How A German Car Factory Inspired The Creators Of 'Westworld'

In need of ideas for how to build a better artificial human, the creators of “Westworld,” Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, turned to an unlikely source of inspiration: a German automobile plant. As the duo recounts in this sneak peek of a featurette included on “Westworld: Season One” — which hits Blu-ray today — they took time out of a rare vacation abroad to observe German-made cars rolling off the assembly line. That visit provided the basis for one of the show’s signature images: a humanoid body being dunked in what resembles a big milk bath. (Watch the clip above.)

Naturally, submerging cars — or people — in milk isn’t exactly the best way to get their engines running. Instead, the bodies of those German automobiles were lifted in and out of a large vat of paint. “They have this machine that’s so absurd, it almost feels whimsical,” Nolan explains. “They take [the car] and dip it in a tank of paint, and pull it back out again.” Joy’s fortuitous first thought after observing this technique in action: “Let’s make a human that way!”

“Westworld: Season One” is now available on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.

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This story was originally published on Yahoo Entertainment.