Cops Called on Bitter Willy Wonka "Immersive Experience" That Goes Horribly Wrong and an Actor From It Speaks Out
We live in an age where digital fantasies can be conjured up with a few clicks and AI promises more than reality can deliver. The House of Illuminati in in Glasgow, Scotland, recently put on a “Willy’s Chocolate Experience," which turned from a sweet promise thanks to AI art into a bitter disappointment, leaving children in tears and families pissed off, and it led to the cops being called.
The event was hyped with the allure of the fantastical, a wonderland inspired by the Timothée Chalamet Wonka reboot. Advertisements crafted with AI showcased a world of lollipop forests, jellybean waterfalls, flying horses, and giant mushrooms. For $45, families were promised “a place where chocolate dreams become reality.”
Upon arrival, attendees were met not with a confectionary paradise but a sparsely, terribly decorated warehouse. The "immersive experience" was nothing more than a gutted factory that featured a few plastic candy canes and rented props scattered around on bare concrete floors. The windows were dirty, and the air conditioning system lay exposed. It was a far cry from the magical realm that was advertised.
The disillusionment was apparent as parents and their children discovered that the whimsical Oompa Loompas were, in reality, struggling actors reciting lines learned just the night before. Reports also surfaced saying that actors were being asked to improvise with non-existent props!
Stuart Sinclair was a parent who drove two hours for what he believed would be “the full Willy Wonka experience with chocolate fountains and a great day out for the kids.” His experience, shared on Facebook, described an event that lasted barely two minutes of what was supposed to be an hour of entertainment. The main attraction, it seems, was the line of disgruntled attendees waiting to voice their complaints to the organizers, who were obviously looking for a quick buck.
A cast member from the show took to social media to talk about his role in all of this and apologized for his part. Paul Connell admitted the attendees wanted Timothée Chalamet and instead got Timothée Charlatan. Connell said he was given the Wonka role just days earlier and handed a “gibberish” script and told to “do whatever you want.”
Connell told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “It was very disappointing to see how many people turned up at this event and found basically me dressed up as Willy Wonka in a half-abandoned warehouse. I feel for anyone who bought tickets to this event, people who were expecting a magical chocolate experience and got me in a top hat in a dirty warehouse in Glasgow.”
Connell said he and the other actors “were furious. We’d been conned as well, and it did turn quite scary at one point, because people were angry. There was lots of shouting and groups of people getting very, very irate.”
The House of Illuminati reportedly offered 850 customers full refunds and canceled the event.
Via: Gizmodo