Blade Runner Sequels and Prequels Happening

bowman9991 writes "The iconic science fiction film Blade Runner, based on Philip K. Dick's book and directed by Ridley Scott, will be followed up with sequels and prequels soon. Alcon Entertainment is in final discussions to secure film, TV and franchise rights. They are in the early stages of sorting out how to proceed and were not sure if Ridley Scott would be involved."

Comments

That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

You know, I was watching one of the behind-the-scenes extras on the "Get Low" DVD the other day. For those who haven't seen it, "Get Low" is a quiet little movie--low-budget, not a lot of hoopla. But it has a suprisingly powerful screenplay and great performances from Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. Anyway, the producer points out that, even with a very powerful script and great leads attached, it still took over 8 years to get the movie made. He explained that Hollywood has become so fixated on sequels, prequels, franchises, remakes, and comic-book/TV adaptations that getting funding even for a small-budget *original* film, with no potential for a sequel or merchandising, has become a nightmare. Hollywood may celebrate these kinds of movies at Oscar time, but getting a studio to put up even a relatively trivial amount of money for them is almost impossible unless you can attach some hot A-list leads.

And that is why we're treated to a stream of endless rapes of once-great franchises/TV shows/comic books. It's why a 60-year-old Harrison Ford is running around fighting fucking aliens with a bullwhip looking for a goddamn crystal skull, while Steven Spielberg is off-camera bathing in a pile of cash. It's why we get sequels to 25-year-old R-rated franchises with PG-13 ratings and once-great stars just there to collect a paycheck (yep, I'm looking at you Bruce Willis). It's why everyone who has produced even a mediocre comic book superhero has Hollywood fawning over them, while great original scripts go right into the trash bin.

And now it's why we're going to get a shitty PG-13 action-oriented prequel/sequel to one of the great adult science fiction films of all time. It's something no one asked for. It will tarnish the original. And it will suck. But all Hollywood hears is "sequel" and so it's getting the green light.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[C_amiga_fan]

"One day, after a fellow old hermit as died and he hears people in the town telling stories about him, Felix Bush decides that he needs to get these stories out in the public. He recruits the local funeral home director to host his own funeral. This way he can hear what everyone is saying about him, and get the truth to his past out in the open. But will he be able to get anybody to come? And will he be able to reveal his secrets? "

Zzzzz.
Also I'm not sure but I think I saw this movie back in the 1930s with five star actors like Edna May, Hattie McDaniel, and Jimmy Stewart (i.e. the greats). So it's really not as "original" as you think.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Damek]

And people keep paying for them. I keep reading how Hollywood is "fixated" on this stuff or has some sort of problem, but people keep buying what they're selling.

Also, this stuff doesn't tarnish anything. Robocop's still a great movie. The original Star Wars films are still.. well, what they were. The Lord of the Rings books are still great books. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep wasn't tarnished by Blade Runner. I should know, I read the book far too late, twenty years after I started reading sci-fi and ten years after I saw Blade Runner. Dune wasn't tarnished by any of its film adaptations, and for me, the Lynch wasn't tarnished by the so-so SyFy versions. And Herbert's novels weren't tarnished by his kin's prequel novels.

People like to revisit the places they've been before, with a little variation. You may as well complain, "why do genre novelists write so many series?" I have no freaking clue. But people buy them.

Now, what I'd like to see is a film adaptation of The Demolished Man or The Stars My Destination by Bester. Also, any of MacLeod's or Reynolds' work, but then that would be a bit difficult...

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

I can do a pretty boring summary of the premise of about any movie. It's all in where it goes from there, and how it's executed, that counts.

Luke, a farmboy on a desert planet, is at odds with his adopted uncle--who doesn't want him to go off to college. Will he stay behind on the farm, or join the mysterious hermit Ben on an important mission, and discover the truth about his dead father along the way?

Well, that one sounds like a fucking snoozefest. And I liked it a lot better back in 1958 when it was called "The Hidden Fortress."

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[JWW]

Herbert's novels weren't tarnished by his kin's prequel novels because I've chosen not to read the :-).

But, yes, I agree completely. The "tarnishing" of something is largely in the eyes of the beholder.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[digitalhermit]

I hear you. That's why I stopped going to the theatre.

If there's anything I'm proud of, it's the fact that I vote with my dollars. If a restaurant is crap, I don't eat there. If a corporation does something that upsets me, I don't complain, just don't buy from *that* company. I will instead direct all my dollars at the companies that do right by my book. I'm just one guy. My discretionary income by my lonesome won't sway any company, but imagine if millions of folks decide that they're sick of seeing the bland pabulum that's shat on the screen for consumption. These studio execs are so secure in their knowledge that people will buy whatever they produce so they produce crap. Why take a risk on an interesting idea when a guaranteed paycheck awaits?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Rik Sweeney]

...with PG-13 ratings...

What's the rating got to do with anything? That's like saying that you won't watch Toy Story 3 because it's rated G and not R.

Saying Fuck every other word, showing exploding heads and having tits on screen constantly isn't the recipe for a good movie.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[L4t3r4lu5]

You, sir, get a +6.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Paul Slocum]

Get Low is still a 7 million dollar movie. I think a better example of overcoming Hollywood is Primer, which is a great sci-fi film that was made for $7000. So the movie industry could have made one-thousand Primers for the cost of a "low-budget" movie like Get Low.

Even worse is "127 Hours" which should have cost a few thousand to make but somehow cost $18 mil.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[ari_j]

I agree with your criticism, but not your response to the situation. I just skip the shitty movies and, if that means that I only go to one movie a year, then so be it. I also don't think that Blade Runner sequels or prequels can tarnish the original. They may dilute its good name, but they can't tarnish the original. Only actually messing with the original can hope to accomplish that, but even that does not tarnish the original, it only makes the untarnished original harder to get ahold of.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[GooberToo]

I can do a pretty boring summary of the premise of about any movie.

