Wild Wild West (1999)

Wild Wild West is a 1999 American steampunk Western comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock along with Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story by Jim and John Thomas. Adapting the 1960s television series The Wild Wild West by Michael Garrison, the film respectively stars Will Smith and Kevin Kline as Jim West and Artemus Gordon, two government agents in the American Old West who attempt to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States from a mad scientist bent on revenge for losing the American Civil War. Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek and Ted Levine also appear in supporting roles.

Development for the film began in 1992, when Warner Bros. optioned the rights to the television series, and hired Richard Donner and Shane Black to respectively direct and script the film, with Mel Gibson in the role of Jim West. After Donner and Gibson left the project to work on Maverick in 1994, Sonnenfeld and Smith, after completing work on Men in Black for Columbia Pictures, came aboard the film in February 1997, with principal photography beginning the following year in April. The film's extensive visual effects were helmed by Eric Brevig at Industrial Light & Magic. The film's soundtrack contains the theme song of the same name, written and performed by Smith, as well as the score, composed by Western film score veteran Elmer Bernstein.

Released theatrically in the United States on June 30, 1999 and produced on a $170 million budget (making it one of the most expensive films ever made when adjusting for inflation at the time of its release), Wild Wild West was a critical and commercial failure, grossing only $113.8 million domestically and $108.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $222.1 million. The film was nominated for eight Razzies and won five at the 20th Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture.