Here's a great report from the sets of WILD WILD WEST, and it sounds pretty darn cool as well. The Tourist and his lovely female companion for life, toured the sets and took mental pictures of it all so that they could report back. Groovy! And the bad guy.... Mr The Tourist, is Kenneth Branagh in the part originally meant for a shrill Mexican dwarf. This will undoubtedly be the biggest acting squish of Branagh's illustrious career. If Charlton Heston could play a Mexican, then Branagh can play a Mexican Dwarf. Ten to One they've rewritten the part to scale for guy. Tis shame, Lon Chaney would have done it with his legs tied taut against the back of his thighs, Tim Conway would have done it ala Dorf, and Tattoo would have been brilliant in the role. What will Branagh do?
Hi there. I am a long-time reader and first time writer. I just got back from a trip to Los Angeles, where my wife and I took the Warner Brothers tour on Monday, 7/13. Our tour guide informed us that, that very day, shooting would begin on ³Wild Wild West². He said the cast would include Will Smith as James West (which, though surprising, is now common knowledge, I think) and I believe Kevin Klein as Artemis Gordon. He also told us who would play the villain (Loveless?) but alas, I forgot.
What I didn¹t forget, and what may be of interest to you and your readers, were some of the interesting things we saw. We went past one stage with open doors, in which some workers were building what appeared to be 5-foot tall heads of presidents Lincoln and Washington. Several Lincolns, in fact. The guide told us they were oversized masks to be used in a Mardi-Gras sequence in Wild Wild West.
But even more interesting was the set we saw under construction. (I thought it was a little odd that a set was still being built if shooting was starting that day, but presumably they can simply leave those scenes until last.) This set was Loveless¹ (sp?) underground lair!
Inside the soundstage, a huge, wide, raised platform had been built. It sat atop a pyramid-like series of about 10-15 steps, which were painted silver-gray to look like steel. Protruding from the floor at the center of the platform were a series of old-fashioned looking copper-colored gears and levers, suggesting that the platform concealed some great machine. This same coppery color was the dominant color on the set, apart from the silver stairs. (Of course, that could all change with another coat of paint.) The guide told us that, besides being the villain¹s lair, the chamber housed a Œsecret doomsday device¹ - hence the gears. The guide also told us that the steps and platform would be the site of a song-and-dance sequence! I guess the film will be a little bit tongue-in-cheek.
Above and around the platform, stretching nearly to the soundstage¹s ceiling, were a series of wooden arches. These were clearly still being built (the guys with hammers crawling up there were a dead giveaway). It looked to me like the end result would be either a domed cave or tunnel, or perhaps a sewer locale.
Later, when touring the props department, we came to a room which the guide told us was equipped with an exact replica of every piece of furniture and decorative item found in the Oval Office. A lot of the stuff was missing, because (the guide said) it was needed for an oval office scene in Wild Wild West. We also saw a very old looking keyboard instrument that was tagged ³Hold for Wild Wild West². It was odd - it seemed too narrow to be a piano or organ. The keyboard was only about half as wide as usual.
One last interesting tidbit: We also got to see the Budweiser-Frogs swamp, which had been rearranged somewhat, and was being prepared for a Dr. Pepper commercial that day. Watch for a swamp or bayou looking Dr. Pepper ad in the near future.
If it¹s not taken, call me the Tourist.