There used to be a website which existed to make movie summaries sound dumb. The cooler the movie, the more accurate and the dumber the summary, the better the summary was rated by participants.

You'd be amazed at how many tragedies will make you laugh out loud when summarized in the right light.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Creepy]

While I can't say it about most of these movies, I vastly prefer Blade Runner the movie to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep the book. The mood organ was kinda silly, IMO (ooh, tune yourself to watch TV no matter what's on...um, yeah), though I know it was there to blur the lines between humans and replicants (or to show just how high Dick was at the time).

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Seumas]

I believe it was on EverythingIsARemix.info where I read the statistic that 76% of the top grossing movies in the last decade are sequels, remakes, based on television, or based on comic books. The remaining 24% isn't all original either, obviously.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[BlackSnake112]

Movie studios want PG-13 to get a wider audience. If the movie is rated R, they think fewer people will go see it.

I think that is the reason why I haven't been to a movie theater is 10+ years now. I try to watch the unrated version of movies on DVD. But that is just me.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[joaeri]

We can blame Hollywood all we want but the fact is that if they wouldn't make money on it they wouldn't produce it. So its we, the viewers, who go to these crappy sequels that are to blame. As always. Vote with your wallet. Having said that I really hope they would leave Blade Runner alone. Wasn't it enough with the "Extended cut", "Extra cut", "Directors cut","Final cut" they made on the poor movie. I think they make like 10 different versions on that movie. Adding a extra scene for each edition.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Seumas]

A lot of people don't know better. Many (or even most?) people don't realize when a movie is a remake of a movie from decades ago. Or when a song is really a cover. Just read youtube (gah) comments for any modern cover of an older song and look at the throngs of younger people who think, for example, the Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" is a Marylin Manson song.

Why roll out something new when you can just repackage something old to a new audience that is too naive to have a clue?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Seumas]

Same here. I stopped going to the theater in 1998, because I won't directly support the MPAA. Haven't bought a DVD since then, either. Also haven't bought a CD since then, except for CDs from places like CDBaby or otherwise directly from smaller artists. A lot of people have the attitude that they can't possibly boycott some things, because, well, then what's left for them to consume?! Well, they're just fucking movies and music. Nobody's going to fucking die, because they didn't have some tunes.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[gstoddart]

Saying Fuck every other word, showing exploding heads and having tits on screen constantly isn't the recipe for a good movie.

No, but it's a good start. ;-)

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Seumas]

Editing your content and story to be consumable by little kids isn't the recipe for a good movie, either.

Yippee ki-yay [ . . . ] . . . !

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[CrackedButter]

Thanks for telling me about this film, I'll go watch it now. I'll watch anything with Bill Murray in.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[CFTM]

Obviously, this is just an opinion, but I couldn't disagree with you more. In my mind, the book was far superior. The book touches on lots of themes that are completely glossed over or ignored in the movie and many of those themes were central to Dick's writing. The first of which, has to do with Dekkard's relative place in society. In the book, Dekkard is a less-than-ordinary-man who has one last shot, he's desperate and lost. In the movie, he's a replicant....

So in essence, we have a book that was about struggling to maintain the last vestiges of humanity, and a movie that is about the role that artificial life, that appears human, plays in future society. Now, an argument can be raised that states the movie is forcing the viewers to question what humanity really is, which is a valid question, I just personally enjoy the heroic struggle of the "less-than" human.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[CFTM]

I wouldn't argue that the studio execs are secure in the knowledge that people will buy their products, because they're not. It's why, so often, they rehash old franchises instead of taking a risk on a new franchise. The old franchise has demonstrated an ability to return 50% on investment, thus back to the well we go!

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

"Get Low" is a period piece with prominent leads. Yes, there are certainly a lot cheaper movies out there. But it's not realistic to think you're going to make a major release for under about the $1 million mark. Movies like Primer, Clerks, etc. usually are only able to get away with such low budgets because everyone on the film works for free or for a share in any profits (i.e. not counting any labor costs of cast and crew as part of the production) and they have relatively simple locations (i.e. not a period piece, shot at the director's brother-in-law's office or guerrilla style).

Even John Sayles usually tries to secure at least $5 million, and he can stretch a dollar about as good as anyone (he apprenticed under Roger Corman, after all).

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[CFTM]

Primer may have been made for $7000, but many corners were necessarily cut to make that budget :)

I would be very surprised to hear that they paid for any shoot locations or acquired requisite insurance coverage before shooting.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[RevWaldo]

having tits on screen constantly isn't the recipe for a good movie.

Yes, it is, but I digress.

PG-13 is the marketing sweet spot that most studios shoot for. Teens can see it, parents won't be bored, and the underaged kids that are dragged along will probably forget what they saw ten minutes after the credits roll.

PG-13 from a filmmaking perspective usually means one of two things:

- This should by all rights be an R rated film in terms of the theme/sex/violence/cussing/etc. but they dialed it back enough to get under the line. They'll throw all the good bits back in with the "unrated" DVD. (Think the upcoming "Suckerpunch" - Babes! Violence! PG-13! WIN!)

- This could be a PG film - not really a sex 'n violence free-for-all, kinda sweet actually - but they throw in enough cussing and shots of people's bums to get over the line. (Think "The Simpsons Movie")

.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[chimpo13]

Dick lived a speed freak lifestyle, but his liver processed speed so it didn't effect him. He didn't know it at the time. Or at least that's what he said in interviews.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[mwvdlee]

This is about sequals and prequals to Bladerunner, not to movies in general.
You think Bladerunner would be well-served by a PG-13 rewrite?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[somersault]

Not all sequels are crappy. Not all original movies are good.

