We Used to be Cool

A rumor recently circulated that mostly-dormant and totally disgraced movie news site Ain't It Cool News was set to shut down and delete forever their two plus decade archive of movie reporting and reviews. For those too young to remember the 90s, Ain't It Cool News was a massively popular movie news site that proliferated during the early days of the web. They defined a sort of quasi-gonzo entertainment reporting whose long tail still defines how movies are reported on today. They were proudly unprofessional enfants terrible, printing rumor, fact and outrageous opinion as if all were one and the same. In the process, they became the darlings of the new digital Hollywood and by the late 90s had direct and personal access to filmmakers that skipped the traditional boundaries of PR. The result was a crude mess of a website with a lot of screaming... but one which tied itself to the history of the medium. With the threat that their archive would be taken offline, I thought it would be a good time to preserve their coverage of the Wing Commander movie 'as it happened'. I remember being particularly jealous of the fact that they could go to Digital Anvil to check out the SFX work months before the movie came out. Enjoy!

Wing Commander Coolness (Original URL)

Published at: Jan. 28, 1998, midnight CST by staff

Wing Commander Movie Story Boards!!! Cooooooool!! Well, I figured when I got that news above about Lost In Space, I figured it would be cool to pair them up. So enjoy.

Here are some Wing Commander storyboards I was able to come by, which I found in the January '98 edition of 'Ultimate PC' (a british mag).'wing1' depicts a simple explosion. 'wing2' depicts an interesting Kilrathi Ship (I don't recognize the make of the ship). 'wing4' depicts Christopher Blair in the cockpit of a fighter. Hope they are of some interest to you...

Wing Commander rockets from your PC to the big screen (original URL)

Published at: Aug. 13, 1998, 9:30 a.m. CST by staff

Father Geek reporting in with a story of cool coolness from downtown Austin, Texas. About 3pm last Thursday, August 6th, the phone here at Geek Headquarters conveyed us an interesting message from none other than Chris Roberts of Digital Anvil. "Would we like a peek at some out takes and the trailer for their new wide screen feature film, "Wing Commander"?" We leaped into the "Tick" (that's our big, blood-sucking blue van), and headed downtown. Now the appointment was for 5pm and it takes us only about 15 minutes to reach the State Capitol that rests in the shadow of the historic old building that is Digital Anvil so we hit a local salad & potato bar to fortify our bodies for what lay ahead.

We enter the lobby of antique brick and raw metal (copper, zinc, & tin) at exactly the appointed time, and the babe behind the counter informs us that Chris is out, somewhere along 5th street. We're near 4th and Congress, so we hang out, checking out the framed stills from the film hanging on these great aged brick walls. Outstanding one of a Kilrathi, and there's Maniac, cooool, and Paladin all rigged up for some sort of weightlessness shoot, and that must be Blair & Deveraux....."Hey, guys!" brings us back to Earth. We turn and there's Chris (shorts, black t-shirt and black ball cap on backwards), looks like he been biking. We ask about the Paladin shot on the wall behind us and he explains that an airlock has been blasted open and he's about to be sucked into space, buuuut......

The tour begins. We trek by a mountain of mountain bikes at the base of the stairway. AAAAAAAAhhhh, I love these new age businesses and businessmen. Chris shows us an eight foot crate of newly arrived computer hardware, mumbles something about gigawatts, and introduces us to dozens of techs, execs, and artists. It's after 5 and he's still got these guys chained to their keyboards, why? The Wing Commander feature is do out this fall, and digital artists are busy twiking the mucho mucho effects shots this galactic war epic requires. We see techs adding lights to the windows of one warship, and another artist is busy removing headlights from another ship. A group of 3 are huddled around another monitor attempting to arrive at just the right lighting for an interior, previous shot live action scene. Everywhere are models of the great warships & fighters used in the film. These are fantastic toys ranging a few inches in length to a few feet, and are they detailed, too cool. We see a wall of production art, ink and watercolors of super cool costumes and makeup. Chris informs us that the're using the same designer who created those great spacesuits for "Armageddon", outstanding. Then we turn a corner and notice that the "Dust til Dawn" and "Desperado" framed pieces have been removed from their niches in the long hallway and in their places dozens and dozens of "Wing Commander" storyboards have been erected, dogfights in space, sneak attacks, and cosmic explosions greet our geek's eyes. Our brains are in sensory overload and we haven't even seen what we came he to see yet.

