‘Officer’ returns to Washington

Once again, “An Officer and a Gentleman” is drawing a movie crew to this picturesque town at the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

In 1982, Port Townsend served as the backdrop for the classic film, and today actor Louis Gossett Jr. is returning to Fort Worden State Park to record interviews for a 25th anniversary special edition DVD to be released next year, said Tim King, owner of King Media Services in Manhattan Beach.

King said the DVD, including a series of documentaries, likely would be released by Paramount Home Entertainment in the first quarter of 2007.

“We’ve interviewed the entire cast in different locations throughout the world,” King said. “Mr. Gossett agreed to come up to Port Townsend with us, which is quite magnificent.”

Gossett, who portrayed a Marine drill sergeant haranguing Richard Gere’s character at “Fort Ranier,” won the Academy Award for supporting actor in 1983. Ft. Worden provided the setting for the fictitious military aviator training base, named with a deliberate misspelling of Mt. Rainier.

The film also stars Debra Winger as Gere’s love interest and features the Oscar-winning song “Up Where We Belong.”