There has been a large jumping off bandwagons in terms of superhero movies and remakes of graphic novels in the last decade. Of course some stuff sucks, but there have also been some amazing movies as a result of it. I find this vastly preferable to no "geeky" movies being made. There will always be shitty movies, just as there are shitty books and shitty music, whether the MPAA/RIAA exist or not..

The reason sequels make so much money is because by then people have found out via word of mouth that the first movie was good. Sometimes the sequels are just cheap cash ins, but sometimes they're worth it. Just look at The Dark Knight. Amazing sequel. Even Toy Story 3 was pretty damn good, even though it had so much to live up to. We shouldn't be complaining about lack of originality, we should be criticising individual movies on their own merits. I'm quite happy for existing franchises to be given their own movie, as long as the movie is good.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[FatSean]

In my experience, PG-13 movies are all too often tightly focused at the coveted tween/teen demographic. Great for those age groups, but as an adult I find that interesting (adult) issues are often ignored or glossed over to keep the film palatable to younger kids and the parents who want to keep them from seeing too much adult imagery. The plot becomes more childish and gritty reality gives way to blandness. Bruce Willis couldn't even say his iconic catch phrase in the 4th installment of the Die Hard franchise!

There may be exceptions, but usually a PG-13 movie is fluffy while an R movie can touch on more serious sometimes uncomfortable topics and situations.

I think I've been trolled.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[FatSean]

Same here. If the film is rated PG-13 it's usually fair to say that the originality and edginess has been sucked out of it in the name of widening demographics. If the film was ever all that original and interesting in the first place. I'm an adult, I like adult themes that don't appeal to younger kids. PG-13 is usually a good flag.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[sznupi]

...I just personally enjoy the heroic struggle of the "less-than" human.

And you haven't found plenty of that in the movie?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Half-pint HAL]

Yes, he was talking about Blade Runner and yes, he was talking about industry trends. It's very likely (judging by current industry practice) that the new Blade Runner sequel will be somewhat de-Blade-Runner-ised in order to get the PG-13 rating, and sell it to people who shouldn't really have been able to see the original.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[sznupi]

BTW, who's with me for the usual tar + feathers + shackles for one quite recent tarnishing of "I want to know what love is" by Foreigner? (NOT Mariah Carey, may Allah condemn and damn her filth)

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[jluzwick]

I read an article that expressed similar feelings. This is how he described your anguish. http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201102/the-day-the-movies-died-mark-harris?currentPage=all I agree with you both.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[PinchDuck]

C'mon, it doesn't have to suck. If they can be respectful to the vision of the original, as well as add in a wacky next-door-neighbor and a girl's vollyball team shower scene, it should be fine. Our target market is a group of 17 year-old boys. Maybe we'll add in some groin kick shots, too, to pull in the "jackass" crowd. Honestly, you really don't have anything to worry about.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[pz]

Don't forget that the adaptation of Blade Runner from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? involved tossing huge swaths of the story away, and substantially rewriting the rest. Where is the mood dialing? The Mercerism? The vet service? The artificial pets and envy of owners with real ones? The lead codpieces? The intrigue at the police station? The ludicrously weak plot device that there's a shadow police body entirely of replicants? Deckard's hallucinatory escape outside the city?

Blade Runner was a huge improvement over the original story.

So, while the current Hollywood Studio greed is fixated on repeating the same story in diluted form to appease the masses and will, in all probability just create more unwatchable dren, it's not like the original Blade Runner didn't rape the story it was based on, to use the parent poster's terminology. However, given the story that another posted suggested is the basis for the sequel that uses a weak device to introduce characters that act and look exactly like characters from the original movie (why do anything original and interesting when repeating the same thing will make money?), I'm betting the parent poster is correct: we're going to get more swill.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[bertoelcon]

- This could be a PG film - not really a sex 'n violence free-for-all, kinda sweet actually - but they throw in enough cussing and shots of people's bums to get over the line. (Think "The Simpsons Movie")

The show had butts plenty of times, the movie had Bart's doodle.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[fermion]

I don't know if this is new. Hollywood, it seems, has always been about brands, it is just the brands change. At one point it seems it was about the actors. Each studio owned certain people, and people would pay see those properties. Cluade Raines, Jane Russel, Charle Chapman. TV provided no competition nor means of advertising the product, real theater was and is expensive, so people just went to the moving picture show. We hear people say how much they like John Wayne, not that anything interesting happened in the movies.

Then the actors were able to move around freely, and TV provided a competitive environment and a means of advertising, and technology advanced, so there may have a short time when movies were made to be original and entertaining, maybe early 60's to late 80's. This was when the full potential of the medium was once again used, which I think had not happened since the silent films. The thing with films after the silent is I think they became obsessed with the dialogue, or the color, and forgot that film was a multi sensory experience.We see this today with movies that are overly visual. I think the classic films, the ones we use to compare to the contemporary films, completely use the medium. Gone with the wind and the burning of atlanta. Casa Blanca and the use of the black and white film as an asset. The use of contemporary f/x in Star Wars.

But comparing a selective group top films to a whole contemporary population is unfair. I would guess that most of the films from even 30 years ago are mostly unwatched by moder audiences, even the ones that we top. Xanadu was very popular, and where is it now? I don't know if Raging Bull is a top netflix choice. I have never heard of Where the Buffalo roams and the less said about Flash Gordon the better.

