The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Cast & Crew Screening - Review

"The Last Starfighter" has always been a film of nostalgia. Made after the success of films like "E.T." and "Return Of The Jedi", it has always held a certain power in a way similar to "Explorers" which was made the same year. But unlike that picture, this film was made with hardly any studio involvement. Lorimar Pictures, which is defunct now, made it for a price and it has a charm all its own.To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of "The Last Starfighter", the American Cinematheque held a special screening and Q&A at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica with many of the production crew and actress Catherine Mary Stewart who played Maggie showing up.The print was in fairly good condition and the music was amped up. The theater was packed but it is always interesting to hear reaction on an older picture. Nick Castle, the director, admits that the picture is nostalgic but seems to think it held up pretty well.The movie itself follows a young man called Alex Rogan (played by Lance Guest) who is stuck in a dead end trailer park when a video game he beats gives him a view into a world of outer space. The movie, released by Universal, got a lot of press at the time because of its groundbreaking visual effects. Nothing this high tech in the digital space had taken place at that time. "Tron" had shown a bit of the elements needed but within a confined area. This was a vast undertaking. Many of the people from Digital Productions were at the Q&A after the screening. They talked about how the actual creation of the effects were done on a large drafting board while the Cray Computer, the most advanced of its kind in the day, would work in the background. I actually walked into the middle of the Cray while at a small museum in Chippewa Falls, WI last year during Rock Fest. It is like something out of "Battlestar Galactica". According to the effects guy, there was water always running through it. The paradoxical nature is he went out and bought a flash drive that had 10 times the memory of the computer that day. The fact of what they did with what they had in terms of computer imagery is astounding at the time. But then it is astounding that we could go to the moon with only the memory capability of today's digital watch.As the Q&A began, director Nick Castle talked about being involved. He was a young kid out of USC Film School. He had written "Escape From New York" which gave him genre cred. Gary Adelson, the producer, who was also there, talked that getting the film made at cost was interesting since he didn't know if the effects could be done. They made it on faith for 12 million dollars. There was a back and forth in terms of what was possible as post production crawled up on them. He actually brought in Jeff Okum (who has since worked on "Die Hard 2", "Stargate" and most recently "The Day The Earth Stood Still") to try to keep the picture on track. Okum says he was "stupid" at the time at not realizing what he was looking at and how forward thinking it was.Catherine Mary Stewart says that she was young when she made the film but wasn't thinking of what it would be 25 years later. She did remember that she was paired off with Lance for her audition (before they were both cast) and remembered how nice he was. She apologized that Lance wasn't there. He was doing a play in Chicago. However, Lance's wife and young son (about 5) was there and stood up. Must be interesting to see your dad that young playing a space hero.The screening which was partially organized and helped by the VES (Visual Effects Society) was a little tech heavy in the moderation of the Q&A as is the norm sometimes. But the one thing I wanted to make sure was to highlight that the reason that the film survives is the balance of the effects and the humor. There is something to it. So I had asked that question to them. Between the love story, the laughs and the cowboy mentality of the Gunstar against the entire fleet, there is something that made this small film work. Stewart told me that it was about keying into that message of the underdog which says that everyone has the ability to become something. With humor, that is possible. Nick Castle also agreed stating that this was such a big point when he was directing Dan O'Herilihy who played Grig. Those quips in the Gunstar were so integral. Nick wasn't sure if they worked at the time but seeing it in the finished film, it definitely brought a lot to the ending sequence. And Lance and Dan had to play against what they didn't know. The interior sets of the Gunstar were very basic on the ship and they had no idea of what would be surrounding them. It was a very big leap of faith. I remember that even when it came out despite the fact that I was under 10.The question that has been revolving around for years of course is of a sequel or remake. Of all the films that Universal has approached, this one has potential both as a film or as a TV series depending on how it is done. Of course there is the possibility that it could backfire like "Flash Gordon". Castle was asked this and he says that there are discussions currently occurring. There is a script done and in play (straight from the mouth of Castle). On IMDB, the listing is there for "Starfighter" for 2010 with Castle as director and Craig Safan as composer attached as well as Norman Snow for Xur who was the baddie that escaped in the first picture. The story is tailor made especially if Lance Guest and Catherine Mary Stewart, who were in the original returned since it is set 25 years later. Stewart seemed gleeful to do it came together. And there would be a great canon with it. If the guys from Digital Production integrated with it there might be something undeniably cool in store. Compare it with the wonder that accompanied the Comic Con trailer last year for "Tr2n" which is in production now, the possibilities are quite good. Now there is also possibility for failure but with the originals involved especially if Guest returns and there is a new era of Starfighters done in a cool way then there is possibility. The fact that Castle is involved with his pedigree with this film, "New York" and "Hook", then this film has a chance.The last thing to be said is that Craig Safan's music helped make the picture what it is (and he would be back for the sequel). All the people on stage pointed to that fact. His music helped make the picture. Safan said that he kept the themes simple using only three main ones for The Starfighter, Xur and Centauri (played by the wonderful Robert Preston). He played it for Nick and Gary only on the piano before the actual scoring. The full score wasn't heard until the day of on the scoring stage. One of the effects guys tells the story of when they did a party for "Last Starfighter" at Nick's house. Universal had set up and did the interviews (for the HD-DVD/DVD release a couple years back). At one point Craig went down and started playing the "Starfighter" score on the piano which made the house stop. It shows the power of that music, bombastic as it is.The original is also being readied for a new release on Blu Ray. One person in the audience made a comment that the last transfer was a bit underwhelming. Castle said that he was not involved in the actual transfer but that he would make a call the following morning to follow up on it. This is extremely important for sure especially with the Hi-Def revolution and could make an extensive difference in Universal's perception of the project. The fan contingent was out in force for "The Last Starfighter" at the Aero. As the cast and crew involved made their way outside, the energy in the air spoke to the future.