wargames2

The IMSAI IKB-1 keyboard is prominently featured in the publicity, poster and video packaging art with an over-the-shoulder shot of Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick at the keyboard watching the video monitor. A few weeks later we were solicited by the film’s producer to foot the bill ($5000) for a four-color, two page advertising print for a fictional computer magazine that provides an important plot development point early in the movie. I don’t think they realized how small and financially strapped we were at that time; it simply wasn’t in our budget. I declined. I believe, after seeing the movie, that my decision proved to be a wise one.Mike, with his cohort in programming, Steve Grummette, had written some code to provide the illusion that Matthew Broderick was actually entering data and getting output on the monitor. In fact, the IKB-1 keyboard could be programmed with a few keystrokes to output an ASCII sequence whenever any key was subsequently pressed. This feature was employed to generate an interrupt in the off-screen CompuPro 8086-based system that Mike had used to develop much of the required output. It is that CompuPro that actually controlled the Electrohome monitor in the movie, but cued by Matthew Broderick‘s keystrokes on-camera!However, the plan wasn’t without flaw. We had provided several thick binders imprinted with the famous IMSAI logos to be used as additional props, and taped a typewritten programming instruction sequence on the bottom of the IKB-1 keyboard. But apparently that last item was temporarily forgotten at a very inconvenient time! Within a few days of shipping off the equipment, all was set up and apparently working fine. Matthew Broderick either observed or was instructed in the 6 keystroke programming sequence of the keyboard, a step necessary in the beginning of each shooting day.I was deeply in love with flying at this time, and was out boring holes in the sky about a week after shipping the Wargames props when we received a frantic call from Mandy Films. They had an emergency on the set! I got the messages when I arrived back the office late in the afternoon. It seems that they had forgotten the programming sequence for the keyboard and none of my people had remembered the special keyboard coding. Matthew Broderick saved the shoot by eventually recalling the sequence and experimenting with the ESCAPE key, proving his worth as a true hacker!Nancy, Bob, and I were invited to hand deliver the equipment to the film studio and observe some of the filming, meet the cast and to get some of the publicity stills being shot at the time. Sadly, we were not able to take time off since we were meeting with potential investors. The equipment was returned to us as promised at the end of the shooting schedule, but the front panel switch escutcheon on the 8080 suffered some moderate shipping damage, as did the FDC-2. No sweat. The IMSAI 212A modem still sports an odd photo-felt-and-tape pad on its top, possibly left over from the close-up scene when Ally Sheedy places a small speaker on top of it.We were requested to send the equipment back down to Mandy Films on March 3, 1983 for a publicity photo shoot in preparation for the film’s opening release. A notation on our packing invoice reads “Expected return date: 3/9/83”. The IMSAI 8080, FDC2-2 Dual Floppies, IKB-1 keyboard, two cables, and a Zenith 12″ video monitor were again sent back down to Mandy Films on March 5, 1983 for a publicity photo shoot in preparation for the film’s release.We sent our copy of the script back to the script service as requested. We still have the shipping labels and letters from the promotional placement firm and Mandy Films, as well as the 8080, keyboard, and modem. Additionally, we received a complimentary movie poster. We scrapped the FDC-2 shortly after getting it back because of shipping damage and questionable value. It was not deemed suitable as a “keeper”.Credits in the film’s end include:bulletCompupro Division- Godbout ElectronicsbulletDataproducts CorporationbulletDiablo SystemsbulletElectrohome Ltd.bulletFischer-Freitas CorporationbulletGeorge Risk IndustriesbulletIntegrandbulletInternational Technical Associates, Inc.bulletMemorex Corp.bulletN.L.B. IndustriesbulletQumebulletRixton, Ltd.bulletSOCS ManagementbulletShowtime Video VenturesbulletTelevideo Systems Inc.RELATED ITEMS:This e-mail was received from Rob Wilcox (one of the crew) in June of 2000…“It is funny what you will find when your searching for a 8085 emulator for an ancient telecom rework. I was the effects foreman on War Games. I worked for Mike Fink, overseeing the video distribution to all the monitors on the
crystal palace consoles driven by a number of STB video cards in 2 Compupro S100 computers. I bought an IMSAI S100 during the show for the cool looks but never used it for anything much. Unfortunately, it is long gone. You will find me in the credits after Mike and Linda.” — Robert Wilcox and….“Hi Thomas: