The Infamous ‘Glasgow Willy Wonka’ Event Is Getting Recreated in Los Angeles
Remember the nightmarish Willy Wonka-themed disaster that swept the internet this February? Ads full of AI-generated slop promised "encherining entertainment," "catgacating live performances, "cartchy tuns," and "exarserdray lollipops" at a magical, Wonka-themed event held in Glasgow, Scotland. In spite of the red flags (or perhaps totally unaware of them), tons of families showed up, only to be met with a gray, mostly empty warehouse, a pittance of two jelly candies per person, and an underpaid child actor forced to play a nightmare creature called 'The Unknown.' It was a disaster. The cops were called.
Whether you thought of the event as a scam, a farce, a parable about the horrors of generative AI, or all of the above, it was one of the funniest freaking things to happen in a hot minute. Well, get ready for Round Two, because on April 9, news broke that the infamous Wonka experience is coming to LA.
To paraphrase Marx, "Memeable disasters repeat themselves, first as tragedy, then as farce." According to @dailymail, the Willy Wonka disaster event is coming to the City of Stars, because once is never enough. The location is yet undisclosed, but it currently appears to be a one-night-only event on April 28.
Initially, multiple sources, including the Daily Mail (as seen above), tied The Hangover star Zach Galifinakis and Nathan For You creator Nathan Fielder to the Los Angeles event. Sadly, Scottish newspaper The National later confirmed through Fielder's representatives that neither he nor Galifinakis are involved. However, one big name is tied to the LA experience at this time: Kirsty Paterson, the Glaswegan actor who went viral as the "sad Oompa Loompa" from the OG event. Here's hoping she actually gets paid this time...
The Lowdown on the Willy Wonka LA Event
The source for most of the info on this event comes from the "Willy's Chocolate Experience LA" Eventbrite page, hosted by the House of Illuminati LA. If you don't get the reference, the House of Illuminati was the name of the entity that put on the original event in Glasgow, Scotland. I am praying that the name is a joke and not an attempt at starting a US branch.
To be fair, though, all signs point to this being a send-up of the original Wonka-themed disasters. The ticket prices are $44 each, which also gets you two complimentary jellybeans (har har). In addition to the jellybeans, guests also get access to an "absurdist" Q&A and photo sesh with Kirsty Paterson, local music, comedy, and DJ set performances; silent film screenings with live musical accompaniment, a photo area, and delectable sweets from local vendors- no word on whether the sweets are "exarserdray" this time.
Though prior references to Galifinakis and Fielder have been scrubbed, "rumors abound" that "renowned comedians" are vying for a chance to moderate Paterson's Q&A session, claims the Eventbrite page. There's also an obviously tongue-in-cheek rumor that Timothée Chalamet has "perhaps maybe expressed interest in attending," though I wouldn't count on it. He's got a lot on his plate right now, and I've heard he's bad at Dune II things at once. And with that, I'd like to accept my "Pun of the Year" award, please.
Here's the gamble, though: according to event organizers, the tickets are non-refundable, "because we're actually going to deliver." Hopefully they will, especially if they plan on flying Kirsty Paterson out from Scotland, but one has to wonder how far the organizers plan on going down the irony rabbit hole. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on... meme? Guess we'll find out on April 28.
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