Wing Commander Movie Night: An American Werewolf in Paris

The Wing Commander movie club thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Star Wars, which we felt was just about a perfect movie. Next up: a movie that is not at all perfect that most of us probably have not ever seen. This time around, we held a vote for the theme for the next movie and the electorate chose 'something weird' instead of another war movie or sci-fi classic. And that something is An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

An American Werewolf in Paris is a 1997 horror-comedy film which is ostensibly a sequel to the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London (though this is apparently more of a Privateer 2 style connection). It might best be described as a totally forgettable 1990s horror movie that briefly held the attention of the MTV-generation. If you've seen it, it was probably at a dollar theater or the result of a questionable Blockbuster rental!

Okay but what about Wing Co… wait, it's a what? That's right, this horror-comedy werewolf sequel has some creative ties to the 1999 Wing Commander movie. The first connection is very literal: scenes for An American Werewolf in Paris were filmed at the same abandoned factory as Wing Commander! Per the movie's production notes we will want to watch for the 'Gothic cathedral' to see if it shares anything with the Tiger Claw:

“You can’t imagine how phenomenal this is,” [Producer Todd Moyer] tells the first visitors. “The sets are just incredible.” And he’s right; walking through the cavernous building in the middle of an industrial park on the outskirts takes your breath away. Todd guides his awestruck guests through the flight deck set. He lets us know that the place was once a munitions factory and, even more amazingly, not long ago it served as a Gothic cathedral in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS. Today, there’s no mistaking that this is the deck of a 27th-century intergalactic warship and it’s bustling with activity on all sides. Silver beams rise 20 metres along the 100-metre length of the building. Dozens of extras in filthy flight suits adjust instrument batteries and pore over monitors that are evidently 21st-century wonders: computer displays on slimline Nokia panels. Each one shows real action - ship graphics, hull temperature ratings, reams of data. Even the clipboards scattered across the desks contain important and humorous little details - everything from cotton-swab inventories to missile counts.

But in addition to sharing the same not-quite-a-sound-stage, there's a creative connection: An American Werewolf in Paris and Wing Commander were produced by Carousel Picture Company, one after the other. Carousel was a Luxembourg-based film production company founded by Romain Schroeder and Tom Reeve in 1995. It was thanks to Carousel that Wing Commander was able to shoot in Luxembourg and take advantage of the country's unique tax shelter for movie productions; it let Chris Roberts get a lot more for his relatively modest budget!

An American Werewolf in Paris also had the same 'practical vs. CG' debate as Wing Commander for its creature effects... and it went with CG, which earned harsh reviews. It could be seen as a view to another world where Wing Commander went with computer generated Kilrathi instead of rubber suits!

... in fact, the An American Werewolf in Paris poster is extremely similar to the Digital Anvil-designed foreign Wing Commander one…

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Good news: An American Werewolf in Paris is currently streaming for free on a dozen different platforms including Amazon Prime, Peacock, Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku and Plex! There's even a copy available on YouTube. If you would like a physical copy, the movie has been released on DVD in the United States and BluRay in Europe. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!