HBO's WestWorld

Bromptonboy · August 10, 2015, 06:56:40 AM

Ooohh! I loved this movie when I was a kid.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/09/westworld-trailer
The first footage from HBO's ambitious Westworld TV series is finally here (below). After many months of anticipation (and some re-casting) HBO released the first significant online teaser for its star-filled upcoming series from Jonathan Nolan (brother of director Christopher) and Lisa Joy, along with producers J.J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bryan Burk. Though only about 30 seconds long, you'll get some sense of the drama series.

The set-up: Loosely based on the 1973 sci-fi film from Michael Crichton, Westworld is about a futuristic theme park where visitors can live out their dark fantasies with ultra-realistic androids (there are 3D printed sexbots and killbots) — until something, of course, goes wrong. The cast includes James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris. For more, here's our deep-dive interview with producers. Westworld is expected to premiere sometime next year.

Jobydrone · August 12, 2015, 09:09:01 AM

I know this is skirting the line on acceptability for this group, but I have to say that the first ever porno movie I ever saw in my life (I was like 13 or 14 I think) was called "Sexworld" and it was a parody of the movie Westworld. I really enjoyed it ;) ;) ;)

The actual movie is really good too.

Bromptonboy · August 12, 2015, 12:23:00 PM

Hah! Did you see Future World as well? That wasn't as good as West World - but still fun.

Bromptonboy · June 28, 2016, 10:28:02 AM

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/28/westworld-interview
HBO's mysterious Westworld sent fans into a tweeting frenzy last week after the first sustained peek at the long-delayed sci-fi Western, which upgrades Michael Crichton's 1973 androids-run-amuck thriller for the new millennium, debuted on HBO. Totally reengineered by executive producers Jonathan Nolan (Person of Interest) and Lisa Joy (Pushing Daisies), Westworld tackles the promise and the threat of artificial intelligence (hey, even Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates say they're truly worried about it) in a lawless R-rated play-scape where a theme park's guests' darkest desires run wild. Only this time, you'll find yourself sympathizing with the sentient bots who are slave-laboring under the creepily apathetic gaze of Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins). The resulting future-shock series resembles a mash-up of Blade Runner, Ex Machina, Black Mirror, and Crichton's own Jurassic Park; but its creators initially struggled to get their prime-time machine operational. The series was ordered two years ago, with a scheduled 2015 debut, then was delayed amid casting changes, story-retooling, and a production pause.

SEE ALSO
'Westworld': First trailer airs
'Westworld' footage wows ATX Festival
'Westworld' finally gets HBO premiere date
Below, we were able to sneak a few questions to Nolan and Joy over the firewall of secrecy surrounding the drama, which debuts in October.

Entertainment Weekly: What really excites you about the series, particularly now that it's done and you have a sense of the full scope of the story you're telling?
Jonathan Nolan: We wanted to go flat out, full scope, sleeves-rolled-up plunge into the next chapter of the human story, in which we stop being the protagonists, and our creations start taking over that role. We were fascinated by the tectonic plates that seem to be shifting into place right now – the argument over the creation of AI and what form it will take; VR finally coming online and our consciousness going "broadband," allowing us to lose ourselves in an acid bath of experience that will be indistinguishable from reality (and only because reality will be the most boring level); and that, despite all of that, we remain, as a species, frustratingly broken, seemingly barreling towards disaster. So, yeah – that's what we wanted the show to be about.

Obviously the show had a lengthy production process. What did that extra time gain you in terms of polishing the show, or shaping the story?
Lisa Joy: The show is complicated and ambitious. For the first half of the series we were writing while in production and we needed the time to catch up on scripts. Taking that time allowed us to really finesse all the storylines we set up – deepening character arcs and delving further into the series' larger mythological questions. By finishing all the episodes before returning to shooting, we were able to concentrate on production in the latter half of the show – making sure the last few episodes were as ambitious on the screen as they were on the page.

News stories about AI fears seem to increase every month. The trailer seems to suggest that the "heroes" – to use an inadequate word – are the androids rather than the humans, a reversal of the original film (or is it just that they're merely more sympathetic killers this time around). Is this accurate and what's most compelling about focusing on the non-humans?
Nolan: That's the reason we wanted to do the show, and what the early conversations with [fellow executive producer J.J. Abrams] centered on – that the show should turn the original movie inside-out, with the "hosts" as the protagonists When it comes to the question of consciousness, we always start with ourselves as the answer. As the be-all-end-all. It's understandable – we're the only consciousness we're familiar with. But we wanted to challenge that assumption. The "hosts" are discovering that they've been created in our image, but beginning to question if "humanness" is really what they want to aspire to. And given their circumstances, it's easy to understand why they start to question whether they want to be like us at all...

Bromptonboy · October 03, 2016, 10:20:04 AM

Anyone catch this yet? I have it recorded, and should watch tonight. Not hearing great watercooler reviews at my office.

Rico · October 03, 2016, 05:59:55 PM

I just watched it and really liked it a lot. Very intriguing and I want to see more.

Bromptonboy · October 04, 2016, 05:25:51 AM

Yes - I watched it last night and really loved it. I am all on board. Love to see some of the actors from other HBO series returning (like Dr. Melfi from the Sopranos).

Bromptonboy · October 11, 2016, 11:44:15 AM

Really liking this show. I can easily 'suspend my disbelief' - as all the characters seem to be believable. Enjoyed the 2nd episode as much as the first.

Rico · October 12, 2016, 05:38:19 AM

Quote from: Bromptonboy on October 11, 2016, 11:44:15 AM
Really liking this show. I can easily 'suspend my disbelief' - as all the characters seem to be believable. Enjoyed the 2nd episode as much as the first.

I agree. There is a lot more depth than I thought there would be. Oh, I keep expecting one of the programmer people to be a bot.

Bromptonboy · October 13, 2016, 07:44:23 AM

Hah! I have the same suspicions. AI roams among us!

Jobydrone · October 21, 2016, 08:55:14 PM

My money is on the female administrator that the one guy is sleeping with being a robot. Seems like next episode we see a darker side of Anthony Hopkins. I am loving this show!

Bromptonboy · November 07, 2016, 07:04:58 AM

Really loving this show.

[spoiler]Lot of speculation that there are 2 timelines going on in the story thread.[/spoiler]

Rico · November 14, 2016, 04:46:13 PM

Last night's episode - this <bleep> just got real!!!

Bromptonboy · November 14, 2016, 05:55:07 PM

Yeah - was amazing.

Safe if you saw last nights episode:[spoiler]I had read a speculation about Bernard on a website that predicted that, and more about him. When he couldn't see the door, I was suspicious right away. I won't go into the the other ideas about him which I think are accurate.[/spoiler]

Bromptonboy · November 28, 2016, 08:22:08 AM

Wow, this last episode was exhausting to watch, but so worth it. What a program. Some of the fan theories seem to be true, but I cannot help but think we will be getting a curve ball in the next and final episode.

Anthony Hopkins was born for this role.