WingCommanderMovie: How would you have made it?

[Mjr. Whoopass]

If you were given full control and direction of the Wing Commander Movie, how would you have made it? What era would you have used- what actors/actresses would you cast? What kind of music/instruments would you use for the soundtrack? What style of special effects, direction, or any other aspect would you include? I've thought a little bit about this, but I'd be interested to see what kinds of ideas other fans would've had and how their movie would've turned out. I'd rather see the creative ideas of other people. This thread isn't meant to include WCM rocks/sucks comments. Rather, WCM "never existed" (pun intended) and you have unlimited budget and control to make it however YOU want (and it doesn't have to be successful in the box office).

 

[ChrisReid]

I'd film real space ships in space. Ben Affleck would play Christopher Blair, Jennifer Garner as Angel and Lucy Liu as Spirit. Snoop Dogg could do the title track and cameo as the mechanic who tells you how much you chewed up your fighter. The Kilrathi would be all CGI and it'd have a bunch of the characters from the cartoon. When you went to the theater, you'd get a promo ccg card with your ticket and you could download a demo for the Nintendo DS tie-in game. Everyone would love it.

 

[FrostyNSO]

...(and it doesn't have to be successful in the box office).

Luckily, we already know how to do that.

 

[Strigoi]

Strangely enough, if I were going to do a Wing Commander movie, I wouldn't focus on Blair or the Tiger's Claw or anything. I'd do something separate and stand-alone that would be able to stick viewers into the WC world without trampling on previously established characters. Perhaps a depiction of an earlier conflict in the Kilrathi war, with a running parallel to Wing Commander 3 with the Rapier replacing the Excalibur (and obviously no Kilrah run )
For the actors, I really couldn't say. I think I would have to follow in Lucas' footsteps, and pick out some little known actors who have good chemistry together, and a few big names (preferrably with stage experience) to round out the cast. I think Roy Scheider would be fun in a command role, he would just have to cut the patches off his SeaQuest uniform and be ready . I of course would love to have Ian McKellan in some role, but I'm not sure if he'd be good as a Terran. As a Kilrathi noble I could see it, but it would mean that he'd be limited in many of his emotive responses, what with a big mechanical mask on his head.
I think a good addition would be Levar Burton in his Roots years. They guy's got really expressive eyes, and that would be a big necessity what with the flight helmets.
I will admit that when it comes to the Wing Commander universe, I see WCIII as the pinnacle for set design. It's functional and sparse, yet still has a mild romanticism about it (and it had the best cats). So very much a WCIII style for set design and costuming.
Now for the music. I hate to be cruel and a pompous ass, but the Wing Commander theme stank. With little to no running chorus or established movement, I always found myself blinking, trying to grasp onto something to hum along to, and never found myself able to. I'm not saying that it had to be John Williams (who I think is overrated), but something like, oh, I don't know, Alan Silvestri would be good to capture the Space Opera style.
Now for the space battles, which is honestly what it's all about.
Obviously, CG is what one has to do for the battles, but an up close look will be required. Instead of modifying modern or older planes, I'd pull a Star Wars: Plexiglass and the Hitchcock method, with the only establishing shots being CGed. So some people might think the ships look fake, they'll still gasp when a Scimitar flies through a Fralthi launch bay and blows a bunch of stuff up.

Anyways, that's what I'd try.

 

[Mjr. Whoopass]

My WCM would be interactive. It would take place sometime around the WC3 era and wouldn't revolve around the Victory, but rather some other important battlegroup that may or may not cross paths on occasion with the WC3 game story (sounds like we have similar tastes Strigoi). It would reinforce rather than contradict the Wing Commander Universe.

Audience members could choose which characters they wanted to play in the movie. When combat happened, the audience members could take a controller and play on the movie screen- possibly on the new Nintendo or Xbox consoles in massive multiplayer style. The graphics would be AWESOME since programmers could concentrate on making only 30 mins. or so of gametime. Combat scenes that aren't played by the audience would also be shown with a combination of accurate models being used and enhancements by computer (although I like Chris' idea of using actual ships in space ).

Audience members who are playing a character could decide what their character says in true Wing Commander style and watch the actor say that. The results of the movie could depend upon what choices the audience members make and how well they do in combat. Each movie people would attend could have a different ending- maybe Confed loses (though I might make this a challenge to obtain), maybe a second mission branch might result and it ends like the WC3 game where we only HEAR of Blairs use of the T-Bomb (YOUR battlegroup provides the distraction that allows Blair to make it and is seen in the WC3 game's sceen where the huge fleet meets near Kilrah), or maybe a third result where your battlegroup gets credit for winning the war rather than the Victory's battlegroup (save the Behemoth, capture Kilrah/the Emporer, etc?) and one of the audience member's characters becomes the hero of the war rather than Blair.

