FIREBIRD CONSPIRACY (1984)

aka Firebird Connection / Tornado II: Firebird – Salaliitto (Finnish VHS) / Pájaros de Fuego (Argentina)


VHS/Argentina/fullscreen/English dub/Spanish subs.
[click scan for full size]

VHS/Japan/fullscreen/English dub/Japanese subtitles
[click scan for full size]


Director/Story Vittorio De Romero
Screenplay Vittorio De Romero, Rod Davies
Producer “Pierre”/Pio C. Lee
Executive Producer Conrad C. Puzon
Cinematography Jun Rasca, Conrado Baltazar, Nonong Rasca, Ricardo Remias
Music Lutgardo Labad
Production Design Ruben Arthur Nicdao
Assistant Director Rodolfo Dabao Jr
Production Manager Bien C. Puzon
Art Director Victor Dabao
Special Effects Jun Marbella
Supervising Editor Vittorio de Romero
Editor Joe Mendoza
Sound Effects Editor Jun Cabrales
Assistant Editors Cesar Baltazar, Rogelio Betez
Sound Engineer Antonio Faustino
Sound Mixer Willie Islao
Titles Rudy Quilatan


Cast
Warren Fleming, Bianca De Lorean, Stephen Douglas, Patrick Burton, James Corman, Arthur Chamberlain, Valerie Alda, [uncredited] Joonee Gamboa, Vic Diaz, Nick Nicholson, Mike Monty, Bert Spoor.


Email from Nick Nicholson [from Andrew Leavold's blog]:

The film started out with Bruce Baron as the lead and he complained so much that the producers asked me to find a way to kill him off and introduce another lead into the film. I was the military Adviser and an actor on this film. Originally, Jun Gallardo was the director. However, Boy Puzon asked a pompous, new film school graduate, to look at what they had, and act as the producers’ rep. yep! It was Vitt Romero! Before you knew it, Jun got canned and Vitt was the next Director.

It took us eight months to finish the film. It got to the point where I didn't give a fuck anymore. Vitt had great plans - the only thing is, he never shared these plans with anyone but Bugsy Dabao who, besides being a co-writer with Art Nicdao, was also the 1st AD. One day we wrapped early, and Vitt and Bugsy failed to inform everybody that we would be doing a shoot later in the evening - The Big Scene! Complete with blasting and gunfire! Hahahahahaha… So we wrap and go back to the Sacramento Resort in Tanay. When we arrived there, Peta Whittle (lead Actress, former Aussie Playboy Bunny and a great gal) suggested that we play a game of Monopoly as, besides swimming or tennis, was after all the only thing one could do to keep one’s self amused.

While playing, we noticed that the owner of the resort had stocked up on Gilbeys Gin. So we started drinking and continued to drink into the evening. All of a sudden our vehicle pulls into the parking lot and Bugsy appears telling us we have to go back to the set to shoot! Oh boy! Mayhem ensued. We got to the set, and each and every one of us was stinking drunk! I fell off of a cliff and broke 3 ribs but continued to work. We were blocked on the side of a hill and supposedly escaping fro artillery and mortar fire.... Vitt screamed ready from another hill, and at that moment Paul Vance collapsed with his head between my feet and started to puke. I shouted back, "No! We're not ready! Paul's puking"!

Well, needless to say that the whole scene turned into a cluster fuck. People were falling down left and right. People who should have died were standing up and people who should have lived were falling down. Later we went to see the dailies and Vitt was complaining non-stop to Boy Puzon. For the most part we laughed our asses off. Vitt would look at the screen and almost in tears would tell Boy, "There's the drunks!" Boy would look at the screen but the scene would change and he would say, "They don't look drunk!" This went on all afternoon. So you get a better idea, Vitt is oh so gay and a butterball! One day when we were doing a river scene Peta and Vitt got into an argument. Vitt screamed at her, “You're nothing but a bunny!" Peta replied, "Well you're nothing but a big fat fucking walrus." Whereupon, Vitt trashed the hailer! After that he had to scream out all of the directions till he couldn't talk anymore. Oh man... what a mess...

VHS/Greece/fullscreen/English dub/Greek subs


Comment from Bert Spoor on Andrew Leavold's blog:

Regarding the cover of the Tornado-version, this person, obviously a drawing, doesn't look like any of us white guys on the set, this wound however on the right side yoke-bone is exactly what was done to my face.(See sidebar of my blog) So this good-looking is suppose to be me ?????
I have no idea why all the cast have fictive names, credits should be given to; Steve Rogers, Nick Nicholson, Willie Williams, Pita Wittle, Peter Barker and Lenny Urso.
Berto Spoor