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The Coolest Press Release Ever
Whisper, of Origin fan club WOO & uber cool gaming news site Game Worlds, sent me a copy of what can only be described as the above. It's all the info you could want on the Wing Commander Movie products...DIGITAL ANVIL SECURES LICENSING DEAL FOR WING COMMANDER MOVIE PROPERTY be Released Nationwide on March 12 by 20th Century Fox Austin, TX, February 11, 1999 – Attention WING COMMANDER™ shoppers: prepare for a full retail assault! Digital Anvil, in conjunction with Creative Licensing Concepts, today announced a 'stellar' selection of WING COMMANDER movie-themed merchandise including toys, limited-edition posters, bicycles and jewelry. This licensing deal follows on the heels of 20th Century Fox's recent announcement that the sci-fi adventure film will be released to theaters nationwide on March 12th, 1999. The WING COMMANDER movie marks a first in both the computer game and film industries, as the film's director, Chris Roberts, is also the creator of the first four of ORIGIN Systems'™ WING COMMANDER computer games on which the movie is based. ORIGIN Systems, an Austin-based entertainment software developer, granted the WING COMMANDER film and movie rights to Digital Anvil in late 1997. In addition to directing the film, Roberts, CEO of Digital Anvil, also co-wrote the script with Kevin Droney and Mike Finch. "We've had a great response from retailers wanting to stock WING COMMANDER merchandise in anticipation of the movie," said Marten Davies, president of Digital Anvil. "Millions of people have already experienced WING COMMANDER through the computer game series. With the movie and our merchandising efforts, we are hoping to turn others on to the great universe that Chris Roberts created." WING COMMANDER merchandise includes:
- Action Figures and Space Ships (X-Toys) (Now being shown at the X-Toys howroom at Toyfair in NY, #307)
- WING COMMANDER Adult and Junior Novelizations, Fact Book, and Continuity Novels (HarperCollins)
- WING COMMANDER Collectors Magazine (Starlog)
- Signed and Limited Edition Art Posters (Hasson Fine Art Corp.)
- Masks and Costumes (Cinema Secrets)
- Collectible Pilgrim Cross Jewelry (United Cutlery)
- Children's Bicycles and Backpacks (Rand International)
- T-shirts and Hats (Altuf Sportswear )
- Posters (Scipubtech and Scorpio Poster)
WING COMMANDER combines science fiction settings and state-of-the-art special effects created by Digital Anvil, with the story and creative elements of a grand adventure film. The film follows the exploits of rebellious rookie space pilot Christopher Blair, played by Freddie Prinze, Jr. ("She's All That"). Carrying an encoded message about an invasion from an alien race, Blair, his fellow maverick pilot Maniac (Matthew Lillard of "Scream" and "She's All That"), and their beautiful superior officer, Deveraux (Saffron Burrows of "Circle of Friends"), mobilize to evade and ultimately repel the alien attack. Tcheky Karyo, David Suchet, David Warner, Ginny Holder and Jurgen Prochnow also star. "Since its inception, I have treated the WING COMMANDER computer game series as a cinematic production with the firm intention that my creation would someday make its way to the big screen," said Roberts. "Now with the movie releasing in March, moviegoers will be able to get caught up in the emotion and compelling characters that made the WING COMMANDER games so popular." WING COMMANDER is a No Prisoners/Digital Anvil production in association with ORIGIN Systems Inc. and Carousel Picture Company, with Todd Moyer of No Prisoners serving as producer, and Jean-Martial Lefranc and Romain Schroeder as executive producers. WING COMMANDER is rated PG-13. Since the 1990 launch of the first title, the WING COMMANDER series has spawned four full sequels and numerous derivative products combining to generate sales of more than five million units worldwide. In that time, the WING COMMANDER series has consistently broken new ground. WING COMMANDER III was one of the first interactive movies and marked the first extensive use of full-motion video in a computer game. WING COMMANDER IV was the first game to use 35-millimeter film for its linear narrative. ORIGIN released WING COMMANDER: Prophecy, the fifth installment in the series, to critical acclaim in 1997. ORIGIN Systems
ORIGIN Systems develops and publishes state-of-the-art entertainment software. To date, the company has released more than 50 titles, including the award-winning Ultima, WING COMMANDER, Privateer and Crusader series of games. ORIGIN also develops titles under the Jane's® Combat Simulations brand. ORIGIN is based in Austin, Texas, with additional offices in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS). More information on ORIGIN products can be found on the Internet at http://www.origin.ea.com Twentieth Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group. No Prisoners
No Prisoners is a production and visual effects company specializing in producing visual effects driven, cutting-edge motion pictures. Todd Moyer serves as President of No Prisoners Productions and CEO of No Prisoners 3DFX. Moyer is a long-standing entertainment executive and film producer. Next up for No Prisoners is BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA, which is scheduled for a late summer start in Luxembourg. Moyer is also producing the high-concept action/adventure update of JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS for DreamWorks Pictures. Also on the No Prisoners slate is a motion-picture adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A SCANNER DARKLY, which Moyer is producing with Jersey Films for Universal Pictures. No Prisoners 3DFX, which comprises numerous members of the effects team responsible for the stunning visual effects for WING COMMANDER, is presently providing the special visual effects for the upcoming FORTREESS II. Digital Anvil
Headquartered in Austin, TX, Digital Anvil is an entertainment company specializing in the fusion of silicon and celluloid. In addition to creating innovative, bleeding-edge, interactive computer games and movies with star power and mass-market appeal, Digital Anvil is also a digital production house creating state-of-the-art visual effects. Founded by Chris Roberts, creator of the best-selling WING COMMANDER series, Digital Anvil has a top creative team from the game and film industries, and key marketing and equity partnerships with industry leaders Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices. Digital Anvil can be found on the Web at http://www.digitalanvil.com # # # Digital Anvil is a trademark of Digital Anvil, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ORIGIN, ORIGIN Systems, WING COMMANDER, Ultima, Privateer, WING COMMANDER: Prophecy, and Electronic Arts are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. Jane's is a registered trademark of Jane's Information Group Ltd.
