August 11, 1998

AS you saw above, the current release date for the film is JULY 4, 1999. Last I heard, production is scheduled to continue into October, and then I assume it goes into post. Warner's copy in a special 4 page promo reads: "This time next year, July 4th weekend is going to be Wild!" Which brings us to another tid-bit of information... apparently this movie will be called "Wild Wild West" without the "The". The owner of the domain "The Wild Wild West" (not a TV show site), e-mailed me to say that he was discussing Warner's buying of his domain name, but then they informed him they wouldn't need his because there is no "The" in their title. I will post the pics that were included in the promo, but you can also see them at the Cinescape site (see above). An insider told me that the centerfold of this insert "gives away the centerpiece of the show - Loveless' weapon of mass distruction".

A note on the tarantulas: A fellow list member of the Wildwest TV-show list shared this info with us: "Previous rumors have mentioned giant metal spiders. "X" says live tarantulas were used with a minature model of the White House. They were trained to start out in a stack inside the model, then to crawl out and over the columns... "X" didn't know if the live spiders would be in the movie, or whether they'd be automagically replaced with computer-generated metal ones".

This same person also shared the following: "Kenneth Branaugh: stays in character when not in front of the camera. "X" said this can be a bit unnerving. Particularly in view of some of the details of Dr. Loveless' bedroom...The bed's headboard features a scene of naked nymphs cavorting in a forest. The bed has leather sheets, and assorted restraints, straps, etc."

Finally, for now :), I got the following sent to me by someone on-set: "Barry Sonnenfeld broke his hand punching Will Smith in the upper arm. Seems they were in a punching contest - and Barry lost..."

August 10, 1998

Wild Wild West shooting in New Mexico will take place between August 19 and August 28 outside Santa Fe city limits and at Cook Ranch south of the city. The scene will involve Union soldiers fighting Ken's gigantic evil weapon the Tarantula. Here again is the film office address for wannabe-extras (though it sounds like females might not make the cut, bummer) and those who want to work on the film: the New Mexico Film Office; Attn: Wild Wild West; P.O. Box 20003; Santa Fe, NM 87504-5003. Phone numbers are (800) 545-9871 or (505) 827-9810; or e-mail them. (August 10, thanks to Anonymous2)

August 1998

It has been reported that Elmer Bernstein will score his 205th film with WILD WILD WEST.