Saddle Up and Ride with the Cowboys & Aliens

We had a long conversation with Jon Favreau about Cowboys & Aliens, but we had a particularly memorable moment when he shared a special insider treat with the group: the official Cowboys & Aliens challenge coin.

Favreau handed to each of us a thick, gold coin, adorned with pistols on one side (Cowboys!) and an alien spacecraft on the other (Aliens!). The design gives you an idea of what to expect from the alien spacecrafts in the movie.

Favreau went on to explain the significance behind the challenge coin:

"In the military - when we would work with the Air Force a lot, on Iron Man and Iron Man 2, we were at Edwards Air Force Base.  I would shake hands with people, and I would feel they would stick a coin in my hands, right?  It was a challenge coin.

"The reason they call it challenge coins is, if you don't have your unit's coin with you when you're out drinking, and somebody pulls the coin out at the bar, if anybody in the bar doesn't have a coin, they have to buy a round for everybody.  But, if you challenge everybody and everybody has it, you have to buy the round for everybody.  It was also a sign of respect, that they liked the way the crew was, and the way we treated, you know, them, and who were - it was a sign of respect to give a coin.  So I had them made up for Iron Man 2.  And it became like a tradition.  So I had them made up for Cowboys & Aliens also.  I made them look a little more old school."

Let the games begin.

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Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Sam Rockwell blow our fanboy minds

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