Skip to main content

Things We Saw Today: Dick Van Dyke Was a Consultant on WandaVision?

Plus Betty White, James Earl Jones, and more!

By Jan 17th, 2021, 5:55 pm
dick van dyke

Recommended Videos

WandaVision premiered this week, and the show has already earned raves for capturing the look and feel of a classic sitcom from the 1960s. Director Matt Shakman (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Game of Thrones) recently told Entertainment Tonight that he and Marvel CEO Kevin Feige had lunch with American treasure Dick Van Dyke, who gave them advice on how to capture the magic of a Golden age comedy.

The trio broke bread at Club 33, the ultra-exclusive secret restaurant inside Disneyland. Shakman said of the lunch:

“Oh, easily one of the best afternoons of my life. I mean, he is, I’m sure, an inspiration for so many people, but for me in particular, he had a huge impact on my life, and I think the same for Kevin Feige. So, the chance to sit down with him and pick his brain and kiss the ring, really, but also just try to soak up the secret sauce that has made so much of what he’s done but, in particular, The Dick Van Show be this timeless classic. That was an utter joy. And we did it at Disneyland, above Pirates of the Caribbean in this place called Club 33. It really just felt like the perfect place to meet with Dick Van Dyke, this great Disney legend.”

And while Dick Van Dyke wasn’t so familiar with the MCU, Shakman and Feige gave him a crash course in the world:

“We did have to give him the explanation, and he didn’t seem to be too fluent with the MCU. It was great. He did say at one point during our lunch, “Oh, I hear you guys have had some great success. That’s wonderful. Congratulations. What did you just put out?” And Kevin, who’s great, obviously Kevin is this mastermind of this incredible creative endeavor that’s had so much success, he said, “Well, yes, well, we just put out Avengers: Endgame.” And [Dick] was like, “Oh, Avengers: Endgame? Oh, great. Fantastic.” He said, “Yep, it’s actually the biggest movie of all time.” “Oh, great. Is it– What! The biggest movie of all time?!” He was like, “That’s amazing!” It was so sweet to see Kevin realize and Dick realized what they were talking about. It was really fun.”

Van Dyke had plenty of advice for the duo, on how to ground the show while maintaining the comedy. Shakman said, “But we learned from Dick Van Dyke that their number one rule for how they approached anything was that if it couldn’t happen in real life, it can’t happen on the show. Which is this idea that you need to ground what you’re doing in real-life stories, but then that gives you the permission to be incredibly silly and to fall over the ottoman and do pratfalls. That was very helpful in how we approached the tone of it, because getting the tone right is the hardest thing in the ’50s, the ’60s, the ’70s.”

Does this mean we’re going to get a Dick Van Dyke cameo in WandaVision? Shakman responded, “I couldn’t possibly say!”. Fingers crossed we get DVD in the MCU!

(via Entertainment Tonight, image: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Happy Sunday Mary Suevians! Only 3 more sleeps til inauguration!

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author
Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.
twitter

Filed Under:

Follow The Mary Sue:

Exit mobile version