Trent Vance Interviewed by DisneyBrit.com

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Adam Goodger, originator of The Disney Brit Podcast to be interviewed. The Disney Brit Podcast is a collection of podcasts (iPod Broadcasts) created by Adam and his business partner Juz (author of 'The Family Guide' series of books that currently includes Orlando and Disneyland Paris) around the theme of Disney. Adam found me via my other blog, The Casual Reporter and thought our Wild West Show story interesting enough to showcase in one of his weekly podcasts. I agreed, of course, and eventually he interviewed me between scenes of one of the shows. The interview is broadcast in two halves, Episode 14 and Episode 15, which you can access by clicking on the Episode above, clicking here, or searching for "Disney Brit" in the podcast section of your iTunes application. (Download iTunes here for free.) His podcasts are very well produced. Adam is an excellent interviewer. He asked my thoughts on the characters in the show, on my portrayal of Buffalo Bill, on the evolution of the show, and much more. Since we did the interview in my dressing room you can hear the show in the background through the backstage speakers. Let me know what you think!

Stuntman Falls 10 Meters into Arena

The unthinkable happened. Despite rigorous safety checks over the course of the past 17 years of stunts at Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (La Legende de Buffalo Bill) Disney Village, Disneyland Paris, one of the descenders that slowly lowers stuntmen into the arena during the stagecoach attack broke. Not the mechanism failed, but the cable attachment swiftly, cleanly, and without warning, broke as soon as the stuntman put his weight onto the descender. Apparently the clip that holds the end of the cable onto itself to form a loop into which the strap is clipped that the stuntman holds, failed. Nothing thus far indicates that the failure could have been foreseen in any way. It was simply a freak accident, a faulty piece of metal that failed. The intent of this article, in any case, is not to place blame but to relate a story of amazing instinct and reflex. Once the cable broke, Adam went into a free fall for 10 meters. He estimated he had about 1/2 second to react, during which time he knew he would have to roll as hard as he could the second he hit ground. So he did, and for a brief moment the impact knocked him cold. Then he moved, slowly rose to his feet, and unbelievably continued with the scene. An accident that should have left him severely injured and quite possible permanently crippled he not only walked away from, but finished an action-packed stunt scene! Immediately after, upon exiting the arena, medical staff escorted him backstage where his vital signs were monitored. He seemed a little dazed but was completely coherent. He spent a night or two in the hospital where he underwent more testing and was x-rayed. He has a hairline fracture on his 4th vertibrae and nasty bruising around his ankles, but other than that he is apparently unharmed. He was released and walked out of the hospital unaided. Today, three days after the event, he was backstage at the show. Ten meters, I kid you not, straight down, perpendicular to the ground. I watched the video and he hit like a sack of potatoes except for the fact he rolled hard to absorb the shock. It is the most remarkable thing I've ever seen. I frankly wouldn't have imagined anyone could walk away from a fall like that and wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it. In my view Adam deserves the award for the most amazing stunt ever to have been accidentally performed at the Wild West Show (and they number many).

Buffalo Bill with Mickey & Friends Video

For those curious about what the new Buffalo Bill with Mickey and Friends show looks like, here's a video I just ran across. It's a nicely edited little montage of our show as it now looks. Comments?

La Légende de Buffalo Bill avec Mickey et ses Amis sélectionné dans Actualité et Blogs

As a Boy, Walt Disney Met Buffalo Bill Himself

I ran across a book review in The Sun New York written by Carl Rollyson for Neal Gabler's "Walt Disney: The Biography, in which Walt Disney's recounts a childhood memory of personally meeting Buffalo Bill. I thought I'd reprint part of the book review here and let you be the judge of how Disney's meeting with Buffalo Bill argues for or against the inclusion of Mickey in our new show, Buffalo Bill's Wild West with Mickey and Friends. I've highlighted parts that seem particularly intriguing.

"Walt Disney was in the business of branding the world with a powerful mix of nostalgia for the past and Epcot dreams of the future and confecting the literal space where fantasy met reality. I say literal because in "Fantasia" Mickey Mouse mounted the "(real) podium and shook hands with the (real) conductor Leopold Stokowski."

Collyson: Mr. Gabler is quoting the art critic Robert Hughes, who credits Disney with inventing pop art. Perhaps, but what is most striking in Mr. Hughes's description is that the word "real" appears in parentheses. Stokowski is real, but he is also the product of Disney's imagination. And the conductor is just as honored to meet Mickey as any child would be. This is an astonishing moment in the history of art in which photography and animation converge...

...The biographer seduced, it seems to me, by Disney's desire to backdate, so to speak, every element of his life to suit the contours of Disneyland. Disney's recollection of his Midwestern boyhood, spent partly in the small Missouri town of Marceline:

... In Marceline he was awaiting the parade for Buffalo Bill's visiting Wild West Show when Buffalo Bill himself stopped his buggy and invited Walt to join him. "I was mighty impressed," Walt later wrote.