Which is to say that I think film is alive and well, and with ability to make films less expensively, and to distribute them, I think we will see an increase in good films, not less. They just may be showing at your local metroplex, or maybe. The Kings Speech, Black Swan, True Grit, were all top grossing film and all original and good work.. Which is why we have to support out local local small film houses. We lost one and it sucks. If you have one, and like good films that are not repetitive drivel, go once in a while.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Omestes]

Blade Runner was a huge improvement over the original story.

In your, completely subjective, opinion at least. I disagree.

That said, I see Blade Runner and DADoES as separate things, and enjoy both of them roughly equally for completely different reasons. Blade Runner was a stylistic master piece, with pretty much perfect scene making and acting. DADoES was a tilted tragi-comedy with a brooding philosophical bent, and the trademark Philip Dick ambiguity. The story was much much more intellectually satisfying, and pulled off intelligent better (unlike the movies silly unicorn thing), but, like much of Dick's writing, is a bit hit or miss. The story's world comes off more like a sketch than a completed thing. The movie makes up for this in spades, but at the expense of intellectual depth.

Blade Runner, though, is the second best Dick adaptation (After A Scanner Darkly), and is a brilliant film on its own. If I was stuck on a desert island and could only have one, I would ponder how arbitrary this whole scenario is, and then pick the story.

Its pretty much the same way I see the LoTR trilogy, the books and the movies are very different beasts, and can be judged separately. It isn't really an either/or thing.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[KhabaLox]

In the movie, he's a replicant....

Dekkard was a human and Han shot first.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[westlake]

But it has a suprisingly powerful screenplay and great performances from Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. Anyway, the producer points out that, even with a very powerful script and great leads attached, it still took over 8 years to get the movie made.

Nothing has changed.

Consider the number of significant feature films, serials, cartoons and other short subjects produced in 1939: 1939 in film

The studios are prosperous, audiences are open and generous to films in every genre.

But look at the list closely and you will find that almost everything produced had a proven track record:

Adapted from best-selling books, short stories, hit plays, musicals or silent films. None of this stuff has ever gone out of print and the original sources are still being mined for ideas seventy years later.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[theshowmecanuck]

Not sure why other people are commenting on your comment. You pretty much summed it up nicely. Nothing more to add other than, "well put".

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[KhabaLox]

Saying Fuck every other word, showing exploding heads and having tits on screen constantly isn't the recipe for a good movie.

That, in and of itself, isn't the recipe for a good movie, but it can help. If the dialogue or action are intentionally watered down it can substantially change the tenor of the work.

For example, take the TV show Southland. Thank God it went to cable, because now, while they still bleep the F-bomb, they let "shit" through a few times per episode. It's not gratuitous. It lends realism and credibility to the characters. Watching a cop show on broadcast requires a certain extra bit of suspension of disbelief; what cop isn't going to curse a bit on the job?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Kongzilla]

Maybe Charlie Sheen is channeling Philip K for interviews! Wouldn't that be awesome?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[corbettw]

How the hell does a movie that consists almost entirely of one guy with his hand stuck under a rock cost $18 million???

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[TheRaven64]

Also, any of MacLeod's or Reynolds' work, but then that would be a bit difficult

A film of Pushing Ice could work. You could also expand something like Chasm City or The Prefect (or a mix of the two) into a TV series, following a few people before / during / after the melding phage and the Conjoiner / Demarchist war.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[TheRaven64]

There's a difference between a movie where no one says fuck because it would be out of character, and a movie where no one says fuck because it would get a higher rating if it did. To take your example, if one of the characters in Toy Story had started swearing, then it would have been out of character, and would have been weird. You could have made a version of Toy Story with swearing and blood, but it would have been a completely different film. The same applies in converse. If you have a story where there is sex, violence, and swearing, then you try to remove some or all of these aspects, then you end up with a different movie. At the very least, you have characters behaving strangely.

If you have a pirate or a gang lord saying 'fudge and bother!' then it seems weird. It breaks the narrative flow. It either seems incongruous, or it needs explaining as a character trait (if everyone's doing it, then it remains weird).

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[jfengel]

Big movie stars and Oscar-winning directors get to charge more than minimum wage for their work. Not because the work is better, necessarily, but because their imprimatur on a film helps draw audiences.

127 hours grossed $16,845,896, plus another $10.7 million in the UK (and probably at least as much in the rest of the world). Primer draw a whopping $424,760.

Mind you, that makes Primer a far, far better _investment_ than 127 hours, but you have to make 1,000 of them before you find one with that kind of profitability. The vast majority of indie films manage to lose money despite costing practically nothing to make.

By contrast, an established star draw will make money fairly reliably, and the studio knew it before they handed Boyle $18m to make a movie. Not always; they still manage to screw up spectacularly, especially when they're making vanity projects. But the movie studios are generally wise investors and turn good profits every year.

(On an unrelated note, I see that I watched Primer via Netflix and gave it two stars out of five, and I recall that I thought I was being generous.)

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Jeremy Erwin]

I try to watch the unrated version of movies on DVD

I think that the marketing folks have you all figured out.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[TheRaven64]

I felt that Blade Runner without the Mercerism / mood organ subplot didn't really make sense. Deleting the shadow police agency was fine, but other bits only really made sense if you'd read the book. For example, the thing about empathy as the divider between real and artificial people was not really explored - the book made the point very well that the humans prided themselves as being empathetic (it was the defining feature of a real human) but some had no empathy for the androids.

The subplot with Rachel didn't make any sense when Rachel and Pris were no longer the same model. In the book, Rachel seduced Deckard so he'd form an emotional bond with her model and would hesitate before shooting Pris. It meant cheating on his wife, so it also made him feel guilty. In the film, he had no wife and there was no real motive for Rachel.

