go west

The BSA Goldstar he rode in the BBC's Hairy Bikers Go West is due to be auctioned in March, with all the money going to charity.

Fifty years before “SNL,” movies still had two years to wait before they could talk; Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush,” Buster Keaton’s “Go West” and Harold Lloyd’s “The Freshman” were released; “The Great Gatsby” was published; the Scopes “Monkey Trial” took place; the Mount Rushmore memorial was dedicated; and the world’s first motel opened.

Kristen Wiig’s “Harper and Will Go West” from “Will & Harper” and songs from musical heavyweights like Elton John, Brandi Carlisle, Pharrell Williams and Robbie Williams are among the high-profile entries that could lend some star power to Oscar night.

It’s now a distinct possibility: Netflix will campaign for Wiig and co-writer Sean Douglas in the original song category for the folksy comic ditty “Harper and Will Go West,” from the forthcoming documentary “Will & Harper,” the company confirmed exclusively to The Times.

But as its nine “chapters” proceed from “Go West” to “End of the Wild,” with stops at gold, God and genocide, the history and satire begin to short circuit each other.