Finially we arrive at the bare metal of the steel entry door to the screening & conference room, we've been here before, months ago, too see some of the early, raw effects footage from this computer game to the big screen pathfinding effort. Now we would be privy to the finished, yet to be released, trailer and a reel of nearly complete effects footage. The lights dim around the conference table electronic desk (reminds me of David Warner's in "Tron") Harry and I have chosen to sit at for this presentation of state-of-the-art digital artistry. A couple of techs sneak into the shadows. Someone in their group shouts, "turn it up loud!"

The ultra wide screen is bathed in incredible star field light, astounding nebulae spin with color, and the drums are ripped from our ears as rockets blast from behind us to tear onto the peaceful beauty of the scene before us. What "Saving Private Ryan" does for World War II imagery this does for the visuals of war in 2654 AD. Ships twist & turn, racing across a screen filled with depth and color, rockets track & seekout their prey vaporizing them above planets that mere words cannot describe. A huge asteroid slowly cruises into frame. As we drift closer we can see that this "rock" is covered with a lattice work of towers, gun emplacements, antennae and docks...huge battleships sit idle in their berths. Two monstrously large ion engines are imbedded in the "rear" of this mobile naval base. This is Vega sector fleet headquarters - Terran Confederation - Asteroid world Pegasus. From above, we see what must be the shadows of a hundred Kilrathi bombers pass over the surface of this rock, followed by the scream of strange, alien engines.The talon shaped craft dive into frame and begin their bombing run. This is what will be the opening 60 seconds of the film whose goal is to redefine space warfare in the motion pictures. The footage shown to Harry and I is nothing short of fantastic, and Chris Roberts says these scenes aren't finished, they're still fine tuning them. Whoa, I can't wait. Chris says,"reel it up again!" Yeah, thats more like it, let's make a loop and watch it all night. Fellow Geeks, I can't speak of the drama or acting in this film, we haven't seen any of it, but one thing is for sure, this ain't just a computer game any more. It's a big spralling motion picture of worlds, creatures, and war at the edge of the universe that will blast you in your seat. Like I said earlier, this is one old sci-fi geek that can't wait for November to get here.

Some pics from WING COMMANDER: The Movie (original URL)

Published at: Dec. 6, 1998, 9:49 p.m. CST by staff

Hey folks, Harry here. Well, does anyone know when WING COMMANDER THE MOVIE is gonna come out? I'm curious because... well... I'm dying to see the thing. I went on a tour of DIGITAL ANVIL where they are doing the special effects quite some time ago, and saw tons of very cool things. Mainly some of the space footage which was very very pretty. It looked alot like the sorts of ships they have in the WING COMMANDER games, but much better renderings, gorgeous textures, and the space scenery itself was very... 'Hubble-y'!!! I met with Chris Roberts about the film, and he seemed very excited about the project. I can't wait to see more from it of course, and I imagine the film isn't too far from being released, as they were on a schedule to deliver the film to FOX right around now, which would probably mean a release sometime in the first quarter of next year. Let's see. For now, here are some cool pics...

NEWLY UPDATED: Review of (and sound clip from) the "Wing Commander" movie score ((now with MP3!!!)) (Original URL)

Published at: Feb. 24, 1999, 9:19 a.m. CST by staff

Glen here...
...for those of you coming in from "Coolnews", and usually don't visit Coaxial, go away! Just kidding. Welcome!!! You're now in the COAXIAL section of Aint It Cool News.

Weird stuff goes on here all the time.

Coax is an eclectic assortment of news & rumors, something of a hodge-podge governed by my own personal tastes, and the availability of interesting stuff to post at any given time. If you've already had enough - or when you're done with the Wing Commander stuff - you can CLICK HERE to exit to the AICN main page!

For those who may not know, I sometimes review CDs. Today, I'm reviewing a forthcoming release from Sonic Images. Specifically, David Arnold & Kevin Kiner's soaring score for Fox's Wing Commander movie (due in theaters March 12, with a brand-new Star Wars Prequel trailer attached for good measure).

Wing Commander is, simply, a score which is likely to go on long after the movie itself has faded into oblivion. It's not a tremendous score, but it is huge, energized and propulsive - drawing on many of the sensibilities which make its two composers so good to begin with.

