Connection with the previous post (DOC HOLLYWOOD): Jefferey Price had a screenwriting credit on both films both films.
RATINGS: IMDB ― 4.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 17%, ME ― 60%
Artemus Gordon: I've been trying to place myself in Loveless' shoes.
Capt. James West: Good luck with that one.
Artemus Gordon: What could this demented maniac with no reproductive organs, want with Rita?
Artemus Gordon: [Rita falls through the train's sliding roof, beside West, unseen by Gordon] Which is not to say Rita doesn't possess a beauty worthy of a Shakespeare sonnet or a Botticelli painting. My god, the curvature of her buttocks and the swell of that magnificent bosom. So full, so sumptous, so...
Artemus Gordon: [turns and notices Rita] ... what were all those foreign ministers doing at Loveless' party? This is what really puzzles me, did you have any idea there were so many, so foreign, so...
[quietly to West]
Artemus Gordon: How long has she been here?
Capt. James West: Somewhere around Botticelli's buttocks.
Artemus Gordon: I am profoundly sorry.
Kevin Kline as Artemus Gordon
Will Smith turned down the lead role in The Matrix (1999) to star in this movie, being a fan of the television series. He later said this was the worst decision he made in his career.
Though a box-office failure in the U.S. (it managed to turn a profit overseas), it's commonly joked that the only reason the film earned any money at all, is because unaccompanied minors would buy tickets to this film, then use them to sneak into screenings of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) and American Pie (1999).
The film underwent costly re-shoots in an attempt to inject some humor after it was found that test audiences weren't sure if it was supposed to be a comedy.
Will Smith said that he knew the movie wasn't any good and he was embarrassed when it earned almost fifty million dollars in its opening weekend. Years later, Smith apologized publicly to Robert Conrad (star of the original television series) and said now that he was older and more experienced, he understood Conrad's anger and criticism of the film version, as well as Conrad's refusal to make a cameo appearance in it.
When Kenneth Branagh was in an articulated metal platform as Dr. Loveless, he actually was seated in the device in a kneeling position. He would have to get up every few minutes and walk around to get the circulation back in his legs, as they would constantly go numb from being in that position for an extended period of time.
Robert Conrad was initially approached by Barry Sonnenfeld to make a cameo appearance as President Ulysses S. Grant. He turned down the offer after reading the script, due to what he felt was its poor quality and lack of loyalty for the original series, on which it was based.
When this film swept the 20th Annual Razzie Awards, winning five statuettes including Worst Picture, Robert Conrad, who played James West in the original 1960s television series, accepted three of the awards in person, as his way of expressing his low opinion of what had been done with his source material.
Mel Gibson was set to star as James West, and Richard Donner (who had directed three episodes of The Wild Wild West (1965)) was set to direct, with a script by Shane Black, back when Warner Bros. announced the plans to make the movie in 1992. However, they both dropped out and went on to do Maverick (1994). After Gibson dropped out, Tom Cruise was attached to star, before dropping out to star in Mission: Impossible (1996).
The characters of "Spike Guy" and "Knife Guy" were added to the movie and inserted into the climax after test audiences found the heroes fighting only Loveless' beauties to be very odd.
Kevin Smith has said that the giant spider was producer Jon Peters' idea for the later-abandoned "Superman Lives" project with Nicolas Cage and Tim Burton.
Belle was originally cast with, and filmed with British actress Phina Oruche. Reportedly, the chemistry needed for the bathtub love scene wasn't there. The scene was recast and re-shot with Garcelle Beauvais. However, Oruche was not told, and found out she was no longer in the film at the premiere in Los Angeles.
The shot of the puppy looking into General "Bloodbath" McGrath's hearing aid is a visual reference to 'His Master's Voice', a painting by Francis Barraud. The image of Nipper the dog listening to a gramophone was used for decades as the logo of RCA Victor (and still is, in North America); in Europe it's known more recently as the logo for HMV media stores.
In the scene where Jim West and Artemus Gordon ride away on their horses, in the desert from the train, off to avenge Loveless again, the original musical score from the television series plays.
There was a recurring villain on the television series named Dr. Loveless, but he was a dwarf rather than an amputee, and his first name was Miguelito, not Arliss.
This is the second movie in which Kevin Kline plays both the President of the United States and the man impersonating the President. The first was Dave (1993).
Barry Sonnenfeld, Kevin Kline, Salma Hayek, Will Smith, and in fact half the staff at Warner Bros. hate this film. Hayek in particular thought she was being underused, while Kline considered himself too good of an actor for the finished product.
George Clooney was attached to play Artemus Gordon, but turned it down reportedly because it was a supporting part.
Dr. Loveless demands the "immediate and unconditional surrender of the United States" from President Grant. Ulysses S. Grant's nickname during the Civil War was "Unconditional Surrender", which made use of his initials.
Artemus Gordon's Nitro Cycle is in the collection of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Alabama, just east of Birmingham, Alabama. It is above the entrance to the gift shop near the entrance to the museum.
Ted Levine grew up watching the original television series. Levine said he enjoyed working on the film, but because there were so many writers revising the script, there was no center, causing the story to be all over the place. He attributed that to the film's failure, as well as Will Smith's miscasting.