...What about that meeting with Buffalo Bill? I checked Mr. Gabler's sources, and he has only Disney's word for it. Of course, Disney wanted us to believe that he had reached out and touched a great mythic figure. It was part of Disney's destiny that Buffalo Bill should acknowledge him, part of our destiny that Disney should meet greatness, and part of the biographer's fervent wish that his subject's story have this kind of portentousness. Perhaps it is all true, or perhaps Disney just watched Buffalo Bill pass by and made up the rest...

Read a Press Release for the New Show

I found this English translation of a French press release for the new show, from DLRP Fans:

MARNE-LA-VALLÉE, France — It’s a grand premiere! From 4th April 2009, Mickey and his friends, Minnie, Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale invite guests to join them at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

They allow the audience to relive the conquest of the American West and to meet Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley and the cowboys of the Wild West.

Right from the moment they arrive, guests will be welcomed by Mickey and invited to step into a souvenir photo to capture a memory of this evening filled with adventures and unforgettable encounters.

Before entering the arena, the audience can enjoy a festive ambiance in the company of Sheriff Goofy and a live musical act.

It’s showtime!

Just as Walt Disney presented his film to the public, Auguste Durand-Ruel, the master of ceremonies of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, presents the show alongside Mickey, Minnie and their friends Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale.

All throughout the dinner show, Mickey and his friends will take part and join the audience in their epic adventure across the wild American West.

Wearing their cowboy hats and encouraged by Mickey and his friends, parents and children will support the colour of their “ranch” in several games and events held in the area.

The unique participation of Mickey and friends in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show will transport the audience into a grand celebration of the West!

A Collection of Guest Pre-reactions

The buzz is starting to spread about Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show with Mickey and Friends. Check out the Magic Forum for a discussion on the subject prior to its start, or DisBoards for some pirated photos (scroll down to response #12 for photos of characters in the show).

The New Show Will Probably Succeed

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show with Mickey and Friends is already a week old counting from the "soft opening" (it officially opens April 4, 2009). Here's the part I am reluctant to admit: assessed objectively, and theatrically speaking, the Disney characters in the show are not an abomination and do not destroy the integrity of the human performers. In fact, for a Disney audience, their presence works in most parts of most scenes. They are not offensive and their presence does not emasculate the authentic elements of the show.

But let's keep that between you and me. I'm still uncomfortable, as a de facto ambassador of the Old American West, talking to a plastic head that "speaks" without moving its lips by bobbing its head to the rhythm of a pre-recorded voice track - as if it were real and we are in the Old West. However, when I pretend it's real the audience plays along and the theatrical convention works. That's always the case in theatre. I'm only "Buffalo Bill" to the degree my fellow actors and I pretend I am. Commitment by the actors to believing the unbelievable is what creates the illusion and allows the audience to suspend their disbelief and accept the "reality". Then we all look like theatrical geniuses and the experience for the guests is magical.

The opening scene with Auguste works because he pretends the characters are real, but there's more to it than that. The characters' giant smiles are critical. Psychology studies show that when we see someone smile we have a reflex to smile ourselves, creating an instant rapport. (Something we can all take home with us.) Add silly voices and animated movements and unless you're fully committed to being jaded you will likely find yourself grinning along. Once you grin, you've accepted their presence and you can pretend they're real. That's how the Disney magic works.

The Cattle Trail Scene, which I now call the Camp Scene, works well. In addition to their smiles, the characters dance and sing which adds to their credibility. When the stunts join in dancing at the end, their movements and energy remind me of Zorba the Greek (a classic musical film featuring a rough old Greek codger who dances). Theatrically speaking, the Camp Scene is an improvement over what the Cattle Trail scene had become - without the chickens, without the trick roping, with often aimless dialogue and without cowboys believing in it, the Cattle Trail scene had tended towards being long, listless, and lifeless. The Camp Scene is tighter and better theatre although it no longer reflects the living tableau of the American West that W.F. Cody envisioned. The cowboys retain their "authenticity" by establishing their identiy in other scenes like the Cavalcade, Rodeo Games, and Cavalry. My only comment is the fight among the cooks, although excellent fight choreography, is under-provoked and makes for an awkward introduction to the Disney characters. The Artistic Coordinator has assured me that the problem is due to the costume of one of the cooks not being "different enough" to the other cooks. As soon as his costume is sorted out, it'll all come together. OK. Whatever.

W.F. Cody saw his original Wild West Show not just as great entertainment, but as a living history lesson of the American West. His show shaped history almost as much as it reflected it. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Disney Village was never meant to have the same objective. Although based on the original, the intent beyond pure entertainment was not to tell the story of the West but the story of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. What always made the show work, regardless which century it played in or what the higher-minded objective, was it's entertainment value: it was and is an entrepreneurial venture. If our public wants Disney characters, give them Disney characters. In less than a week we'll ask the public their opinion and see if Disney's marketing research is accurate or not. I'm reluctant to admit they may have been right on this one.