The Wing Commander score is richly textured and incredibly layered, various melody lines dodging in and out of (and running beneath) action motifs create a sense of both consistent style within the score, and an ever changing tapestry in it's presentation. It's got a specific sound, but it's varied enough so it doesn't become boring.

Wing Commander's theme was composed by David Arnold (who, I am told, also served as something of a "supervisor" for the rest of the score). One may remember Arnold's work from Stargate, Independence Day, and the amazingly suave and cool score for Tomorrow Never Dies. In fact, Wing Commander's score manifests many of Tomorrow Never Dies' better sensibilities - if you dug Arnold's work in TND, you'll probably get a kick out of WC.

Arnold associate Kevin Kiner is credited with composing the WC score itself. Kiner has scored the Emmerich and Devlin series The Visitor (for which Arnold wrote the theme show's music and score for the first episode) and Stargate SG-1 (Arnold's theme is cannibalized and used throughout the series). In other words, Kiner knows how to work with Arnold as a guideline, and how to integrate his own "sound" with Arnolds' unique style. The result is a nice mix between the two composers, as Kiner's work is not entirely imitative, but recognizable enough as not to clash with with the efforts of the composer he is trying to complement.

Richly textured and densely layered, Arnold and Kiner's Wing Commander score should hit stores on March 9. Having not seen the film, I can not vouch for how well this score will work with the imagery it's meant to accompany. But on its own, this is a fun and exhilarating listen which may well become a cult favorite in the not too distant future.


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NEWLY UPDATED !!!

Due to the unbelievable coolness of a few kind Coaxial readers, I am now able to provide the much-requested MP3 clips of the theme to the Wing Commander movie!

Very cool of you folks - this is appreciated by many people, including myself...


CLICK HERE to access an 111KB MP3 sampling of the Wing Commander movie theme !!!((Thank You, JURGEN!!!))

CLICK HERE to access a 454KB MP3 sampling of the Wing Commander movie theme !!!((Thank You, DINO!!!))

CLICK HERE to download from a site which has converted & uploaded the Wing Commander theme in MP3 ((Thank You, ERIC!!!))

CLICK HERE to jump to a site where you can get playes such as Winmap or the new Windows Media Player which will enable you to listen to MP3 files !!!

CLICK HERE to access a 911KB sampling of the Wing Commander movie theme !!!((Okay sound))

CLICK HERE to download a .wav file of the Wing Commander movie theme music ((approx 28 seconds worth of music)) TREMENDOUS sound, large download @ approx 4.5meg!!!

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CLICK HERE to jump to the Sonic Images web site!!! The score will be available for purchase there shortly, if it isn't already.

"Wing Commander" movie score web site now open ((includes order form)) (Original URL)

Published at: March 2, 1999, 10:26 a.m. CST by staff

Glen here...
With a quick follow-up to the Wing Commander movie score review I posted last week.

Sonic Images, my gracious and benevolent benefactors (who are also releasing the score for the film) just opened a web page for the score, including more sound samplings from the film's music, and the capacity to order the score directly from Sonic.

This page can be accessed at:

sonicimages.com/soundtracks/wingcommander/

STAR WARS EPISODE ONE Trailer Two will be with WING COMMANDER (Original URL)

Published at: March 4, 1999, 5:23 a.m. CST by staff

Alrighty folks, I finally heard from my bug on the bottom of Bill Mechanic's desk, and heard that on the weekend of the 12, 13 and 14... that the guaranteed place to see the 2nd trailer for STAR WARS EPISODE ONE... well... It'll be attached to WING COMMANDER the movie. After that weekend it's likely to be distributed to all types of films, and as far as I know it won't be with CORRUPTOR... unless the theater cuts it off the print of WING COMMANDER and sticks it on CORRUPTOR. According to my little electronic monitoring device tuned into Mr Mechanic... if you wanna see it... go see WING COMMANDER. I guess we can expect a firm announcement from the STARWARS.COM site any day now as... well... it's getting close to the wire.