I would cooperate with academy award winning composer John Corigliano (one of my composition teachers when i was in college) and we would include some themes of the WC games and make them sound good (I agree the WC music is not that great)- though he'd do most of the boring (IMO) labor of orchestrating and notating the music. John Meir (sp?) could write a touching theme that could be played by one of the musically inclined characters (like Vaquero, though this character would play more than just bar chords ) and appear throughout as orchestrated by Corigliano.

The story would follow several characters who each have varying missions which start from the battlegroup and compliment each other- much like Lord of the Rings in space... oh and I want to borrow the idea that Snoop Dogg would play a mechanic who gets pissed when you trash your fighter- haha, nice Chris. I think I would choose Mel Gibson as the captain of the flagship carrier or an admiral. I could have Jet Li along with Goldberg or some other tough guy as Confed marines who end up kicking some Kilrathi butt as a marine boarding party. I might want to include a Star Wars actor to continue the tradition of Star Wars actors in Wing Commander- perhaps Harrison Ford or Samuel Jackson depending on who might match the story that's written by top Hollywood screenwriters, top WC fanfic writers, and me. I think it could be a hit, and people would want to go several times to see the different results.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Interesting...I'm assuming that if I were making the movie I'd still be limited to the same very small budget that Chris Roberts had. To free up the most possible money I would probably hire no big name actors...just some unknowns that mesh very well together. Perhaps I would borrow like Roberts did several characters from the games...I think I would still try to work in John Rhys Davis somehow though...maybe not as Paladdin but as another notable character. I would do it all completely CGI and forget wasting the money converting the Hurricane cockpit into a fighter looking thing. CGI for spaceship scenes is now so good you almost can't tell the difference (see BSG for example). Although the sound track for WCM was pretty darn good I'm not necessarily sure I'd go all out on it...realizing that my $10M dollar movie probably isn't going to win any awards for best soundtrack. I would settle for a cheaper more cost effective way by going back to some of the earlier musicians who worked on the games. (Obviously it would have to be higher quality that the WC1 and 2 tracks. ).

With the extra money these cuts would free up I would focus on these things:

1. Using a script that parallels WC1 but utilizes strong relationships between characters (include the WC1 characters, Iceman, Hunter, Angel, Spirit, Bossman, Knight, Paladin, Maniac, Maverick) and one that doesn't make the main character a
super human (i.e. Blair getting to board a Kilrathi ship and kick some Kilrathi ass up close or being able to compute jump calculations in his head on the fly...not that these things are necessarily bad just I don't think they are needed and didn't seem to strike that great of a chord with the average viewer).
2. Greatly upscale the marketing scheme...WCM really suffered in this department...mainly due to the uncertainity surrounding SW Episode 1 and had a serious time crunch to get out there. I would pour a good chunk of change into the marketing...hype it up a great deal. With the right kind of marketing...even a crappy movie will make a profit (especially one that is produced with the kind of budget WC had).
3. Limit the space fighting scenes to 3 or 4 main scenes. As much as I love good space combat...too much of it on screen can become repetitive. I'd borrow a tip from the original SW and limit it to smaller sections and focus more on a plot in between the big battles. I also think that instead of just killing the Kilrathi ships one by one as they enter the jump point that I would end the movie with a great big space battle between the two fleets. Blair and his wing would be responsible for destroying the Kilrathi flagship. Yeah, that sounds fun.

 

[Mace]

A think you could tell a better story by turning it into a TV-series.

I would take the script WC1, and continue into SM1 and 2 would have if you'd were to take as many losing paths but still be able to have the winning ending. introducing all characters, just like in the game, first encounter with a fralthi,
introduction to the rapier ship, striking the venice base, goddard colony and the
sivar.. I would also make the cat's more wc3-ish, and introduce the main characters, , I would also make them talk english, and not just growl(that way they can make cool one-liners). from there follow futher developments of the
original games.

The ships would recognizable as the ships from the games.

Also i would have the game's actors return in some scenes(say make mark hamill
play halcyon for example, and tom wilson as shotglass).

 

[ChrisReid]

Although the sound track for WCM was pretty darn good I'm not necessarily sure I'd go all out on it...realizing that my $10M dollar movie probably isn't going to win any awards for best soundtrack. I would settle for a cheaper more cost effective way by going back to some of the earlier musicians who worked on the games. (Obviously it would have to be higher quality that the WC1 and 2 tracks. ).

ace is the clear choice for soundtrack composer.