The film was visually stunning, but the plot was full of holes.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Jeremy Erwin]

This town is like one big chicken waiting to be plucked-- Tony Montana.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[bigstrat2003]

It will tarnish the original.

Only if you let it. If you are so impressionable that you're going to allow the (no doubt) inferior sequel to influence your view of the original, that is your problem, not Hollywood's. The rest of us will just ignore it, and enjoy the original as much as we ever did.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Gilmoure]

C. J. Cherryh has so much good material but until CGI film making takes off on the desktop, I doubt we'll see anything worthwhile on big or little screen.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[nanospook]

They may still be paying to go, but underneath many are thinking "oh same old gimmicky shit". We pay to go because it's better than nothing..

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[NoSleepDemon]

I think The Prefect might be a good one, there's always the sense of impending doom from the approaching inhibitors yet humanity is in a fairly stable state, and there's plenty of shadowy figures they could expand upon. Oh and it's got cops in, I can already see it airing on Fox... soo on second thought...

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[LetterRip]

The Kings Speech, Black Swan, True Grit, were all top grossing film and all original and good work.

True Grit was a remake.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[chimpo13]

Fuck, that'd be great. Decker could have a wacky sidekick played by Gary Busey. They can also solve crimes with a totally hot large breasted actress who knows some kind of space kung-fu. Too bad Sean Young is too old. She's a crackpot as well.

I'm sensing doom for this project. Maybe they can get Joss Whedon on it. Then abandon it after 6 episodes. Then wonder why it sells so well on DVD and bring it back. Then cancel it. Argh.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[maxume]

And if he is paying $2 to watch them?

My favorite thing about branding is that you can't not do it.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Culture20]

Hollywood has become so fixated on [...] TV adaptations

I can't wait until the Stargate shows get a movie adaptation. Maybe a prequel? And Star Wars the Clone Wars is begging for a trilogy or two.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Grimbleton]

I didn't talk to an old girlfriend for a week when she adamantly refused to believe that Johnny Cash covered a song by that "shitty band Nine Inch Nails" and insisted that Trent Reznor's rendition was an inferior copy that ruined the song.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[c6gunner]

Thanks for telling me about this film, I'll go watch it now. I'll watch anything with Bill Murray in.

Check out Zombieland. Best Bill Muray film EVAR!

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Sarius64]

Wait! It worked so well for Starship Troopers!

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[nabsltd]

Seeing as how the original movie was "de-Blade-Runner-ised" for the US by removing some violence (less than 30 seconds), I suspect you are right about a sequel being PG-13.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[hairyfeet]

Hey now, that ain't fair to Willis. Give the man credit he did tell people not to watch Die Hard 4 because they had cut it all to hell trying to get the Spiderman teen dollar (I mean WTF? Spiderman teens aren't going to see Die Hard). I mean when you can't even say the catch phrase because of the rating? Crapola.

But I have to agree that most of the shit coming out of the Hollywood crap fest is totally shitty rehashes of movies and shows that frankly had ran out of steam ages ago. The last decent action sequel I saw was Iron Man 2, and even then they nuked the fridge in the last 5 minutes (the bots all have timers? The bad guy takes off his battle helmet in the middle of the battle? WTF?).

Sadly as long as people will pay to see or even play crap, crap will get made. I mean how many CoD and MoH are we up to now? Or Bioshock 2, if there was ever a game that made NO sense having a sequel, it was that. No hanging plot points, no cliffhanger ending, Bioshock 1 was the first game made in ages that wasn't written from the beginning with FRANCHISE written in giant letters hanging over the entire story, so what do they do? Make a sequel...yuck.

I only hope the ever cheapening tech will save us. It is getting cheaper by the day to make quality games and movies. Sure they won't be special effect powerhouses, but how many times have you said "Movie looked good, plot sucked" in the past 5 years? I'll happily play a game with NOLF II level graphics or a movie with 70s level effects if it brings something new to the table which sadly we just don't see hardly anymore. It is just one cookie cutter sequel after another. yawn.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[frank_adrian314159]

How?!? Because he had to cut off his arm! That's why! Do you think that comes cheap? He'll never work in the industry again, unless they need a amputee for a movie!

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Agronomist Cowherd]

The rock had a good agent...

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[frank_adrian314159]

Its pretty much the same way I see the LoTR trilogy, the books and the movies are very different beasts, and can be judged separately.

Yeah... they both suck, as Randall so eloquently explains...

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Jellodyne]

He must if he's still working after The Tooth Fairy.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Azaril]

We hear people say how much they like John Wayne, not that anything interesting happened in the movies.

The Kings Speech, Black Swan, True Grit, were all top grossing film and all original and good work.

True Grit was a remake.

That also starred John Wayne.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[farnsworth]

True Grit was a remake.

Actually, to be precise, it was a second adaptation of the book. Joel and Ethan Coen hadn't even watched the John Wayne version since they were kids.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Threni]

Hollywood exists to make money. You knew that, right? It's like the record industry. There was a time when people who cared about art made stuff like music and films for the love of it. That was before it was an industry. I really wouldn't act surprised about this sort of thing any longer. It's never going to change. The bean counters look at something, figure out which 'celebrity' would make the most money, consider the sequels, merchandising, computer games etc and then sort out funding etc, and finally make the film. The idea that they're going to do anything remotely progressive/experimental/different/good is just not on the checklist. You work in IT, right? You work with nerds who love code, but you work for a cunt in a suit, who mixes with other cunts in suits who struggle to understand the problems you face at work and end up siding with management rather than you when things go wrong. That's business. That's the IT business, it's the music business, it's the movie business.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[KnownIssues]

That's because the money isn't to be made from the movie; it's to be made from the merchandise. When the Blade Runner (pr/s)equels come out, they'll be able to pull out all the old Blade Runner merchandise and resell it to all the collectors and lovers of nostalgia. A movie with no potential for sequels is almost certainly going to have less or no potential for related merchandise.

