Now we get into some real surprises.
Jon Favreau, Ron Howard and Roberto Orci showed up to present us with roughly 40 minutes of footage from Cowboys & Aliens. Favs said that even producer Steven Spielberg hadn't seen what they were going to show us.
Now, they were very, very specific that we shouldn't get too particular in what we saw. Favreau basically got down on hands and knees and said, "if you write on the Internet, you can say you liked it - or didn't like it - but please don't go any further than that."
So, with that, allow me to just say this: Daniel Effing Craig. Daniel M. Effing Craig, to be more specific.
Here's a guy I really only know from being James Bond. (And the South African toughie in Munich.) He ascends to incredible badass heights here. Iconic. It's no coincidence he is sharing the spotlight here with Harrison Ford. There is well earned torch-passing going on here.
Paul Dano is amazing, too. I've noticed that Favreau's way of directing actors seems to almost have a Robert Altman-lite quality to it. In the case of Iron Man 2, maybe a little too much improvising got away from him, but it seems to be working wonders in Cowboys & Aliens.
Okay - one minor spoiler - I'm 99% certain I heard a Wilhelm Scream in the mix.
Lastly: reason 756 to love the Alamo Drafthouse? Clancy Brown's title card got the biggest applause of them all.
