Wild Wild West
Directed by	Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by	Jon Peters Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by	Jim Thomas John Thomas S.S. Wilson Brent Maddock Jeffrey Price Peter S. Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1 1953) is an Emmy Award -winning American Filmmaker and Television director For other uses see John Peters. Jon Pagano Peters (born on 2 June 1945 in Van Nuys California to Jack Peters Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1 1953) is an Emmy Award -winning American Filmmaker and Television director James "Jim" Thomas is a Screenwriter living in California John Thomas is an American Screenwriter based in California. With his brother Jim Thomas he wrote or was substantially involved in the screenplays SS Wilson is a writer of cult and mainstream Science fiction, and is probably best known for writing (and occasionally directing with writing partner Brent Maddock Brent Maddock is a writer/director who has worked on several high profile projects like Short Circuit, Tremors, and Wild Wild West Seaman
Starring	Will Smith Kevin Kline Kenneth Branagh Salma Hayek M. Emmet Walsh Ted Levine Musetta Vander Bai Ling
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Editing by	Jim Miller
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	June 30, 1999 (USA)
Running time	107 min. Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24 1947 is an American Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and two time Tony Award -winning stage and film Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is an Emmy Award -winning Academy Award -nominated Northern Irish Actor Salma Hayek Jiménez (born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American Michael Emmet Walsh (born March 22, 1935) is an American Character actor who has appeared in over 100 Film and Television Frank Theodore "Ted" Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American Actor, perhaps best known for playing Serial killer Musetta Van Der Merwe (born May 26 1963) is an Actress and model. Note Bai Ling (zh-cn 白玲 is also the leader of Radio Guangdong. Elmer Bernstein ( April 4 1922 - 18 August 2004) was an Academy and two-time Golden Globe award winning American Jim Miller is an American film editor Along with Paul Rubell, Miller was nominated for an Academy Award for Film Editing for the film Collateral Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Language	English
Budget	$170 million US (est. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States )
Gross revenue	$222,105,681 (worldwide)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Wild Wild West (1999) is a science fiction action-comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline (in two roles, Artemus Gordon and President Ulysses S. Grant), Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek. The year 1999 in film involved some significant events and was arguably the most successful year for films released in the 1990s Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1 1953) is an Emmy Award -winning American Filmmaker and Television director Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24 1947 is an American Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and two time Tony Award -winning stage and film Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is an Emmy Award -winning Academy Award -nominated Northern Irish Actor Salma Hayek Jiménez (born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American

In the spirit of the original TV series, the film features highly advanced steampunk technology and many bizarre mechanical inventions, including innumerable inventions of the mechanological geniuses Artemus Gordon and Arliss Loveless, including nitroglycerine-powered penny-farthing bicycles, spring-loaded notebooks, bulletproof chainmail, flying machines, steam tanks, and Loveless's giant mechanical spider. The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons (104 episodes from September 17, 1965 to Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and Speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s The ordinary, high wheel or penny-farthing was the first true Bicycle with which actual speed and distance could be achieved in a practical manner

Plot

The film opens at a railroad water station in Louisiana in 1869, introducing one of the main protagonists, trigger-happy Cpt. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Jim West (Will Smith), spying on the actions of a group of ex-Confederate soldiers working under General "Bloodbath" McGrath, a personal nemesis of West. Following a runaway ride on a wagon filled with bottles of nitroglycerine, West arrives at a saloon where General McGrath and his rag-tag band of rebel soldiers are enjoying a raucous party. Nitroglycerin ( NG) ( US spelling also known as nitroglycerine, ( UK Spelling trinitroglycerin, trinitroglycerine McGrath, whose head is fitted with a small swivelling trumpet to replace a missing ear, himself is seduced by an unlikely prostitute who, having seen McGrath's men carrying a kidnapped man out of the building, attempts to hypnotize the General. West breaks in and attempts to kill McGrath, but is stopped by the prostitute, allowing McGrath to escape. West fights of a number of McGrath's men, and finds himself in a Mexican standoff with the prostitute, who unmasks his disguise to reveal himself as the second protagonist, gadget-obsessed master of disguise US Marshal Artemis Gordon (Kevin Kline). Mexican standoff is a strategic deadlock or Impasse, in which no party can act in a way that ensures victory Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24 1947 is an American Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and two time Tony Award -winning stage and film The two escape from the saloon as the wagonload of nitroglycerine tumbles down a nearby slope, destroying the building.