It's one thing for Hollywood movies to be more mainstream and cater to the lowest common denominator. I could almost deal with that; this is business, not art. But coming to realize that it really is all about the merchandise has sucked what little joy was left in my life.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[chrismcb]

According to boxofficemojo 20 of the top 25 grossing films of all time are sequels. I wonder why Hollywood loves sequels so much... Maybe it is because the public loves them as well?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[CFBMoo1]

<quote><p>The rock had a good agent...</p></quote>

If only I had funny mod points, thank you sir!

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[dwywit]

"Now, what I'd like to see is a film adaptation of ... The Stars My Destination by Bester"
Oh yes, oh yes, pleeeeeaaase.

But NO hollywood A-list actors or directors. And a max budget of USD$50 million

Dream on.....

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[dwywit]

I made a short film (~8 minutes) a few years ago - all volunteers except the stunt crew (I WANTED to pay them), but it still came to a budget of AUD$12K, using someone else's insurance cover. Had to pay for a permit to shoot in a forest reserve, camera and lighting hire, catering, daily expenses, costumes and makeup. It's not a cheap industry, all kudos to the producers of Primer.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Graff]

I didn't talk to an old girlfriend for a week when she adamantly refused to believe that Johnny Cash covered a song by that "shitty band Nine Inch Nails" and insisted that Trent Reznor's rendition was an inferior copy that ruined the song.

To be fair, Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt" is amazingly better than the original Nine Inch Nails version. Then again Cash was also a much better performer than Reznor.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[sixsixtysix]

maybe duvall or murray could have thrown in some of their millions if it was such a good script. i am so sick of big names in the same sentences as needing funding, like that story about robert rodriguez needing funding about a week or 2 ago. not one of these millionaires can fork up the money?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[jakartus]

It is mostly about rights. Studios are petrified of making a movie and then realizing someone else wrote the story (i.e. Coming To America). With such an orientation, what is safe?. That would be sequels (We made the last movie!), TV shows (we know who wrote those!), comic books (again, well established), toys (like Transformers) and in other cases there are well established people you just 'trust', authors like Stephen King, people like James Cameron and books like the Twilight series, Harry Potter, the works of JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. All pre-vetted.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Alimony Pakhdan]

It's why a 60-year-old Harrison Ford is running around fighting fucking aliens with a bullwhip looking for a goddamn crystal skull,

Did you bitch like that when Temple of Doom or The Last Crusade came out? Do you even get the fact that Raiders of the Lost Ark was originally an homage to Republic serials which were nothing but endless franchise sequels? You can bitch about Spielberg's money but look at all the good he has done with his money too. Just like Republic used the cash from light entertainment to fund more serious films, so has Spielberg, not to mention the charity work and Holocaust remembrance work he has done. Also regarding Blade Runner, you do realize that the version which became the cult classic, "one of the great adult science fiction films of all time" as you put it (and I agree with you there) was a result of Hollywood studio executives meddling with the version the director turned in?

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[keith_nt4]

Saying Fuck every other word, showing exploding heads and having tits on screen constantly isn't the recipe for a good movie.

No, but it's a good start. ;-)

Actually I liked "Total Recall"

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Alimony Pakhdan]

Even if she was wrong, she was right.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Grimbleton]

Sorry to hear how wrong you are.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Grimbleton]

See above.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Alimony Pakhdan]

I dont remember Blade Runner lunchboxes, Trapper Keepers, action figures, model kits, Halloween costumes, posters, t-shirts or any of the other ocean of movie related merch that big titles got. I dont resent them merch licensing money though. For now the entitlement generation cant download merch.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[wrook]

I'm not sure if you've seen Hidden Fortress, but it has a completely different plot. While it is widely reported that Star Wars is based of Hidden Fortress, the only real similarity is that the story is told from the perspective of two outsiders who have a relatively inconsequential part in the movie. In Hidden Fortress it was the two bandits; in Star Wars it was the two droids. In both cases these central, but not pivotal characters allow the viewer to share the experience since they can identify with the outside characters who are watching, but don't really understand what's going on. It also provides an opportunity for comic relief. The technique is a good one and it is used well in Star Wars.

The thing is, apart from this interesting concept, Hidden Fortress is not actually a very good movie IMHO. If you thought Star Wars was a snooze fest then I can only imagine that Hidden Fortress might put you into a coma.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[Narcogen]

Dekkard was a human and Han shot first.

First off, it's 'Deckard', not 'Dekkard' and not 'Dekker' and not 'Decker'.

Second, while the film leaves the question open, there isn't much point to the entire exercise if there isn't at least some doubt, or a significant possibility of Deckard being a replicant. It's also a very open question why Gaff gives him the unicorn if he's human; there's no reason to believe Deckard ever spoke of his dreams to anyone.

But yes, Han did shoot first.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

Well, I was being facetious, but the actual more obvious influence is the Arthurian legend. Chosen one spirited away by a wizard to adopted parents, old wizard watches him from afar and eventually reveals himself when he is ready to assume his destiny. There's even an excalibur that his father left for him in the form a lightsaber.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

They *did* kick in money. Both agreed to work for a fraction of their normal salaries.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

I was talking about within the studio system. Of course, anyone can shoot a movie on his prosumer Canon and edit it at home. But that isn't going to get him distribution, promotion, or recognition (especially if he shoots it non-union).

