Does anything need to be said??! New Cowboys and Aliens Trailer!

.....and its a good one. The first trailer was pretty darn good, this one kicks it out of the park! It really gets into the story more and some of the new footage they show is equal parts VERY cool, and a little unsettling (like what looks like some of the Towns folk hanging from alien crafted wires in some hidden location, creeepy). Also, as if the big budget Weird West-ness of it wasn't enough, it also has Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, and Clancy Brown.....I mean Come ON! I can not wait for this film!



I really hope it does well so that the studios see that Weird Western ARE a viable genre to be explored and not just the fare of the passionate but (a lot of the time) either underfunded or under-talented lot. I guess we'll find out.

The official synopsis: Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers—Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci—he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Trails of Tarnation!

Once again Emporium reader Shonokin has given me the heads up on a very cool new nugget of Weird Western gold. Its a webseries called Trails of Tarnation.

TRAILS OF TARNATION is a twelve-part serial western following the exploits of Derek and Jeff, two cowboys on the run from the corrupt Sheriff Maynard Lumbar.

Full of cheesy sets, bad dubbing, subversive humor, and a look that makes it feel like a bad 60s or 70s Sunday morning TV program, Trails of Tarnation is all kinds of awesome.

The show was created by Nicholas Gurewitch who used to do a Webcomic series called Perry Bible Fellowship. I've been hearing a lot of PBF recently but unfortunately the series has ended and the only way to read the comics is by search engine, but you most definitely should!

They have a Facebook Page thats full of behind the scenes pictures, a podcast link, and an interview about the show.

Heres the first episode, and then afterwards you shuld go to their website and give them some love, it looks like this show is going to be pretty incredible!

Black Coffee: Trails of Tarnation - Chapter 1 from New Picture Agencies on Vimeo.

2 Years of the Weird West Emporium!

2 Years ago today I started this website! You know how people say that they can't believe so much time has passed in regards to something? Well that is absolutely true here, I cant believe its been two years. Seriously.

Originally this site had been a personal blog, except I only had one post (About my friend breaking her collar bone in Roller Derby) that I had done about a year previously...and then it just sat and, as blogs sometimes tend to do, it didn't go anywhere.

Then one day I was scouring the internet for a good website about The Weird West. I came across at least one, Steampunk Central which I had been to before. It was from Steampunk Central that I had first heard of the Legend TV series. At the time I re-found it however, the site was closed down, shuttered up, just a bunch of broken links.

Everything else I found online were either pictures, or reviews of Weird West/Western Steampunk media. A few of the movies on these lists got me on the road to the Weird West. Movies like Billy the Kid vs. Dracula and The Valley of Gwangi were some of my first exposure to the genre:



...and of course Wild Wild West:



....but those lists weren't what I was looking for. I was looking for something more comprehensive. Something like Paul Green's Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns except online. So I decided to start the website on my own.

I just reached 50 followers! I wanted to thank each and every one of you for finding my little website interesting enough to bookmark and revisit on occasion. I know the Emporium has been a little quiet lately, unfortunately real life tends to get in the way sometimes, but I'm not going anywhere and the Emporium isn't closing anytime soon (You'll be the first to know if it ever does). Expect some new posts soon. There will be one tomorrow and then maybe one or two next week, but Ill try to keep the posting on my normal non-semi-regular schedule.

Until then however here's to many more years of Weird West Emporium goodness, and Yippee ki-yay, Mamma Jamma!