Display More
The results are in: seven is exactly the right number of samurai for a movie to have. This week, we're moving a few centuries forward in history… to the 1970s! Friday's Wing Commander-connected film will be the classic supernatural horror film The Exorcist. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.
The connection to The Exorcist is a funny one. The concept artists on the Privateer team would label their work with the names of movies and albums as a running joke… so we've added those movies to the movie club pool (that's right, Ishtar is coming)! In this case, The Exorcist was presumably chosen because of the name selected for this room, "refectory". It's a word usually used to refer to meeting rooms in churches. Here, however, it's been chosen for an options screen on Perry Naval Base which was first imagined as a cafeteria rather than another bar. Privateer's original art list describes it: "The refectory is your basic cafeteria, brightly lit with day-glow colors, etc…". As you can see, this concept was entirely dropped!
The "Luby's" sign in the concept art is a reference to a real restaurant: Luby's is Texas-based chain of cafeteria style restaurants known for comfort food. It's a good bet Origin had plenty of team lunches at a Luby's in the 90s!
Wing Commander did eventually get its own "Star Trek food maker" (aka replicator) in the first episode of Wing Commander Academy. Blair swipes a card and it generates a can of soda!
Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?
The Exorcist is available for rent or purchase on the standard streaming services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on UHD in 2023 and remains in print around the world. We will be watching the theatrical cut rather than the 2001 director's cut. 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!