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[elrous0]

This time...it's personal.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[geekoid]

Have you even scene the hidden fortress? I have a DVD of it, and here is a clue:
It's as about as close to hidden fortress and the anakin/padame story is to romeo and Juliet.

Please.

Re:That's it, I quit humanity

[CrackedButter]

"Do you have any regrets?" "Garfield". Best line in the movie.

Ugh

[eegad]

Freaking Replicants.

Replicant

[Anonymous Coward]

This is an idea that should be retired.

I don't want more life, fucker

[Utini420]

This will all end in tears. One way or the other.

Re:I don't want more life, fucker

[elrous0]

Best subject line ever.

Re:I don't want more life, fucker

[grub]

I'll give you nightmares: imagine if they get George Lucas to do these.

Re:I don't want more life, fucker

[Anonymous Coward]

I have seen things you people wouldn't believe in the original.

Harrison Ford fighting killer androids.
Flying cars shimmering over the Los Angeles distopia.

All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time for a sequel.

Re:I don't want more life, fucker

[gstoddart]

I'll give you nightmares: imagine if they get George Lucas to do these.

Then we'll all know up-front not to watch it.

And, seriously, except for re-hashing Star Wars, has Lucas actually been directly involved in making anything lately? IMDB shows his producer credits as mostly related to Star Wars/Indiana Jones re-hashes.

Thankfully, as a film-maker, Lucas seems to be more or less done doing anything besides collecting royalties.

Re:I don't want more life, fucker

[KhabaLox]

I'll give you nightmares: imagine if they get George Lucas to do these.

I'm hoping for Uwe Boll.

To quote another movie that shouldn't've been made

[wiredog]

<vader>

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

</vader>

Yay!

[Rik Sweeney]

Blade Runner is a superb film and a sequel is long overdue!

Besides, what could possibly go wrong?

Re:Yay!

[Creepy]

True - Highlander 2 made the first movie 10x better. wow - I didn't typing something sarcastic like that could make me physically sick, but it did. Sadly that horrible piece of trash didn't end the series and they made something like 9 more movies, none of which I'll ever see unless they're being used as torture.

Re:Yay!

[elrous0]

If you think it makes *you* sick, imagine how it makes Sean Connery feel--knowing that it's forever going to be on his IMDB entry.

Sure, why not

[Shivetya]

and no there was no conspiracy about a fifth repilicant, its called their budget would not allow it.

Get the five disc collectors edition, watch the making of which is over four hours long. It smacks down most of the hair brained theories about why what happened, why something looked a certain way, and such.

and oh yeah, only Olmos originally knew what he was saying, he made it up.

As to the validity of making more. Sure, I don't want a re-make but a long time passed sequel would be nice and prequels don't need to involve the same characters to be valid stories.

The Best of Philip K Dick

[C_amiga_fan]

Blade Runner is actually one of his lesser books. Philip has produced tons of great science-based fiction (and some fantasy):

http://www.amazon.com/Philip-K-Dick-Collection/dp/1598530496

The Man in the High Castle (1962)
Martian Time-Slip (1964)
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965)
Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb (1965)
Now Wait for Last Year (1966)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)
Ubik (1969)
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (1974)
A Scanner Darkly (1977)
A Maze of Death (1970)
VALIS (1981)
The Divine Invasion (1981)
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (1982)

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[C_amiga_fan]

And short stories of course (not a complete list):
1. Beyond Lies the Wub
2. Roog
3. Paycheck
4. Second Variety (Screamers)
5. Imposter
6. The King of the Elves
7. Adjustment Team
8. Foster, You're Dead
9. Upon the Dull Earth
10. Autofac
11. The Minority Report
12. The Days of Perky Pat
13. Precious Artifact
14. A Game of Unchance
15. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (Total Recall)
16. Faith of Our Fathers
17. The Electric Ant
18. A Little Something For Us Tempunauts
19. The Exit Door Leads In
20. Rautavaara's Case
21. I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
And some other random ones - Fair Game, The Hanging Stranger, The Eyes have it; The Golden Man; The Turning Wheel; The Last of the Masters; The Father-Thing; Strange Eden; Tony and the Beetles; Null-O; To Serve the Master; Exhibit Piece; The Crawlers; Sales Pitch; Shell Game; Upon the Dull Earth; Foster, you're dead; Pay for the Printer; War Veteran; The Chromium Fence; Second Variety.

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[WillAdams]

Uh,

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)

Is the book which the movie _Bladerunner_ was (loosely) based on. Moreover, _A Scanner Darkly_ was filmed in 2006. (Compleat list of films based on his works here: http://www.philipkdick.com/films_intro.html )

I'm also not that wild about the Library of America Editions --- are they still setting _everything_ in Galliard? While I like that typeface, it's a bit too strong stylistically, esp. the italics, for such lengthy texts IMO.

William

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[MillionthMonkey]

Ergo, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is one of his lesser books!

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[dmatos]

You should also boldify:

3. Paycheck
Confessions of a Crap Artist (Confessions d'un Bario, French)
5. Impostor
The Golden Man (Next)
7. Adjustment Team (Adjustment Bureau, releasing soon)

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[thisnamestoolong]

I am glad to see PKD getting a little love here on /. While Blade Runner is one of the greatest movies ever made, it is definitely not much of a reflection of the vision of Philip K. Dick (which, as a side note, is a good thing, as the novel that Blade Runner is based off of is one of his weaker works). While many movies have been based off of his books, the only one I have seen that really captures the same feel that his novels induce is A Scanner Darkly. It is seriously awesome and worth checking out. As far as his books go, I would have to say Valis is by far his masterpiece, he draws the reader so deeply into his psychosis that I started feeling like I was losing my mind by the end of the book.

