Will Smith, who was initially considered to star as Neo in The Matrix, rejected the offer for Warner Bros
1999 film Wild Wild West. Directed by the Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld and featuring Smith alongside Kevin Kline and Salma Hayek, it was the third most expensive movie made at the time, following Waterworld and Titanic. However, it was unable to land a favorable response from its audience and critics despite having costly reshoots for the film.
Following the audience reaction from the initial test screenings of the movie, it reportedly underwent costly reshoots. While the process and additional budget did make it one of the most expensive Western films of all time, it did not turn out to be helpful in its reception.
Warner Bros. Spent Millions on Reshoots For Will Smith Film
Warner Bros. 2017 film Justice League under Zack Snyder’s DCEU has been in talks for several reasons, one of them also being the infamous reshoots that happened after Snyder had to leave. It reportedly went through two months of reshoots with an additional budget of $25 million.
Justice League (2017)
However, it was not the first film where the studio took such measures, as they did something similar with the 1999 film Wild Wild West. Loosely based on the TV series The Wild Wild West, the movie follows Jim West and Artemus Gordon teaming up to save the world from the evil Dr. Arliss Loveless and his giant mechanical spider.
The reshoots for the Will Smith starrer happened after its test screenings, where the audience found a lack of humor in the movie. As per SlashFilm, actress Sofia Eng, who portrayed the character of Miss Lippenreider in the film, shared that the studio spent an estimated amount of $20 to $ 40 million for its reshoots to add humor to the story.
Kevin Kline and Will Smith in Wild Wild West (1999)
It certainly did not turn out as the studio expected. While it did manage to make its money back at the box office, grossing $222 million, the movie is still considered to be a commercial failure. It also landed negative reviews as critics called it “exhausting” and “pointless” while sharing their views about the film.
Will Smith Called Wild Wild West His Worst Movie
Apart from Wild Wild West, Will Smith has also worked with filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld in the Men in Black franchise. While he described his first film with the filmmaker as one of his best movies, the actor called his 1999 film his worst movie. The Oscar-winning actor told GQ,
Will Smith in Wild Wild West
“For the best, I think it is a tie between the first ‘Men in Black’ and ‘The Pursuit of Happyness.’ For different reasons, those are the two almost perfect movies. Worst? ‘Wild Wild West’ is just a thorn in my side. To see myself with chaps… I don’t like it.”
Both Men in Black and The Pursuit of Happyness have been some of Smith’s best films. While his character as Agent J in the sci-fi franchise has been one of his most popular roles, The Pursuit of Happyness landed him his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor. However, Wild Wild West’s failure was followed by his hit movies, including Men in Black and Independence Day.
Wild Wild West is available on Max.
Source: SlashFilm; GQ
