November 22, 1997

'Uncle Bob' comes through for us in a big way! Our missing family relative dropped by for Thanksgiving dinner, and while we were passing him the cranberries he told us a whole ton of info about this soon-to-be-filming project that perks up our interest level more than a few notches. We even let him have seconds first to loosen his tongue some more.

This project has all of those fun things the old series had going for it: classic turn-of-the-century science fiction/fantasy escapism and good ol' fashioned western adventure. There's a scene like the ones we're used to watching in the James Bond movies where Smith, Clooney and Conrad (he's back!) find out about all the new weaponry and technologies being invented by Mark Twain, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and others. The U.S. government has hired these writers to design 'futuristic' gadgets so they'll all have a 19th century 'look and feel' to them. Expect to see some neat stuff using steam power and similar Victorian-age technology.

If they stick close to the script currently in use, the entire movie will be chock full of references to every big media event of the past twenty years. Everything from Bonanza to the X-Files will be given an homage to. The James West musical theme will ring out whenever West is going to come save the day, except when something like, oh, the Bonanza theme strikes up unexpectantly. The producers want to create some nostalga for the audience.

Storyline is like this: there are two Asian contingents that are more advanced than the Americans in many ways. Apparently the 'evil' Chinese are trying to retrieve a crashed UFO spacecraft and bring it back to China to backengineer, but it sinks in San Francisco Bay, where it is recovered by the 'good' Chinese guys.

As we mentioned earlier, Uncle Bob tells us that Robert Conrad is back for more than just a cameo role. Now he's a Chicago cop around the turn of the century. Bob also hinted there was something about the release date being purposfully set a couple weeks before the release of the new Star Wars film because it even has some tie-ins to that!

He stopped short of learning any more about the film right now though. He doesn't want to ruin his enjoyment when he goes to see the picture. But from what he did tell us, it sounds like it'll be a lot of fun. [Thanks to our 'Uncle Bob'. You have to visit us more often!]

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I love your eyes and your wild wild hair!!!

THE WILD WILD WEST. Hmmmm. I have had the misfortune of NEVER seeing an episode, not one chapter of Jim and Artemis' exploits. All I new was they were set in the horse riding days, and that they worked weird science fiction elements in. Personally I always thought of BRISCO COUNTY when I heard the premise. Well the next thing I learn is that Will Smith is Jim and George Clooney is Artemis. Well that pairing sounds... cool.

So it was with a sense of discovery that I waded into the script. To tell the truth the first 40 pages/minutes were "ok", but once the mystery begins unveiling and all the super cool gadgets begin unfurling. Well it's cool. Like some sort of wild and crazy Jules Verne/H.G.Welles pulp cover. The roles are written to fit Will Smith and George Clooney to the "T". I found the script, much more enjoyable that MEN IN BLACK. And if the effects people can deliver on the Giant "Tarantula", not what you think. I won't say. But I guarantee this is the type of film that I imagine Tim Burton could have alot of fun with. And Barry Sonnenfield will have a blast with it. I thought I wasn't going to like it, but the last 70 or so pages are very cool. Artemis' character has been flushed out and will be great. This is gonna be a fun one.