In addition on the 10th at SHOWEST, there will be a HUMONGOUS Star Wars presentation (I've heard) and if not for a prior commitment to deliver a talk at the Winnipeg Film Festival... I'd be there to cover it for ya. I had a press pass lined up, but due to my own bungling... well, I discovered too late the problem... soooooo, I'm honoring my prior commitment... argh... You know, being an adult sucks. Me wanna go see STAR WARS STUFF, and EYES WIDE SHUT STUFF... Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh... Who knows, perhaps, if I ask the tooth fairy, I'll get a tape of the ShoWest reels.... "When you wish upon a star..."

Yeah... I know you folks in TALK BACK are saying "oooooooollld neeewwws" but this is no longer speculation, but straight from the top. I wasn't posting this bit until I had it absolutely confirmed, as I am sick and tired of speculation as to when the various trailers will hit. It was something like 6 different films the first time... But this is one for the bank...

WING COMMANDER sneaks in Tulsa! (Original URL)

Published at: March 10, 1999, 10:48 a.m. CST by staff
Father Geek here at Geek Headquarters with a brief look at the sneak preview of WING COMMANDER held up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I've seen this film and really enjoyed it, though I felt it would have been for better with the orginal gaming cast. I simply don't understand the change. Oh,well, here's an Okie's point of view...

Well I just got home from a sneak preview here in Tulsa. I think it;s the first review so I'm not typing much! It's "original but disappointing." But not soo-bad that you should avoid it, and nobody walked out.. There was no SW trailer. I have played the games and they tied a lot fo stuff in there, but I was surprised how much they tried to fit in. When you hear all the familiar names with an audience who doesn't know any of it (I assume) you realize there is too much. Anyhow the effects were good, colorful anyway, and it definitely has a war style all of its own, I didn't think it was ripping off anything particular. The story is a bit kiddie-like. I have to go see it again to absorb it all. They did change quite a bit of stuff from the games, but I don';t have a problem with that unlike some of my friends.

Marc

El Cosmico looks at WING COMMANDER (Original URL)

Published at: March 12, 1999, 6:40 a.m. CST by staff

Seldom does this happen, but I have to say this... This review says nearly everything I feel about this movie. I bought my first computer to play WING COMMANDER III, then upgraded for IV. When I went to see the movie, I pretended in my mind that I was there to see a movie along the lines of THE LAST STARFIGHTER or BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. And for a bit, I thought that's what I had received. But then... reality came creeping in, and the thought hit me... Where the hell was Mark Hamill, John Rhys Davies, Malcolm McDowell, Ginger Lynn and Biff from BACK TO THE FUTURE? I mean you are making a science fiction movie knowing that it will be coming out the same year as STAR WARS EPISODE ONE. Your movie is based on a video game starring LUKE SKYWALKER as your main character. But instead you go with Freddie Prinze Jr. I don't understand. The film's effects were very nice and I liked the film more than the recent installment of Star Trek, but... it was riddled with porblems. And for now, I'll let El Cosmico tell you about them. On Tuesday I have a q&A that I'm doing with Chris Roberts at SXSW and I hope to have a very frank discussion about the difficulties of making the move from Video Games to Feature Films as well as what he learned from this project. I consider the film to be a Saturday Matinee film. And for now... here's El Cosmico....

Good day, Harry.

I have been instructed to send you a review. There were many emotions expressed by the others I joined at the premiere which somehow have, in their confluence, brought this task to me. I probably do not need to elaborate on such matters. This being said, I give you my review, to do with as you wish. You may choose to not publish it, and I will understand. If you wish to credit me, please use the name El Cosmico.-

First, I should say that this film demonstrates some very competent special effects work, and in doing so, improves Austin's general ability to produce quality films independently of more traditional means. This is a fine accomplishment, and Digital Anvil should be commended for it. Second, a consideration in judging the film is that it was created in a fairly short span of time, on a very limited budget. For the latter reason alone, this film will likely be quite profitable, which is not at all an undesirable thing. Also, the director seems like a nice fellow, and it's his first film. However...

The reality we inhabit for most of our lives is a confusing one, full of things which cannot be known. Human culture attempts to make sense of things, and for a time, many of us can imagine that there is sensibility in the world we encounter. Human culture, however, also has the ability to confound.

I experienced such a confusion during most of my viewing of Wing Commander: The Movie. It reminded me of journeys into alternate perceptions of realities that I have had. During such adventures, amidst the great confusion, there is often a clarity to be distilled from the senseless.