In Washington D. C, West and Gordon meet with President Ulysses S Grant, who informs them of the disappearance of America's key scientists. Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States Grant charges the two with finding the scientists within one week, before he inaugurates the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit. Promontory is a location in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, centered approximately at, at an Elevation of 1494 meters (4902 En route to New Orleans on board The Wanderer, a luxury train fitted with an array of bizarre gadgets, West and Gordon come to blows before putting aside their differences. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The two arrive in New Orleans at the mansion of Dr Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a brilliant ex-Confederate scientist confined to a steam-powered wheelchair after losing much of his lower body during the Civil War , who is hosting a party for the elite of southern society. Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is an Emmy Award -winning Academy Award -nominated Northern Irish Actor West mistakes a guest for Gordon in disguise, making a comic error that leads to the guests leading West out for a lynching. Using this as a distraction, Gordon (in disguise) roams the mansion and comes across the film's main female character, Rita Escobar, rescuing her from the house. West, trying to talk his way out of being lynched, escapes with Gordon and Rita during the hiatus.

On board his armoured steamboat, Loveless, hosting a reception for foreign dignitaries, demonstrates his newest weapon - a steam-powered tank. The tank uses General McGrath's soldiers as target practice, infuriating the General. Loveless, having shot McGrath, explains to the assembled ambassadors the immense power of his new mechanised forces, and invites the dignitaries to a reception at his laboratory to explain his future plans. Gordon, West, and Rita, arriving at the scene of the massacre, find the dying McGrath who reveals Loveless's past crimes. West explains he has witnessed a similar massacre at a town called New Liberty in Illinois, and realises if Loveless is responsible, then he is planning something. Loveless boards his armoured train and heads towards Utah, pursued by Gordon, West, and Rita on board The Wanderer. The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States. Using his advanced mechanical devices, Loveless relocates his own train behind The Wanderer. West, making use of one of Gordon's inventions, disables Loveless's train, but not before Loveless uses a locomotive-mounted cannon to stop The Wanderer. Rita, afraid of being recaptured by Loveless, accidentally releases sleeping gas. West and Gordon wake up as Loveless pulls away in The Wanderer with Rita, informing them of his intentions to capture President Grant at Promontory Point. Gordon and West find themselves incarcerated in a strange prison, fitted with metal collars and enclosed only by a wire strung at ground level. West, ignoring Gordon's advice, crosses the wire, releasing two lethal flying disks attracted by the collars' magnetic fields. Following a panicked dash through a cornfield, the two leap into a mud-filled pit, escaping the discs. A comic scene follows in which Gordon loses his temper with West and accidentally reverses the polarity of their magnets, causing the two collars to stick to each other. Eventually, Gordon removes their collars and the two stumble across Loveless's private railroad track, which leads them to The Wanderer and Loveless' industrial complex. Here, they witness Loveless's ultimate weapon - a gargantuan steam-powered metal spider, bristling with cannons, steam-assisted Gatling guns, and a powerful explosive flamethrower. The Gatling gun is considered by some to have been the first Machine gun: although it did not automatically reload under its own power it was capable of firing continuously Loveless, driving the spider, captures Gordon and President Grant from the inauguration ceremony at Promontory Point, whilst West is apparently killed by one of Loveless's bodyguards.

At his industrial complex, a euphoric Loveless reveals his plan to defeat the US army with his mechanised forces and divide the United States between Great Britain, France, Spain, Mexico, Native American tribes, and himself. His associate ambassadors demand that President Grant first legally sign a treaty, but when Grant refuses, Loveless threatens to execute Gordon. Before he can do so, he is interrupted by a belly-dancer, who turns out to be West in disguise. West, protected from the bullet fired at him by a concealed layer of bulletproof chainmail in his jacket, disguises himself as the belly dancer as a scheme to rescue the hostages. However, when West's brassiere is revealed to be a flamethrower, the plot is uncovered and Loveless escapes with an unconscious Grant to his metal spider. Gordon and West, using a flying machine developed by Gordon, catch up with the spider, bombing it with nitroglycerine and rescuing Grant before crashing into the spider. Loveless offers the two their lives in exchange for working for him - West's reply leads to him being dropped into the engine room to defend himself against the spider's crew, all of whom are fitted with bizarre prosthetics. After West beats the crew, Loveless himself descends into the engine room, allowing Gordon and Grant to take over the spider's control bridge. Loveless, making use of four hydraulic mechanical legs, pins West to the floor before his machine is damaged by Gordon. Pleading for his life, Loveless drags himself back to his wheelchair as the spider approaches a canyon. Gordon stops the spider at the last moment, sending West and Loveless spinning towards the edge of the deck, where they become wedged by the wheelchair. West releases the wheelchair, sending both him and West plummeting into the canyon, but West is able to grab a chain and so saves himself.

At the second inauguration ceremony at Promontory Point, Grant promotes Gordon and West as the first two agents of his newly-formed Secret Service. The film ends with a typically clichéd scene of Western films, with Gordon and West seemingly riding through a typical Western landscape on horseback. The camera pans out to reveal that they are actually piloting the immense steam-spider into the sunset.

Reaction

Will Smith himself often jokes about the film, acknowledging his dislike for it in several interviews with the media.