At an official 150 million dollars (unofficial 170 million dollars) it stands as the most expensive movie produced by Warner Bros. and the most expensive movie released in 1999.
Kenneth Branagh immersed himself in the American Civil War to bone up on his character.
Although the opening credits are styled after the opening of the 1960's television series, the decision was made to use a generic piece of music instead of the original Wild Wild West theme. The original theme, however, is heard on the soundtrack near the climax of the film.
The film cast includes one Oscar winner: Kevin Kline; and three Oscar nominees: Will Smith, Kenneth Branagh, and Salma Hayek.
The only building which was not destroyed in Silverado is the "Lucky Hotel."
According to screenwriters S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, their original script was rewritten almost entirely from their draft. The duo, who have worked on several films together, claimed their script was heavily rewritten by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, with further rewrites by an uncredited Jim Kouf, in an attempt to add more action and comedy to a script that was a mostly serious, dialog-driven mystery western. Entire additions, such as the villain, most of the jokes and action scenes, and the entire 3rd act involving the giant spider, were new without their input. Wilson and Braddock tried to get their names taken off from the film after seeing the final product, and they have since refused to work with a major studio because of the experience.
The sequences on both Artemus Gordon's and Dr. Loveless' trains interiors were shot on sets at Warner Bros. The train exteriors were shot in Idaho.
The Reno train featured in the film is on display at Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona.
In 1997, writer Gilbert Ralston sued Warner Bros. over the upcoming motion picture based on the series. Ralston helped create The Wild Wild West (1965) television series, and scripted the pilot episode, The Wild Wild West: The Night of the Inferno (1965). In a deposition, Ralston explained that in 1964 he was approached by producer Michael Garrison who '"said he had an idea for a series, good commercial idea, and wanted to know if I could glue the idea of a western hero and a James Bond type together in the same show." Ralston said he then created the Civil War characters, the format, the story outline and nine drafts of the script that was the basis for the television series. It was his idea, for example, to have a secret agent named Jim West who would perform secret missions for a bumbling Ulysses S. Grant. Ralston's experience brought to light a common Hollywood practice of the 1950s and 1960s, when television writers, who helped create popular series, allowed producers or studios to take credit for a show, thus cheating the writers out of millions of dollars in royalties. Ralston died in 1999, before his suit was settled. Warner Bros. ended up paying his family between 600,000 and 1.5 million dollars.
The scene where Dr. Loveless' train is raised on four girders outside of the train tunnel was all done digitally. A real train was used when it was finally back on its tracks and the girders going back inside the train, which was also done digitally.
The locomotive in the film (#25 William Mason) was previously used in The Great Locomotive Chase (1956). "Chase" also featured Virginia & Truckee Railroad #22 "Inyo", which was used in The Wild Wild West television series.
An exploding tower bears an advertisement for a product named Kasdan, evidently a reference to Lawrence Kasdan who has worked with star Kevin Kline on several occasions. Furthermore, the name of the town destroyed by the tarantula is Silverado (1985), a western on which they had both worked together.
The film bears significant resemblance to Batman: The Animated Series: Showdown(1995) featuring Jonah Hex.
In the transition shot between Rita leaving West and Gordon and the two men riding the giant spider back to Washington, D.C., there is a sandstone butte shaped as though it is giving the audience "The Finger".
Tim Curry, Johnny Depp, and Matthew McConaughey were considered for the role of Artemus Gordon.
Much of the 'Wild West' footage was shot around Santa Fe, New Mexico, particularly at the western town set at the Cooke Movie Ranch. During the shooting of a sequence involving stunts and pyrotechnics, a planned building fire grew out of control and quickly overwhelmed the local fire crews that were standing by. Much of the town was destroyed before the fire was contained.
Asia Argento was considered for the role of Rita Escobar.
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The sequences on both Artemus Gordon's and Dr. Loveless' trains interiors were shot on sets at Warner Bros. The train exteriors were shot in Idaho on the Camas Prairie Railroad. The Wanderer is portrayed by the Baltimore & Ohio 4-4-0 No. 25, one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in the U.S. Built in 1856 at the Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts, it was later renamed The "William Mason" in honor of its manufacturer. During pre-production the engine was sent to the steam shops at the Strasburg Railroad for restoration and repainting. The locomotive is brought out for the B&O Train Museum in Baltimore's "Steam Days".
In 1997, one of the hottest future Warner Bros. productions was a Superman reboot entitled "Superman Lives" and to be produced by Jon Peters. Peters hired Kevin Smith to write a screenplay for the film and demanded a scene involving Superman fighting a giant spider. The project was scrapped and never filmed; however, the giant spider fighting the heroes was included at the film's conclusion, which is also produced by Peters.
Wild Wild West is featured in episode 257 of the "bad movie" podcast, We Hate Movies.
The part of Rita Escobar was originally offered to Jennifer Lopez, but she turned it down. It was then offered to Penélope Cruz, who also turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with her film Volavérunt (1999). At the end, it was given to Salma Hayek.
The flying sequence with Will Smith and Kevin Kline was shot with blue screens with the background later added digitally.
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