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Update published on February 12, 1999. View all news from that day.
Wing Commander CIC - Visit the front page
Official news, fan projects and topics of particular interest to Wing Commander fans.
- Destroyer Destined for Guard Duty
- 2012-05-23 -- Kevin Caccamo's Ralari has taken a huge leap since the last time we saw it. The model has been plated with nice metallic textures that don't overdo the look. Running lights, windows, powered engines and intake glow all add significantly to the presentation here too.
- GOG Talks Space Sims
- 2012-05-22 -- centaurianmudpig spotted a new PlaySF interview with the folks at GOG.com. They discuss the state of the space combat genre and the possibility of releasing expansion packs for Wing Commander games.
- Enigma Mod Measures Out Confed Fleet
- 2012-05-21 -- Here's a new Confed showcase of capships for the Enigma 2666 mod. Each ship's length and scale is still subject to some potential tweaking to sync better with fighters, but the current lineup is displayed below. The TCS Concordia is very far along the design path, as is the Gilgamesh.
- "Sir, if we spot this ‘Fralthi’, should we engage?"
- 2012-05-20 -- Now we go from Fralthra to Fralthi WIP images. CMDBob's latest design is a classic Kilrathi light carrier/cruiser. His model has real clean lines and an animated WC1-style set of textures.
- Fearsome Fralthra Filling In Fast
- 2012-05-19 -- Red Baron has started to texture Cybot's Fralthra, and it's quickly turning into quite a work of art. The color scheme already does a great job of evoking Wing Commander 2. He's also scaled a Jalkehi as a point of reference and imagined what the entire fighter complement of the ship might look like.
- Wing Commander Saga Download Reminder
- 2012-05-18 -- If you haven't yet downloaded the long-awaited fan game, now is as good a time as any to get your hands on a copy! The Windows installer weighs in at a hefty 3.4 gigabytes, so we recommend some kind of download manager that can resume paused or failed transfers.
- New RPG Kicks Off
- 2012-05-17 -- The TCS Phoenix has launched and the game has begun in the Wing Commander: From the Ashes forum-based RPG. Some of the first characters have already been defined, and action in the Pentonville System is now in motion. There is also an out-of-character area where new players can ask questions and get situated before they begin role playing.
- Vega Sector Reinforcements Inbound
- 2012-05-16 -- Here's a preview of new designs that Klavs is working to bring to the Shapeways model factory. If all goes according to plan, this foursome may be available in a future bundle pack together. It's an interesting assortment of ships - Rapier, Super Wing Commander Rapier, Scimitar and Dralthi - and they all look fantastic!
- Academy Just Two Weeks Away!
- 2012-05-15 -- Wingnuts now have less than 14 days to prepare for the release of Wing Commander Academy on DVD! All thirteen episodes of the television series will be available in this set starting on May 29, 2012. Barnes & Noble and Deep Discount have some of the lowest prices, and there's still time to order from Amazon.
- Scimitar Prepares to Slice Up a Dralthi
- 2012-05-15 -- And to further get you in the Academy mood, here's another beautiful NinjaLA sketch. The CF-105 Scimitar was the workhorse of the cadets flying off the Tiger's Claw, and soon you'll get to watch them again in the new high quality release!
- Exotic Designs Hit the Spacelanes
- 2012-05-14 -- ScoobyDoo has put together several more concept renders inspired by a variety of sources. The first is a medium size capship with fighter-carrying ability, and it's followed by a beefier looking take on the Bearcat. The last design is a more unique idea that mixes Wing Commander elements with a Freespace ship.
- Fleets Increase Presence in Enigma
- 2012-05-13 -- Here's a big update for the Enigma 2666 mod. A handful of new pictures show off where the game is at today. Four different capship classes are pictured near a large Confed base, and all the fighters sport updated textures.
- Echo Sector Reopens
- 2012-05-13 -- The world's biggest website dedicated to the Crusader series, Echo Sector, has gotten a big revamp. New features include a streamlined menu interface and increased security. Not all of the links work yet, but more features will come online soon.
