CSI from last year to know how well Alan can play one. That role still gives me shivers at the end.

zengrrl | July 25, 13:03 CET

I totally thought that was him too, Joss. Yes, he is soooo beyond lovable sidekick already.

zengirrl - that episodes of CSI was quite disturbing and freakin' fantastic.

Harmalicious | July 25, 14:34 CET

My husband is a huge Elmore Leonard fan (he wrote the short story on which the film is based) so he's talking about the movie on that fan website.

Our fandoms are colliding! Yeah, we're going to see this movie. Call the babysitter.

Clementine | July 25, 14:53 CET

I agree! Alan would be an incredible bad guy. He's great at lovable, supporting, smart and funny...I want to see him as demented. Oh boy, I bet he'd rock it hard. *imagines* Yes, Alan needs to be cast as a villain.

thatweirdgirl | July 25, 15:59 CET

So I guess Joss is just going to have to write something in which he can cast Alan Tudyk as the bad guy. A television show would give him the most opportunity to do things like that of course. What was that comment by Dawn Osteroff about the CW and wanting to work with Joss again?

La la la la la

newcj | July 25, 16:08 CET

Not counting the obvious, it has been a really long time since I've wanted to hang a movie poster on my wall!

Love the trailer, not as confused as some of us....
And I cannot wait for this movie!

mifeng | July 25, 17:19 CET

Untitled Alan Tudyk Is A Bad Guy Pilot. There, all ready to pitch.

dreamlogic | July 25, 17:20 CET

And do we need a surer sign that the Western's dead than two posts from The Purple one that shall remain named Joss and no posting frenzy ? I think I just heard The Duke sigh.

I don't think the Western's dead, but it certainly has been in suspended animation since Tombstone and Unforgiven. I would love to see a rebirth of the genre, so long as the entries are good. Of course, good movies aren't always known to make money (Just look at Cinderella Man or Serenity) but they will go a long way towards bringing new life to a dormant genre. Just look at the live-action movie musical. Disney tried to revive the genre with Newsies (also starring Christian Bale), but while the songs were mostly great and memorable, the story they were tied to wasn't (not the plot, mind you, but the execution). However, a couple of better, marginally well-performing live-action musicals later, and now it seems everyone wants to make one. In recent years, we have had a few well-received (critically, at least) westerns, including Open Range and The Proposition. Hell, even Serenity could partially be credited with renewed interest in the Western, if that does indeed happen. Maybe, if this movie gets people into the theatres (and I hope for both Alan's and Christian's sakes that it does), we will see more Westerns on the horizon in the near future.

TaraMaclay | July 25, 20:32 CET

Hope so but I also hope they don't go 'remake crazy' and instead try to find some original ideas (or adapt previously unadapted books). The idea of e.g. 'The Searchers' being remade induces cold sweats. And I thought 'Open Range' wasn't bad.

(I was being sort of tongue in cheek BTW, they've been saying the Western's dead since the 60s, maybe earlier ;)

And since absolutely no-one asked ;) (and in no order):

The Searchers
The Professionals
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Gunfighter
The Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Red River
The Shootist
True Grit
High Noon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Magnificent Seven
Unforgiven
The Big Country
Shane

Saje | July 25, 23:28 CET

What, Saje? Are those your favorites?

I LOVE Westerns. I just bought the Magnificent Seven dvd and we're watching the special features tonight. I rented the tape from the library about two weeks ago and got impressed all over again.

Have to admit I'm on a Western kick right now. Fistfull of Dollars was on tap last week (the very 1st spaghetti western!), Silverado and Unforgiven reside in my dvd display. DEADWOOD goes without saying, and American Outlaws is my oh-so-guilty pleasure. True Grit is there for sheer nostalgia (Daddy took me to see that when I was a youngun), and The Wild Bunch is... is... well, Peckinpah! And The Quick and The Dead, because it's cool, and because it's the Twilight Zone of Westerns (excepting the western eps of TZ, you know...).

That's my short list. Thanks for the inspiration, Saje. *smooch*

Willowy | July 26, 02:22 CET

Saje and TaraMaclay... I pray every day that the Western is not dead. Not only does this movie look amazing, but Ted Rossio and Terry Elliot (the writing team behind the 'Pirates' film trilogy... which I LOVED no matter what anyone says) have stated that they plan to sink there teeth into the Ol' West for their next franchise. Rumors float that they might work with Gore Verbinski on that one as well.

Oh yeah, and there's a very, VERY promising Man With No Name comics series coming from writer Christos Gage in the near future too.

Haunt | July 26, 04:04 CET

Haunt. No way.

Man With No Name? I can totally see it. Easily. Who's the artist? And will Eastwood's likeness be used? Bettah.

Who is Christos Gage?

Willowy | July 26, 04:12 CET

Willowy, if I'm making the link correctly you should be able to go here to read the full story.

And while on the subject of Westerns in comics, there's always the fantastic series 'Loveless'.

[ edited by Haunt on 2007-07-26 04:33 ]

Haunt | July 26, 04:29 CET

Oh, that could be very cool Haunt (though I don't agree that the MWNN was one of the first anti-heroes, there was plenty of darkness in Westerns before him - though he's right about the influence). I'm reading 'Loveless' in trade and quite enjoying it and I also got the first 'Jonah Hex' trade but haven't read it yet. And I guess the 'Dark Tower' mini counts which has also been good, with lovely art. There's also a post-apocalyptic comic called 'Wasteland' that has a lot of Western elements and is pretty good.

What, Saje? Are those your favorites?

They're the first 15 that came to mind Willowy so I guess, sort of. But reading it back I realised I missed 'Lonely Are the Brave', 'Destry Rides Again', "Winchester '73", 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' ... well, loads. Hmm, I see DVDs in my future ;).

Saje | July 26, 07:13 CET

And again I say, hurrah for Alan and his Western. MORE PLEASE. Part of the attraction for me with Firefly was the whole pomo western thing. I was like, 'Yes. Yes, let us have more horses and cows and braces and bar brawls and people saying 'ain't', thankyou.' Sadly it seemed this was the very thing that caused TPTB so much head scratching.

Saje, what an unreal list. Ah, memories. I wrote my first ever uni essay on this genre! The final scene of Shane... Dude... *sniffles* sorry, I seem to have something in... my eye... *sniffles*


Did you see my countryfolk's Aussie western 'The Proposition'?

Mythtaken | July 26, 14:54 CET

I haven't yet Mythtaken but it's on my list. Guy Pearce did great work in 'LA Confidential' and 'Memento' (long way from Mike in 'Neighbours') and it's also really interesting to see another culture's take on the Western, to see what they think/do when confronted with all that space (course, there haven't been that many set in the UK ;).

And yep, 'Shane' seems to kick up a lot of, err, "dust or something" in my house too ;).

Saje | July 26, 19:14 CET

What? No love for the original 3:10 to Yuma? It's one of my faves.

batmarlowe | July 26, 23:53 CET