The film was almost universally panned by critics. Robert Conrad, who starred in the original 60s series, repeatedly panned the movie and attended the 20th annual Razzies in 2000 to accept three of the five worst-movie awards for the picture. For the US judge see Robert J Conrad Robert Conrad (born March 1, 1935) is an American Actor

After making a very respectable $50 million on its opening weekend, the box office numbers dropped off precipitously after that. At the end of its US theatrical run, Wild Wild West made $113 million, well below its grossly inflated $170 million production budget. It made just over $222 million worldwide.

In 1997, writer Gilbert Ralston sued Warner Brothers over the upcoming motion picture based on the series. Gilbert Alexander Ralston (1912 Newcastle County Down Ireland – 1999 Mount Pleasant South Carolina) was an American Screenwriter Ralston helped create The Wild Wild West the television series, and scripted the pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno. The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons (104 episodes from September 17, 1965 to " 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. "^[1] 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 60's 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 Brothers ended up paying his family between $600,000 and $1. 5 million. ^[2]

Soundtrack

Like most of Will Smith's films during this period, a hip hop single by the rapper/actor served as the theme song for the film, despite its inconsistency with the Western tone of the film. Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. "Wild Wild West", anchored by a sample from Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit "I Wish", was a #1 hit on the U. "Wild Wild West" is the title of a hip hop song written by Will Smith as the theme song for Smith's film Wild Wild West. Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13 1950 name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris) is an Events January-February January 5 - Bob Dylan releases Desire January 6 - Peter Frampton " I Wish " ( 1976) is a hit Funk Song by Stevie Wonder. S. pop charts. The song features guest vocals from R&B group Dru Hill, and was a star-making vehicle for Dru Hill lead singer Sisqó. Dru Hill is an American singing group most popular during the late 1990s whose repertoire included R&B, soul, and Gospel music Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9 1978 in Baltimore Maryland) better known by his Stage name Sisqó, is a Grammy Award -nominated Old school rapper Kool Moe Dee had recorded a "Wild Wild West" single of his own in 1987, and re-performs the chorus to his "Wild Wild West" as the chorus of this "Wild Wild West". Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded Hip hop music (1979–1984 and often by extension the music in the period preceding it ( see Roots Mohandas Dewese (born 8 August 1962) better known as Kool Moe Dee, was an American old-school MC prominent in the late 1970s throughout See also Musical groups established in 1987 Record labels established in 1987 Events The song also won a Razzie Award. The song Bailamos, sung by Enrique Iglesias, was also featured on the soundtrack and DVD, as was "Bad Guys Always Die," a collaboration between Dr. Dre and Eminem. " Bailamos " is a Latin pop song from singer Enrique Iglesias, sung in English and Spanish Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born 8 May 1975 is a Spanish pop Singer-songwriter and Model. Andre Romelle Young (born February 18 1965 primarily known by his stage name Dr Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17 1972 known as Slim Shady and his primary Stage name Eminem, is an Academy Award -winning This marked Eminem's first appearance with Dr. Dre.

The majority of the soundtrack, however, was composed by Elmer Bernstein. Elmer Bernstein ( April 4 1922 - 18 August 2004) was an Academy and two-time Golden Globe award winning American

Shooting locations

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.

In other media

Wild Wild West is mentioned on a Season 3 episode of South Park entitled "Cat Orgy" where in Cartman dresses up to resemble Jim West and performs a short rap parodying Will Smith's single "Wild Wild West" (this was around the same time this film and the South Park movie were released). South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central " Cat Orgy " is the 38th episode of Comedy Central 's animated series South Park. Eric Theodore Cartman,commonly referred to by his Family name, Cartman, is one of the four main Fictional characters in the animated series South Park Bigger Longer & Uncut is an Academy Award -nominated Animated satirical Comedy The mechanical spider has been parodied in other media, including The Simpsons episode The Sweetest Apu. “ The Sweetest Apu ” is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons ’ thirteenth season. At Warner Brothers Movie World in the Gold Coast, Australia, the ride formerly known as the "Wild Wild West" (now known as "Wild West Falls") was released to coincide with this movie. Warner Bros Movie World is a popular movie related Theme park on the Gold Coast in Australia. This article is about the Australian city Gold Coast For other uses see Gold Coast. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Wild West Falls Adventure Ride (formerly "Wild Wild West" is an 8-seater raft ride at Warner Bros

See also

• Weird West
• List of most expensive films

Footnotes

External links

• Wild Wild West at the Internet Movie Database
• Wild Wild West at Rotten Tomatoes
• Wild Wild West at Box Office Mojo
• Wild Wild West on Metacritic.com
• Budgets (Record-setting)- The Numbers.com
• Wild Wild West on The Numbers.com
• Adudathuda DVD podBLAST alternative DVD commentary for Wild Wild West