 

[LeHah]

ace is the clear choice for soundtrack composer.

How about ace as an arranger or co-composer? I'd sure like to hear Fatman come back to the series.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Ah, classic Fatman...don't think it would work for a movie though...maybe a tv series or a cartoon but not the movie. I would like to hear some of Ace's stuff though...I've heard good things. I suppose this is off-topic though...

 

[Delance]

Wing Commander Begins.

Directed by Chistopher Nolan.

Christian Bale ... Blair
Edward Norton ... Maniac
Malcom Mcdowell … Commodore Tolwyn
John Rhys-Davis ... Paladin, Thrakkath
Gary Oldman … Col. Halcyon
Liam Neeson … Cap. Thorn
Rutger Hauer … Col. Krieger
Scarlett Johansson … Angel
Morgan Freeman … Knight
Cillian Murphy… Iceman
Ken Watanabe … Bossman
Hugh Jackman ... Hunter
Tim Curry … Melek

 

[Silverain]

<brief interjection>

Why not film 'Custer's Carnival'?

Perfect lead in... Lone ship dispatched to 'save the day' by holding off enemy forces to allow the escape of transports. Heroic battles against numerous odds, with our ship badly damaged but escaping to fight again another day - sequel anyone?

Introduces all the core characters on the Tiger's Claw before Blair and Maniac arrive (a la WC1), with no need to focus on any particular one.

Re: Hugh Jackman as Hunter. Being Australian, I can definitely see this as a possibility. Hugh has the rugged face reminiscent of Hunter's picture in Claw Marks. As to actors used though, I agree the Lucas approach (getting a group of unknowns who work well together in the filming) would be the better option - though I wouldn't pass on a group of knowns.

Battle scenes would almost have to be CGI, and as for ship location shots I would probably prefer a WCIII visual look (even though its not strictly accurate).

 

[McGruff]

Hamill is the only one I can picture playing Blair, and since he's a bit long in the tooth to be playing a new academy grad I'd like to see a post Prophecy rescue mission. Somewhere in the film Freddie Prinz Jr. would have a bit part where he becomes roach chow. Overmortal could do the score.

 

[TC]

Perfect lead in... Lone ship dispatched to 'save the day' by holding off enemy forces to allow the escape of transports. Heroic battles against numerous odds, with our ship badly damaged but escaping to fight again another day - sequel anyone?

As opposed to what we got?

Lone ship dispatched to save the day by holding off enemy forces to allow the Confederation fleet to reach earth. Heroic battles against numerous odds, with our ship damaged but escaping to fight another day?

 

[Fatcat]

I would keep with the Wc1 theme, and I would not make drastic, retarded changes like re-making the Rapier or the Tiger's Claw. I would get competent actors, and make sure the Kilrathi don't look like, well, shaved chimps. Remove the smoke and green light, go back to red and tan. Use the Wc1 style Kilrathi, and use awesome CGI for the space fights. The story should revolve around the SM1 plot (Goddard Colony destroyed by the Sivar). The only change in ships would be to remake the sivar so it doesn't have a huge cauldron on the front.

 

[ChrisReid]

I would not make drastic, retarded changes

"2) If you think a subject you're posting is controversial (eg. Blair's death, politics, religion), think twice before posting it. A good debate is encouraged, but some subjects have already been debated to the death."

I would not make drastic, retarded changes like re-making the Rapier or the Tiger's Claw. The only change in ships would be to remake the sivar so it doesn't have a huge cauldron on the front.

Yeah, changes are dumb. Unless they're the ones you feel like making. The good news is, it's already been done for you (along with the Tiger's Claw)

​

Use the Wc1 style Kilrathi

Yeah! No more Kilrathi covered head to toe in armor.

 

[Silverain]

As opposed to what we got?

Lone ship dispatched to save the day by holding off enemy forces to allow the Confederation fleet to reach earth. Heroic battles against numerous odds, with our ship damaged but escaping to fight another day?

Point

 

[Marc]

First of, I would've made it entirely by 3D animation. Think about the style of the TOY STORY-2 intro where we follow the Buzz-Lightyear video-game... THAT's exactly the style I'd like to see a WC movie.

Secondly, I would've made it about one of the books, probaly on END RUN.

Third, and most important of all, I'd hire a good writer and whait for as long as it took to make a damn good drama-filled adaptation. Nice ships are fun but a movie is about a story- if you don't have that, no amount of visual candy is gonna save it.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I would keep with the Wc1 theme, and I would not make drastic, retarded changes like re-making the Rapier or the Tiger's Claw. I would get competent actors, and make sure the Kilrathi don't look like, well, shaved chimps.

