1. Ok, so last June, Robert Downey signed on to something called Cowboys and Aliens. Moderately exciting.
2. Yesterday, it was announced the Jon Favreau, directer of Iron Man, will direct. This is a big deal, Downey and Favreau make a good team, can’t get much better than this, right?
3. Wrong. The script is being written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Damon Lindelof, of Star Trek, Transformers, and Lost fame. Ohhh snap.
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Here's a strange and wonderful fact: Just a few short weeks ago, I had lunch with ALex Kurtzman's brother and his family. When they told me who they were, I almost exploded in geek joy all over them. It was too much for my heart to handle.
Omg..how do you know them?
I was out in Orange County on an interview and was scheduled to have lunch with a family named the Kurtzmans. We met at a church, and piled into two cars: 3 Kurtzmans into their car and me and their 15-year-old son, Josh, in my car.
As we were driving to lunch, we were talking about stuff we like and he asked if I like movies. I, of course, said yes. So we went back and forth on which ones we liked, trading quotes and favorite scenes.
He then asked if i had seen Transformers. So I said yes, and that I loved it, but was disappointed in the sequel. So he said he was to, and that his uncle wrote it.
It took me a few seconds, but I said, "Your uncle wrote that? Kurtzman… Is your uncle Alex Kurtzman?"
"Yeah."
"Like, as in, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci?"
"Yeah."
"As in, the same Alex Kurtzman that wrote Transformers 1 & 2, almost all of Alias, All of Fringe, and Star Trek?!!!"
"Uh huh. He's my uncle."
"Your dad's brother?"
"Yeah. We were on vacation in Australia this past summer, and found out that they had decided to have the world premiere of Star Trek there. So we called up Uncle Alex and asked if he could get us in. So he said he'd check. He called us back a few hours later and sent a limo and 5 VIP badges to us. We got to walk the red carpet and sit in the row right behind the cast during the screening! I mean, Zachary Quinto was two seats from me! Chris Pine was 4!"
"Oh my gosh Josh. I think you just blew my mind…"
If only I had gotten that job…
Oh and once we got to the restaurant, I verified all of this with his dad, Jim Kurtzman, who is an OB-GYN in Newport Beach.
One brother a screenwriter. Another a doctor. Wonder if their family's loaded…
That is probably the craziest story I've ever heard. So jealous.