Athletic Organizations - http://maxpages.com/thebigshow2000/WILD_WILD

Thanks to Will Smith, Independence Day will
once again be a blockbuster.

On June 30, 1999, popcorn sales will surge when
Smith's latest starring vehicle, "Wild Wild
West," is released to theaters. He's teamed up
once again with "Men In Black" director Barry
Sonnenfeld, but this time around, the always
Fresh Prince will be accompanied by a can't-miss
combo: crackpot inventor Kevin Kline,
mustachioed bad-guy Kenneth Branagh,
addictively watchable Salma Hayek (in a rotating
assortment of saloon-girl outfits), and one
gigantic mechanical insect.

Until then, you can prepare for movie madness
by catching the video for Smith's theme song,
which savvily avoids tampering with the formula
that made his "MIB" title track a winner. "Wild
Wild West" combines elements of Kool Moe
Dee's 1988 hit of the same name with the
familiar hook from Stevie Wonder's "I Wish,"
with Dru Hill along for the funky ride. The
soundtrack, which will also feature Blackstreet,
Eminem, Dr. Dre, Faith Evans, Slick Rick, and a
host of others, is due out on June 15 from
Smith's own Interscope-distributed label,
Overbrook.

MTV News' Chris Connelly caught up with
Smith on the set of the video, and the
rapper-actor-label executive told all about the
flick, its theme song, the dangers of dancing in
cowboy drag, and the eternal debate of toilet
paper versus...

Well, see for yourself.

Chris Connelly: So have you seen the movie? Are you happy with
the movie?

Will Smith: The movie is
ridiculous. It's just insane. This is

the pinnacle. This is the epitome.
This is the acme, dude. This is
everything, man. This is
everything you could ever want.
I'm just... I don't know what I'm
supposed to do after this. I can't
go no more. I can't go no more.

CC: Now when you signed on
to this movie, did you do the
speed dial to Kool Moe Dee
and say --

WS: Yeah. I was like, "Moe, me and you, baby." Nah, Moe and I
have been friends for probably 12 years now, and soon as I heard
the title, it just obviously had to be [Kool Moe Dee's "Wild Wild
West"].

CC: Let's face it, you didn't leave Jive on the best of terms. You
weren't so happy with them, and now you're coming back and
doing an old Jive song.

WS: You know, what I'm very thankful to Jive records for starting
my career off. As in any relationship with anyone, there's gonna be
ups and downs, but what they did with my career at a time when
no one else would have done it or no one else could have done it,
they made an amazing difference, and I thank them for that.

CC: But this isn't the old song. There's a whole bunch of fresh stuff
on this track. How did you put it together?

WS: You know what? When
you work with smart people,
great things are gonna happen.
It's not something I could take
credit for. It was a great idea,
and people jumped on board
and made things happen. A new
young producer, Rob Fusari out
of New York, hooked up the
track, and of course Stevie
Wonder hooked up the track.
Moe Dee came, Dru Hill came
in and just blessed the vocals.
It's just blazin', man. It's one of
those things that just all of the
stars lined up and it happened.

CC: How'd you get Dru Hill in?

WS: I played the track for Dru Hill, and they just, from the first
second, they loved the track. [They were] really the only people
that came to mind once I heard the track. So it was like, "I want
Sisqo blessing this track," you know, that high voice... reminiscent
of Stevie Wonder, a little bit. But they also understand the theatrics
of the music. They understand, conceptually, capturing people with
a vision, you know. Getting on to a vision, not just singing well.

CC: Now you haven't always wanted to do videos for songs
connected with your movies, and at some point, it was the thing
you said you wanted to avoid doing at the beginning of your career.
Why does this make sense for this movie?

WS: Well, there's different types of movies... for example, "Enemy
of the State" is a movie you don't do a track for. It's more of an
acting piece, and it's more completely separate from my performing
as a musical artist. Whereas [with] a film like "Wild Wild West," the
hats and the garb really lend itself to a more youthful, exciting,
musical escape from the movie... not that you need an escape from
the movie.

CC: Right, right.

WS: Yeah. [I want] to take you out while you're leaving the
theatre.

CC: Now can you dance in this
stuff? Very fancy clothes here...

WS: This is very hard to dance
in. And then, you know,
because I have the gun belt on,
and it's weighted down, and
these boots are like ice skating,
so it's a little tough out there.

CC: In the wrong hands, you'd
look like a stripper.

WS: I know, yeah. You know,
you gotta watch the moves, you
know. You hit one of those wrong moves [and] you look like one
of the Village People in this stuff. [Laughs]

CC: So the video actually takes place after the movie is over?

WS: Yeah. Chronologically, the film would end, and a couple
months later, I'm still having nightmares about Loveless. [That's]
Kenneth Branagh, who plays the bad guy in the movie. I'm still
having nightmares about him, and this would be "Wild Wild West
2," sort of.

CC: And did you have any tarantulas crawling all over you? [Salma
Hayek] was kind of freaked out by all the tarantulas crawling all
over her.

WS: It was really nasty. And what I didn't even know about
tarantulas: tarantulas jump. They, like, crawl really slow... really
slow... and then they jump.

CC: And finally...

WS: Thank God!

CC: ...how about this dry toilet paper thing?

WS: Oh, you heard about that. Man, I'm just... I'm just very...
I'm... you know, 'cause I've always been a dry toilet paper guy,
and on the film, [director] Barry Sonnenfeld turned me on, you
know, to... medicated comfort pads. Man, it's like a... a shower in
the middle of the day, man, you know? I'm telling you. It's like a
naked jog through a nice field, man. You just feel fresh and
refreshed and you feel... you're a new man. You're a new man, and
I'm secure in my manhood, so I can say this to you, man. Stop it
with the dry toilet paper, man.

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Page Updated Thu Jun 24, 1999 8:16pm EDT