Episode
Wild Wild West (1999), plus how it affected The Matrix and The Iron Giant
- Podcast
- Film Stories with Simon Brew
- Published
- Apr 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2660
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/WHYNOW6699545694.mp3
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Summary
The summer of 1999 brought with it some huge successes, and also the combination of Will Smith, Salma Hayek and Kevin Kline in Wild Wild West. Based on the TV show from the 1960s, this became a hugely expensive Warner Bros blockbuster, one that George Clooney saw the problem with and duly dropped out of fairly late in the day. In this episode of Film Stories, Simon digs into the story of the movie, and how Will Smith faced a choice: does it take the lead role in this, or does he make The Matrix instead...?! Please subscribe and leave nice reviews! Thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices