HELSMAN: Crius planet control, this is cargo 1-0-4-6 Canera. On plan and requesting ejection marker 1-1-5.
CRIUS PLANET CONTROL: Very well, Canera. You are cleared for re-entry. Proceed to Mendra spaceport. Good day.
CAPTAIN: Who are those clowns?
SECOND OFFICER: We're in unequivocal commit! We can't even manage a skip out!
HELSMAN: So much for staying hypersonic. And we're too big for them to tractor in...
CAPTAIN: ... and keep us from bouncing. Range to Mendra?
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER: Six hundred fifty.
CAPTAIN: Hit it now!
HELSMAN: Nothing left but altitude dials.
CAPTAIN: Launch all communications. Tell them to scramble all emergency equipment to Mendra. Nice try, Rog, nice try.
In Studio Two they've already started shooting one of the spaceship crash scenes. David McCallum is rigged up to a complicated pulley system and six burly looking blokes are clutching the rope at the other end, tug-o-war style. The director screams for total silence and everyone holds their breath.Electronic Arts also produced a number of interviews with Privateer 2's cast for interested outlets. This jovial video with McCallum was included in the January 1996 issue of EQ Magazine: The Wing Commander CIC team is very sorry to hear about Mr. McCallum's passing; we'd like to send our condolences to anyone that loved him. He helped create a lot of timeless art in his career and we're honored that we can share so much detail about the one small part of that that we're responsible for remembering.
BANG! WHOOSH! The six blokes holding the rope tear across the studio and David McCallum flies into the air, landing a few seconds later in a heap on the floor.
Debris and smoke fill the set. The director screams "CUT!" and a flurry of make-up and costume people dash, coughing, through the smoke to swiftly patch up Mr McCallum's face and intergalactic apparel. The rest of the crew stare expectantly at the director, who just shakes his head. Shoulders slump and the crew automatically begin to set up the shot once again with an air robotic precision which, if you didn't know better, could easily be mistaken for abject boredom. David McCallum pulls himself to his feet and prepares himself for another re-take. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was a very long time ago.
Approximately one hour later they are still shooting the same scene. Incredibly, once it's been edited and re-edited this small part of footage will last for no longer than a few seconds in the final game. It's already taken a whole morning to get this far and time is running out. Tension is understandably high and everyone's keen to move onto the next scene.
We are sad to report the passing of a veteran Wing Commander actor. Earl Boen, who voiced two characters in the first episode of Wing Commander Academy, passed away on January 3 at age 81 after a battle with lung cancer. Mr. Boen is best known for his appearances in the first three Terminator films as psychologist Dr. Silberman who continually finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time with regards to futuristic android appearances. Gamers know him best as the voice of Ghost Pirate LeChuck through most of the storied Monkey Island series (he had retired from acting just prior to development of the recent Return to Monkey Island). He was beloved throughout the entertainment industry, appearing in dozens and dozens of roles in every medium imaginable. You can read more about his career in this Variety article.
Mr. Boen guest starred in the first episode of Wing Commander Academy, "Red and Blue", where he played two major roles: the Terran Confederation Space Force Flight School Commandant, a contemporary of Commodore Tolwyn, and the Kilrathi blockade runner commander who plots to steal the Academy's classified data. He was one of several Academy actors whose massively succesful acting careers overshadowed their Wing Commander parts; others include Dana Delany, Jessica Walter, Jennifer Hale and Ron Perlman.
I'm saddened to hear of the passing of David Warner. He may have had no more than 5.5 min of screen time in Wing Commander (if you count the disk audio), but it was memorable and added a touch of class. In his honor, enjoy a couple brief extended scenes...
First up, his call with Blair:
The additions there regarding Blair's mother are nice echos to the also-deleted credits voice-over. It helps to sell that Blair has a bit of a chip on his shoulder regarding his heritage. It also resonates a bit with the other scene below. Belegarde's objections are kind of left over from an earlier draft. There was a medal ceremony ending at one point they cut and never shot probably because making everyone wear dress uniforms (while awesome) for one scene would have been expensive.Also, Tolwyn comes across as kind to Blair in the theatrical cut. The scripted ceremony would have had Tolwyn admit he had pretty much sent Blair and the Claw as sacrificial pawns and tell Blair he expected him to hate him, possibly setting up a rivalry for future sequels.
About Blair's parents: part of the main heart of the shooting script is Blair's accepting his heritage, and the realization that he's not fated to be terrorist simply because of who his ancestors were. It's a interesting thought exercise to imagine the reception of an uncut movie (hopefully with a better budget) being released two years later post 9/11.
Which brings us to the last scene of the movie. Blair returns Tolwyn's ring to him and their brief exchange is a nice little bow on Blair's journey through the movie, and again, note Tolwyn's mention of Blair's parents:
All in all, Warner probably wasn't on set for more than a day, and these are more or less the extent of his "deleted" scenes. There's one line of dialogue that shows up in a trailer that was leaked online in 1999, but it's really more of an alternate take than anything deleted. The final scene would have been the only one Freddie Prinze Jr. and David would have shared together on set. The comm message on the Diligent was done with someone reading the lines to FPJ off camera.I'm not much of a poet, but I will add that while we knew David Warner from his work, his family knew him and loved his as a person, father and more. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
"Remember, once a wolf always a wolf..."
"We need a resounding victory, or this war is over..."
Last Words
To end with a short personal recollection: I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Warner at Dragon*Con 2013. I was working the convention to promote Star Citizen and opted to skip lunch for a rare chance to meet both Admirals Tolwyn who were both signing autographs in a hotel ballroom. The line for Malcolm McDowell was long and took about half an hour; he was friendly but clearly busy and had to move quickly to serve his considerable crowd. David Warner, sitting under a banner showing him in alien makeup from various Star Trek roles, had no line at all and I was nervous to approach him because there would be no one waiting behind me. I shouldn't have been: he was the kindest, most effervescent convention celebrity I ever met. It is absolutely no fun to sit in a sweltering room packed with thousands of autograph seekers in every direction and one can never fault celebrities for their willingness to make such an appearance, but Warner seemed genuinely interested to chat with me, which is either a tribute to his dignified patience or his ability to act. He explained to me that he had never seen the final cut of Wing Commander and did I like it? Did I remember his part? What did I think of how he'd played the Admiral? He recalled being so impressed with the sets and costumes, presumably recalling the Concordia's battleship bridge and his naval sweater and peacoat. While his old co-star had happily signed my copy of Action Stations (a fictional biography of the Tolwyn character) without question, Warner was seemingly fascinated and wanted to know what it was and what the connection to him was. It was a small, memorable encounter that I'm so happy to carry forward with me. To paraphrase that same book on the subject of that same character: kind soul, may you rest in peace.
When a great actor passes, the world tends to focus on one or two roles. John Hurt necessarily defies this convention due, if nothing else, to the sheer number of performances to which he lent his considerable talent. Visiting his IMDb you are struck first by the weight: it takes measurable minutes simply to scroll through his listed work. For every part you remember, he gave the same passion to a dozen others.
But one of the wonderful things about a dedicated, torch-carrying community such as ours is that we can keep alive the memory of just one of those lesser-known roles: John Hurt played Joseph Kane in Privateer 2: The Darkening, a unique part of the expansive Wing Commander universe.
Kane, best known as ‘Joe the Bartender,’ is the proprietor of The Sinner’s Inn, a ‘hive of scum and villainy’ located on the planet Hermes. Called alternatively “without a doubt the most dangerous place in the galaxy” and “the place to obtain the kind of things and services you wouldn't normally find in the Hermes telephone book,” Joe plays liege to a court of drunken oddballs, lowlifes and criminals, always acting the able fixer to protagonist Lev Arris.
And so John Hurt introduces you to the weird and wonderful world of Privateer 2: The Darkening, literally. Who better to bridge your transit from reality to a Hitchhiker-inspired far future at the far edge of Wing Commander than a talent who could so capably exist simultaneously as both everyman and denizen of the fantastic? Someone who has so capably been both trucker and astronaut, statesman and time traveler, monster and human? Surely, the choice to open with John Hurt as one of the smartest, simplest design decisions the team made.
Or, as the entire YouTube description of a 2010 Let’s Play of Privateer 2 reads, simply: “Joe is the coolest bartender I’ve ever seen.”
A collection of Privateer 2 cutscenes featuring Hurt are available here.
Privateer 2: The Darkening is available configured for modern PCs through GOG.
Joe’s Commerce & Communications Network booth system entry:
AGE: 56
PLACE OF BIRTH: Hermes
PROFESSION: Proprietor of the "Sinner's Inn"
BACKGROUND: Ser Kane is suspected of dealings with the criminal classes; certainly he seems to be aware of criminal activity in his
area. Despite his rather heavy handed culinary and cocktail mixing skills, Joe has earned a reputation for being a firm but fair licensee, providing a useful sounding board and 'Fixer' for his more favoured regulars.
Criminal Record: 36/G/2769 Possession with intent to supply of a class-3 prescribed substance (Dongleberries), 29/E/2778 Convicted of Gross Unhygiene in breach of 2694 Food and Safety Edict.
NAME: Kane, Joe
Hurt is one of several Privateer 2 cast members who have passed away in recent years, including John Boswell (Jan Mitorr) in 2011 and Mary Tamm (Auntie Maria Gabriel) and Stephen Jenn (Hugo’s Assailant) in 2012. The BBC has published an obituary available online here. Our thoughts and those of the entire Wing Commander community are with Mr. Hurt’s family and other loved ones. And to Mr. Hurt, wherever he may be: thank you, truly, for helping make our universe all the more special.
Klavs spotted a fun pairing in the 1983 film Blue Thunder. Jason Bernard plays "The Mayor" while Malcolm McDowell is Colonel F.E. Cochrane in the film. You can watch them together on YouTube. This mirrors the episode of Beauty and the Beast where Mr. Bernard acted alongside Chris "Hawk" Mulkey. These guys really got around!
Malcolm McDowell & Jason Bernard in 'Blue Thunder' also staring Roy Scheider! It's probably been posted before, but it just tickled me pink. :)
Actor Simon MacCorkindale, known for his starring role in the British series Casualty, passed away on Thursday. He was 58. Wing Commander fans knew him best as Flight Boss Raznick in the Wing Commander film, the man responsible for flight operations on the Tiger Claw (credited only as FLIGHT BOSS). Appropriately, MacCorkindale dreamed in his youth of flying jet fighters like the Lightnings used to make the film before poor eyesight lead to a career in acting. Though his role in Wing Commander was limited, he still managed to steal a scene in which he orders a hot-dogging Maniac to abort his landing approach. Novelist Peter Telep expanded Raznick's role in his trilogy of Wing Commander-based novels.
Actor John Spencer, best known for his starring role on The West Wing, passed away on Friday. He was 58 years old. Wing Commander fans knew him best for his role in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. Spencer played Captain Hugh Paulson, the Third Fleet bureaucrat/tool of the conspiracy who relieves Captain Eisen as commander of the TCS Lexington. Paulson gives Colonel Blair orders for several missions before meeting an unfortunate fate at the end of Seether's laser knife. Spencer played the unlikable character perfectly - fans to this day continue to despise the slimy, sycophantic Paulson.
Rest in peace, Mr. Spencer. Our sympathies go out to his fans, family and friends. He will be well remembered as one of cinematic Wing Commander's brightest stars, if not one of its favorite characters. Yahoo has published an obituary, available here.
Spencer is the second Wing Commander actor to pass away this year - Privateer 2's John Vernon died in February. He is also the second Wing Commander Captain to die: the TCS Lexington's previous commander, actor Jason Bernard (Captain William Eisen), died tragically in 1996.
Actor John Vernon, best remembered for his role as the evil Dean Wormer in "Animal House," passed away on Tuesday. He was 72 years old. Wing Commander fans, however, knew him best for his role in Privateer 2: The Darkening. Vernon played Errendi "Fark" Farquharson, the assistant to Xavier Shondi. Fark spurs one of the game's cinematic missions, contacting the player to report that Shondi is under attack by the Kindred. Afterwards, he joins Arris and Shondi for a well deserved beaker of Cobalt Blue at the Surgeon's Blunder Bar.
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