The original game's design 'style' is somewhat laughable in retrospect: the Tiger's Claw's complement includes both Firefox and The Last Starfighter. We should probably be more embarassed about that -- but at the very least we should understand what the movie tried to do with the ships.

The idea was a very good one - show that the movie is trying to be the Pacific War in Space. The script lacked this idea, which is truly what should be at the core of a Wing Commander story. The fighters were clearly designed to bring to mind Thunderbolts and Flying Fortreses, and the capital ships were clearly battleships and submarines.

The real problem is that they didn't go all the way; or at least they applied an unfortunate modern sensibility to the style. Wing Commander should be romantic World War II rather than the 'realistic' World War II that's gained popularity of late. When we think about Mustangs we think about shiney silver bullets and not rusty, work weary killing machines.

The Wing Commander movie should have been more willing to revel in anachronisms - we should have had beautiful silver Rapiers with big blue Confederation logos on their wings and fuselages, brightly colored tail markings, red nar Kiranka kill markings on their noses and, of course, pretty girls painted on the noses.

The movie wasn't willing to go whole hog -- it wanted the viewers to still think that the setting made some kind of sense, and that just muddled the waters. Yes, a submarine is logically more like a space ship than an aircraft carrier... but it just didn't come together properly. We should have seen the USS Hornet in space, complete with nonsensically huge hangars, ugly Soyuz-green command centers and big banners proclaiming the ships combat history.

Re: the actors. I think this is one of the most underappreciated aspects of the movie-as-made. If there's one thing that really, really works its how the casting played into the idea of the movie -- the rookies are baby faced American stars and the veterans are an international cast of experienced European character actors. Too many very stupid people completely wrote the cast off because Prinze became popular (after the movie was made!) -- and that's just idiotic.

I don't think I'd want to see any of the games cast - for one, they're not great actors and for two anything you could do with them would be very frustrating. Seeing game-Blair as the janitor who gives movie-Blair good advice would only make people angry - and it's not a clever thing to do. It's one of those things that sort of seems like a good idea until you think about how really obvious it is and how there's absolutely no point. What's the connection we're supposed to draw? "Oooh, he's going to grow up to be him! How smart!" Similarly, seeing Mark Hamill trying to play a twenty four year old would sink a movie pretty easily.

I guess my desire would be to write it patterned after a classic war movie from the ground up rather than any sort of character drama. Tora! Tora! Tora! in space would be brilliant; Midway in space would be passable. Above all, though, play up all the old war movie cliches - lets see Kilrathi generals talking with subtitles and the like.

 

[Malar]

​

Looks like a Star Destroyer, which had have love with a Mon Calamari Cruiser in resulting with an offspring like that Kilrathi Cruiser from Super WC and Armada.

To the topic:

I think, the main problem isn't that, in which conceptual direction the movie would/should be made of.

My prefered version would be anything as we now WC nowadays. It would be a version of it, how I misinterpreted the senario as I first encountered it, through spotting some lose pictures of its gaming boxes and some nice original design element ideas, which WC was based of. Another way would be the perfect but also compromised melding of all canon-sources and a fixation on a part of WC history.
Or the 1:1 inconsequent adaption of the gaming story.

The problem is: for which audience? Make it holywood-wise (which I dislike, because the threatening loss of originality, mostly stupid, unfitting actors - I mean, that's an idealistic future, the human species must also evolved or altered a bit (think of different enviromental influences of colonies, the effect of space travel, medicine), mayhaps some worthy actors as exceptional contrast (Malcolm McDowell for example)) or as independent-movie. Should it has a message or an artistical appeal or should it transfers the old atmosphere to a new medium? I think it's very controversial. The main problem was already been made by the founder(s) of WC themselves. An unfinished storyline, too much space for speculation because of contradicting indications in the novel-sources and so on. Of course, that's one of the reason why WC is in some kind legendary, but this for what it is famous to discuss, spawns problems, like the one, which is impossible to make a movie that could suit the whole audience (the targeted new, or the remaining thousand ones of WC-enthusiasts)?

Hm, about what LOAF is saying: if that was the (obvious) actual concept, then the WC Movie failed IMO, though, a lack of subtle implimentation of these WW warfare - romanticization. But as I understand this WW-adaption-concept fully now, it would look interesting, LOAF's envisionment of WC (and perhaps the initiate but failed approach of the done movie).