- Va ka Garga ka naru ha Garga
- 2012-05-12 -- NinjaLA has sketched a new fearsome Kilrathi. With his latest warrior, Ninja has done a good job of introducing menacing facial features, and this sinister look goes beyond just drawing a humanoid tiger. The armor is inspired by the classic WC2 style with a WC Movie headpiece.
- Kilrathi Destroyer Continues to Take Shape
- 2012-05-11 -- Kevin Caccamo is once again working on a Ralari model. Since we last saw the ship, additional detail has been added to the window areas and secondary structure. It appears to conform to the Claw Marks schematic quite well.
- Wing Commander Stories From The Fatman
- 2012-05-10 -- In recent weeks, Armchair Arcade has been conducting a series of interviews with famous videogame composer George Sanger. The newest issue talks about his and Dave Govett's work on the soundtrack for the original Wing Commander. Well worth a listen!
- Super Rapier Models Ready To Go
- 2012-05-09 -- Klavs has completed design and prototyping of another physical model. His Super Wing Commander Rapier is now available for fellow Wingnuts in 1/600 scale from Shapeways. The image below reveals that, although tiny, the ship packs some incredible detail - very distinctive hull markings and guns!
- WC Saga Soundtrack Released
- 2012-05-08 -- The WC Saga team has released the soundtrack to their Freespace mod. They are also working on a spinoff album based on George Oldziey's tunes from Wing Commander 3. You can grab the Darkest Dawn OST here (187 meg zip).
- Garriott DVD Drops May 15
- 2012-05-08 -- Richard Garriott's Man on a Mission documentary will be released on DVD next Tuesday! This charming film captures Lord British's successful dream to become the world's first second-generation astronaut. Most reviews have been quite positive and the documentary has come highly recommended.
- Paradigm Deployed to Enigma Sector
- 2012-05-07
- New WC Ship Viewer In Development
- 2012-05-06 -- BOC_Havoc has put together a very sharp 3D ship viewer. The program is still in the prototype stages, but you can try out the current build here. The unity web player plugin is needed to see the model.
- Still Worthy of an Honorable Mention
- 2012-05-05 -- There aren't as many gaming sites name dropping Wing Commander as there were a decade ago, but they still pop up all over if you look. Here's a couple from just this week: HotHardware ran a feature on gaming clichés. The story decries the linear nature of modern games that screech to a halt if any losing conditions are met.
- Warren Spector Revisits Origin Memories
- 2012-05-05 -- Yet another Wing Commander mention this week came from an interview with Warren Spector. Metro.co.
- A Trip to the WC Universe is Right
- 2012-05-04 -- PlaySF magazine has put together a wacky article on Wing Commander and Christopher Blair. From the perspective of an inter-dimensional time traveler, the author jumps back in time to the year AD 2700 within the Wing Commander universe. Once there, he encounters James Taggart and the TCS Midway.
- Everything's Ship Shape!
- 2012-05-03 -- In recent days WCPedia contributor Iceblade has worked on finalizing a layout for the ship articles on the project. After experimenting with the Broadsword article, and creating a great layout in the process, he's started to implement that layout across the Confederation fighters category. Currently, the F-36 Hornet article is the most complete.
- HUDdle Up and Check Out New Cockpit Displays
- 2012-05-02 -- Aginor is working on a new Wing Commander mod, and this game will be played from the Kilrathi perspective. Although there won't be full dashboard cockpit graphics, each ship will have a unique heads up display. Most games use the same targeting crosshairs and reticle for all ships, but here are some examples of how Wing Commander 4 differentiated its craft.
- Don't Miss an Infoburst!
- 2012-05-02 -- Are you linked up to get the latest Wing Commander news right as it happens? In addition to the main website and CIC Forums, dedicated Wingnuts can follow the CIC on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and with RSS to stay in the loop as news breaks. In addition to hot stories, followers also see occasional special features and behind-the-scenes updates.
- Glance at Mod's Gwynedd Mission
- 2012-05-01 -- Here's some new shots from the Enigma 2666 mod that show off a fighter launch, autopilot fly-by and ship size comparison. Sharp players will quickly recognize the familiar Broadsword/Ferret pairing from the Fralthra Strike at the beginning of WC2 - a very fun mission, if you can keep the Broadswords alive! Here I used the Confederation Class from Klavs and the converted Broadsword from Standoff.
- Rapier Prepped for Production
- 2012-04-30 -- Klavs has finished his Super Wing Commander Rapier, and the result is gorgeous. These ships are now off to a trial at Shapeways 'rapid prototyping' lab. If the design pans out, small physical resin copies may be available to order soon.
- Academy DVD Approaching Fast
- 2012-04-29 -- There's just one month to go until the DVD box set of the Wing Commander Academy series is available! Amazon Prime members get first dibs with free release date delivery on May 29. Sites like Deep Discount and Barnes & Noble are a few dollars less and also offer free shipping, but delivery will take at least a few more days.
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