The after-party, with its yummy finger foods, free liquid, and delightfully formed waitresses almost disarmed me. My frustration arose again when I realized that the femme I was visualizing pleasure with was probably on the south side of legal. Perhaps she would lie to me about her age, I thought. Then again, sometimes one must act against legal concerns when issues of justice are concerned. After all, can one legislate love? I think not. The matter left me when I was distracted by the barmaid's bosom. This led me to miss out on a free refill of my beverage. More frustration.

I left and drove home listening to Santana-You Just Don't Care. Thinking about the responsibility of telling the truth, and wavering, I felt like I was being accused of kindness and understanding. As Soul Sacrifice began, I pictured a ghostly bracelet around my wrist, with the glowing words, "What Would El Cosmico Do?"

I would warn the world of an industry which seeks to extract around seven dollars from innocents...in exchange for something of less value. If I could bargain with the ticket counter, like a market vendor in Marrakesh, I think I would try to take the fellow down to a couple of bucks and a beer on this one. Perhaps I would simply walk away.

I kept asking myself if this film intended all of the great number of cliches I perceived, or some of them, or perhaps even none. I came away without clarity on this matter. I am sure, for instance, that the Das Boot reference, complete with Jurgen Prochnow, was intended. I don't think, however, that it was meant to be quite as ridiculous as it was, or as lacking in continuity and quality as it was.

From this entire experience, I am able to recollect the following disturbing puzzles:

Aren't the Kilrathi supposed to be cat-people? If so, who were the stiff and ugly rubber people who kept hanging around and fucking shit up? Why did the stand-up model in the lobby look better than the ones on screen? Why must people keep casting the fellow who played "Maniac" in films that I see? Can Freddie Prinze Jr. spend more than a few moments without his mouth hanging open? I mean, can he? Surely one Keanu Reeves is enough for the world. This is not a niche which needs expansion. Please let The Matrix be a cool movie...oh please. How could the makers of Eaters of The Dead change the name? That has to be the coolest name ever and you people are changing it? Are you on crack?

Okay, back to this particular pelicula. More questions. So we've got this precious AI navigation unit which must be safeguarded at all costs from capture. Its self-destruct mechanism malfunctions after someone sneezes or something, just when the rubber people are about to enter the room and take it. Of course, it is housed in an impenetrable chamber, so it cannot be destroyed. Then, the rubber people steal it from the impenetrable chamber. After they are in possession of it and are going to use it to invade Earth, the humans attack the rubber people ship which houses it, and have the option of taking it home, but they leave it. If there was a word which illustrated the concept of a question mark better than "huh?" I would use it.

There is also a morality system in which pilots deny the existence of fellow pilots who have met their doom in combat, because it is apparently too painful to deal with. Again, I say "Huh?" Who are these wimp-asses? Are these people soldiers or not? Do we want people with such repression piloting our spacecraft? Even more puzzling, how is it that Freddie manages to convince these people to abandon this system of repression that they have apparently maintained for quite a long time with just a few short words? I was so unconvinced by his speech on the matter that I almost decided that from then on, I should repress all of my own emotions. This feeling soon lapsed as I wondered why the Kilrathi command ships looked exactly like the human command ships...even the bridges looked the same. Did they both hire the same production designer? There were also some problems with the motion effects on the Rapier fighters, which just looked dingy and not-quite-right.

I must also wonder how Jurgen Prochnow was convinced to utter invectives against "Pilgrims" on so many occasions while keeping a straight face. Surely, at some point while reading the script, the fellow must have mentioned to someone, "Look, I think they get the damn point. Pilgrims suck." We're never quite sure why people hate the Pilgrims so much, and when an attempt at explaining the issue comes up, I repeated the mantra of the evening, "What the hell? Is this supposed to be over-the-top stupid funny, or is it just really bad?" I think it was probably pretty bad. Keanu, I mean Freddie, also seems to have trouble dealing with the issue, as well as every other issue. This is merely a symptom of a greater problem with the film, which is the effort to cram a great deal of background information into a very short amount of time, through the use of bad writing. Imagine trying to explain Kabuki in 30 seconds while you are drunk off your ass. The listener's reaction would be similar in both cases.

