While filming the machine, I sat huddled inside with the Apple in my lap and typed commands into it per instructions from John Badham as the camera rolled. Very high tech. The display is only seen in insert because it had not yet been installed when we shot the live action around WOPR. I remember that the driver card was not built to run at 48hz, which we needed to maintain sync with the 24 frame per second camera, so I, with the help of a fellow named Larry Barton, changed out the crystal on the board, and then trimmed it by rubbing it with a lead pencil until the scope showed us 48hz. Fun.
So, no, the WOPR was not built in Borehamwood, England, but in Culver City, California, by members of the International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees Local 44. I have no idea where Christine Finn got her information, especially since her spelling of WOPR (so prominent on the screen) is so bogus. No part of the film
and no props were made in the U.K. I’m afraid the quote is false. Sorry, it sounds like a good story.