Regardless of what you think of Platinum Studios, you have to admit, it does know how to market and spin itself to megabucks. Cowboys and Aliens, the sci-fi western that finally saw the light of day last year, was sold to Dreamworks to be turned into a major motion picture, after 10 years in on again off again development hell.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. is in negotiations to play the lead in the the flick.

“Cowboys & Aliens” derives from a graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley from an original idea by Rosenberg. The story centers on an Old West battle between the Apache and Western settlers, including a former Union Army gunslinger named Zeke Jackson (Downey), that is interrupted by a spaceship crashing into the prairie near Silver City, Ariz.

via THR

It’s all about who you know, right? Or is it all about who you can blackmail? Or could it be it’s all about who you sleep with? The answer might surprise you.

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You may remember the brouhaha surrounding the Platinum Studios plot to get Cowboys and Aliens to hit the number one spot several months ago, as a way of generating interest among the “Hollywood Elite” to pick the property for a film development deal.

Well apparently it worked! Variety is reporting DreamWorks and Universal Pictures have joined forces to turn the comic into a movie.

Imagine partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard will produce along with Platinum Studios chairman-CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Ervin Rustemagic and Rich Marincic co-produce.

Script will be written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby.

While a lot of people in the industry called foul (or is it fowl?) on the whole “Rise to Number One Scheme”, Platinum was able to pull it off and made the deal they were looking for. I did read the first issue - it wasn’t the best piece of comic work out there, but it was enjoyable for what it was. And, remember Rosenberg is the one that brought the indie comic Men In Black to the big screen, and it was a huge success. We’ll continue to follow the story and the backlash this report is sure to generate over the next couple of years.

via Variety