There are more things I could complain about, but it's all the same sort of stuff, and I'm sleepy. I don't like saying bad things about something that people have worked hard on, but this movie just wasn't good, and that's all there is to it. I think teenage girls who dig Freddie will probably like this movie. I'm sure it will make plenty of money. I think that if there's a sequel, it will probably be better. If it's any indication, I overheard some people who work for either Digital Anvil or Origin (the company that made the video game series) express anguish at watching this film, feeling that it was bad, and not even faithful to the original story line.

I too felt anguish. I don't care if it followed the original story line or not. All I know is that the acting wasn't there, the dialogue wasn't there, there was no plot exposition, no continuity, and, well, most of the effects were pretty good. It was sort of fun at moments, but mostly not. That's about all I have to say about that. I wish the filmmakers good luck at the box office, and hope their next projects improve upon this one.

A year later, they happened to conduct a very comprehensive interview with Wing Commander III and Prophecy star Ginger Lynn Allen. We've pulled out the Wing Commander-related answers for history!

Tom Joad interviews Ginger Lynn Allen about THE INDEPENDENT! (Original URL)

Published at: April 3, 2000, 9:26 a.m. CST by staff

JOAD: How did you land the INDEPENDENT? Did you meet with the director beforehand?

GINGER: Nicole and Joy, the casting directors who brought me in for this also brought me in for 'Wing Commander' both for 'Prophecy' and 'Heart of the Tiger'. They also brought me in for "Casino". I had three call-backs and a screen test, I was up for the Sharon Stone part. But the name of the character when I read for the part was not originally Ginger, as it was in the film. For a month my parents were sending me the little cards with the cat, you know, hanging there - because it was down to one other person, and me but they wouldn't tell me who it was. Sharon Stone obviously did the role… so Nicole and Joy brought me in for "The Independent" and Steve auditioned me for one of the… do you remember the two girls with the great big breasts that do the same movie over and over and over again? He brought me in to audition for one of those roles and said, 'Oh you're wonderful, you're hired and I'll call you.' And like a year went by and he never did and I thought like, 'Thanks, nice to meet you…' and he called back and said we want you to play the role of the mayor. Nice little role.

Tom Joad Presses For More Info From GINGER LYNN and THE INDEPENDENT (Original URL)

Published at: April 13, 2000, 6:09 a.m. CST by staff

JOAD: How was your experience getting the gig for WING COMMANDER w/Chris Roberts?

GINGER: Nicole and Joy - the same two casting agents who brought me in to audition for "The Independent" - brought me in to read for "Wing Commander - Heart Of the Tiger". Whether or not they knew of my adult film past or not, I don't know. I do know that when Chris Roberts initially saw me on my first call back, he did not know of my adult career, and cast me on my acting abilities. Principal filming took place in the Los Angeles area with most of the shoot shot on green screen. My grandmother came to the set one day wearing lime green pants. It was pretty comical to see the top half of my Gram floating across the monitor when she walked out onto the sound stage. Wing Commander was one of the first, if not the first big productions to combine true interactive with film. The script was near 300 pages long. Each scene was shot in three to five different ways so that depending on the choices you made while playing the game the outcome would take the right direction. Preparation was a nightmare, but the game turned out to be fantastic. For the most part it was a wonderful project to work on. The only unpleasant part of the shoot took place the day that Mark Hamil and I were scheduled to have our "big kiss". The day started off with Mark's representative requesting that I provide an AIDS test before Mark and I kissed. According to SAG rules and regulations this request was a violation of SAG policies. I wanted to go ahead and provide my most recent test results (I test every six months and have for the past 17 years) and my agent wanted to bring in SAG officials and shut down the production until things were settled. The final decision was that I would gladly provide my test results if Mark were to do the same. I had my test results faxed to the set, but Mark's never came through. I didn't show him mine, and he didn't show me his. We shot, we kissed and that was the end of it. "Heart Of The Tiger" was the third in the "Wing Commander" series, and was, I believe the most successful. I played Rachel Coriolis, the ships chief mechanic and weapons loadout technician. Rachel for some reason was not brought back for part four. From what I understand many fans of "Heart Of the Tiger" were disappointed that Rachael 's character was not brought back. The director and producer of part 5 "Prophecy" decided it would be a good idea to include her in this episode. Rumor has it that when the next two episodes are shot I will be in them. But this is Hollywood so God only knows. I'd love to be in them, but I'm not holding my breath.