With the crazy wild west hype we have had in 2018 with Westworld’s second season and even this month’s Red Dead Redemption 2, we’re hungry for more in 2019! Just like any other HBO series, Westworld has SO many hidden layers! Let’s dive into some of the tastier ones!
1. Jonathan Nolan, director Christopher Nolan’s brother, was inspired by games like Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock and Grand Theft Auto to create a world where the characters had a connected and threaded narrative. The hosts in Westworld are meant to have lives even if guests are not in the park, which makes it all the more real. You can thank video games!
2. There are three timelines in which Westworld takes place in its first season. Five years in the planning phase and before the park has opened, five years into the park being opened and thirty years after that. This shows the complete undertaking to a world before it, a world in the midst and a world where they would possibly be desensitized to the concept.
3. A majority of Westworld was filmed in Utah and a lot of it is inspired due to it being a favorite filming location of Sergio Leone who is a known Western icon.
(HBO)
4. In the original Michael Crichton film based on his book ‘Westworld’ – Crichton was only given 30 whole days to film the entire movie and that was with a budget of 1.7 million dollars which would be 7.8 million today. Can you imagine having only 30 days to make a film with that kind of budget!?
5. Speaking of the original Westworld film, Yule Brenner played the Man in Black and it was the inspiration Arnold Schwarzenegger needed for his iconic Terminator role.
6. It would cost a regular person 40 thousand dollars per day to spend time in Westworld due to not just the setting and its technology but the upkeep and repairs.
(HBO)
7. A television series, called Beyond Westworld, existed after the Westworld film came out but was based on what happened post-film which didn’t go particularly well as it had assumed its viewers had all seen and enjoyed the film. Only a few episodes even made it on television as it was cancelled before its season was even finished airing.
8. Actors for the television series were only given their parts to act in small bursts and out of sequence in order to keep them confused and keep the secrets of the series hidden. Only Jimmi Simpson was able to figure out one of the biggest moments and that was during his time in the makeup chair when he realized he was being purposely tweaked to look very close to Ed Harris.
9. Whenever you see a scene where characters are taking the train, that train car is actually atop a flatbed truck that is driving down a long stretch of road in Utah. Yes, all of those actors were on that truck while it was in motion on an actual road and not a track whatsoever.
(HBO)
10. The season one finale of Westworld titled The Bicameral Mind is longer than the original Westworld feature film by three minutes. Take that, critics of cinematic television!
