We heard about Alcon Entertainment acquiring the rights to the Blade Runner property, and their
unwillingness to divulge what they were going to do with it, back in March. But bringing on original director Ridley Scott for a follow-on film is a rather large surprise that makes this newsworthy. But. This is such a spectacularly bad idea that I care not to elaborate on it much further. I will say this: Even with Scott's ability to gather a committee of top shelf craftsmen to come together for whatever the final product will be - Sequel, Prequel, or Reboot - it is no longer 1983, and Scott has not put out a really good genre film in a long, long time. Perhaps they should have gone the Alien-Reboot-to-Prometheus route and just called this something else.
Deadline has the press release on this one. You can have your say in the comments section (I'll get you started: If we are going to give this property to an aging director, lets kick it towards Paul Verhoeven, who you just know would do something interesting with it.)
Deadline has the press release on this one. You can have your say in the comments section (I'll get you started: If we are going to give this property to an aging director, lets kick it towards Paul Verhoeven, who you just know would do something interesting with it.)
Paul Verhoeven? Yeah, but you can have fun with any film, no matter which one, imagining what it would look like if paul Verhoeven were the director.
This is true Ard! Very True!
I think Verhoeven would've been a great choice for the "Oldboy" remake, actually. Chan-wook Park is a very visual director and the only possible way a remake of something he did would be interesting would be if it went completely the other way and the director was a visceralist. Can't think of one more at peace with viscera than our pal Verhoeven. Spike Lee's "Oldboy" doesn't sound interesting to me at all... but this is about Ridley Scott and his re-entry into "Blade Runner".
It's interesting that after his long absence away from sci-fi, the only thing that would interest him enough in coming back would be revisiting his old work (makes me wonder if after this, he'll make another "Legend"...). As for the people who don't think him going back to that is a good idea, I'm taking George Carlin's stance. The people who wanted Ridley Scott to come back to sci-fi can't complain, whereas the people who didn't want Ridley to come back can complain all they want. I was, and am, indifferent. I love his sci-fi entries and I was satisfied with them and what he's done since. However. I know that we've lost him to 3D forever but I will dust off my soapbox if he decides to make CG-buildings and vehicles instead of models. "Blade Runner" and "Alien" and "Metropolis" hold up: not so much most CD-creations, even now.
You know what would be awesome? A prequel about Roy Batty! Then we could finally see those damn attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion and the bloody c-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate!
(Bonus casting: Kurt Russell as Sgt. Todd from "Soldier"!)
I don't think Ridley would be returning tio sci-fi if he didn't a) have something new to give to it, b) a passion to do it.
It's easy to say he hasn't done anything good for a while, but when it comes to genre movies, I think he does his homework, Gladiator, American Gangster where pretty decent in my book, and head and shoulders above many, many other similar efforts... OK his entry into the Hannibal canon wasn't great, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to jumping back in bed with the Alien and Bladerunner universe, after all, he created the more cerebral and visually striking remoulds of sci-fi/ sci-fi horror, if anyone is going to make sure the end product is good it'll be him.
I think it may have been a situation where a Blade Runner film of some sort was going to be done whether Scott was at the helm or not, Alcon was just nice enough to offer it to him first. I'm glad it's in his hands and not in those of some yes man.
Does anyone else realize that '13-'14 is primo Cyberpunk time? If I were a betting man, I'd say that Vincenzo Natali's "Neuromancer" and Duncan Jones' nod to "Blade Runner" will come out then AND Robert Rodriguez still has his Mexican "Blade Runner", "Nervewrackers", to make. Methinks then would be as good a time as any. It doesn't take him any time at all to make a film, once he starts making one, so there'll be plenty of time to crank it out after "Sin City 2" and "Machete Kills"/"Machete Kills Again". Then it'll be Steampunk's turn.
K.W Jeter's Replicant Night is a good bet. PKD gave him sequel rights. He's got three sequels as a matter of fact.