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[lxs]

Paycheck was not made into a movie. It did not star Ben Affleck and it was not horrible!

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[CFTM]

Just an FYI, if you go in to the Adjustment Bureau expecting Adjustment Team you'll be quite disappointed. It's meant to be its own story but uses a similar entity to the adjustment team for controlling events. That's not to say it'll be either good or bad, just that it's really not intended to be a telling of a Dickian story.

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[elrous0]

"Second Variety" is still my personal favorite. And it's been adapted both directly (Screamers) and indirectly (Terminator and the Battlestar Galactica remake, which both borrowed pretty liberally).

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[Nerdfest]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If all you know of him is the movies, then you don't know Dick.

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[Omestes]

. UBIK was optioned at one point (maybe by John Lennon?)...

I think Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine... and a bunch of really annoying, pretentious, fake indie films) bought the rights to Ubik now. Which, if he pulls it off like Eternal Sunshine, might be a good movies, if he does it like The Green Hornet or Science of Sleep, it will one the largest steaming piles of crap ever squeezed from the bowels of Hollywood. Being that it is Philip Dick (1% of of movies based off of his work is worth watching, he might be the most butchered author there is), Hollywood (90% is crap), and Michel Gondry (1 good movies, followed by a stream of crap)... I wouldn't hold my breath.

The low budget film based on Radio Free Albemuth might be nice, it looks at least faithful to the story. Though the trailer dashes most of that hope, since it looks like a ultra-low-budget film, with some pretty stiff acting. Perhaps its just the trailer though, since it is a pretty bad one.

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[LMacG]

"Roog" is one of the best stories, ever. I'm also fond of "The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford".

And last night I read "The Eyes Have It", which I don't think I'd encountered before.

Re:The Best of Philip K Dick

[protektor]

Actually if you do some reading of Philip K. Dick and Blade Runner you might be really surprised by what he had to say about it. Originally Philip K. Dick got a hold of one of the early scripts and read it and then he was pretty much ignored during most of the startup/development work for Blade Runner. PKD was very pissed about the script he read and constantly blasted it in the press and in interviews at the time. It wasn't until Ridley Scott got him to come to the studio and see a rough cut of some of the film that things really changed and got interesting. Once PKD saw what was actually being done and how it was in the spirit of what he was writting that he completely did a 180 on the film. After PKD saw what Ridley Scott was doing and how the film was looking and the final script he was very impressed with the movie and loved what he saw. He said he realized it wasn't really a movie of his novel "So Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" but a movie that took bits and pieces and had many of the same themes and ideas as the book. PKD really thought the movie was good and changed his mind publicaly about the film. PKD then started recommending the movie saying he was really impressed with what Ridley Scott was doing and like how the movie was turning out.

Most people seem to remember PKD blasting Hollywood and every time they optioned one of his stories for a movie and how he always thought they screwed him and his novels over. I would suspect most people remember or have heard about PKD blasting "Blade Runner" as a terrible movie and idea. The reality is though once he saw the vision that Ridley Scott had for the movie he actually loved what was being done and thought people should see it and that they would like it. PKD point blank said that "Blade Runner" wasn't "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" but that it would have existed in the same universe of the book and covered almost all of the themes that he was doing in the book. So in the end "Blade Runner" did get the PKD stamp of approval.

You can read about a good percentage of this story of PKD and Blade Runner in the book "Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner". There are also several articles around about Philip K. Dick blasting the movie in interviews. If you look harder though you will see a few articles where he did interviews and actually talked up the film once he was shown what it would end up being by Ridley Scott.

I don't know how Philip K. Dick would have felt about Next, Minority Report, Screamers, Impostor, or even A Scanner Darkly. I suspect he would be fine with A Scanner Darkly and even perhaps one or two of the other films made from his work, but he definitely approved of Blade Runner.

sacrilege !

[KernelMuncher]

Are Hollywood writers so creatively bankrupt that they have to leach off of a great movie from the past. Why can't they just leave a sci-fi classic like Blade Runner alone ? Just come up with some new and interesting ideas for a change. Is that too much to ask ? I guess so.

Re:sacrilege !

[KernelMuncher]

woops - meant leech. Hollywood types who tarnish great originals with crappy remakes / prequels / sequels / etc = money grubbing blood suckers. But I'd guess most already knew that.

Re:sacrilege !

[greg1104]

The only surprise is that they're talking about new material inspired by Blade Runner, rather than planning a "even more gritty reboot!" of the original movie.

Re:sacrilege !

[Mike Mentalist]

Are Hollywood writers so creatively bankrupt that they have to leach off of a great movie from the past. Why can't they just leave a sci-fi classic like Blade Runner alone ? Just come up with some new and interesting ideas for a change. Is that too much to ask ? I guess so.

Why is there always someone moaning about sequels whenever one is announced? Blade Runner is nearly 30 years old and no matter how this new film turns out will still be there in it's original form to watch.

Given that BR is based on a book anyway why do you think that it is some amazingly original piece of work in the first place?

Re:sacrilege !

[gstoddart]

Are Hollywood writers so creatively bankrupt that they have to leach off of a great movie from the past.

Of course they are, have been for quite some time now. That, and the companies that make movies have decided there's no point in trying to make something new/original/good ... they'll just follow the Disney model of cranking out an endless series of sequels, prequels and remakes until everybody throws up their hands in disgust. They just take a story and run it into the ground.

Just come up with some new and interesting ideas for a change. Is that too much to ask ?

Likely, yes. And, I fear that if they did come up with something new and interesting, people wouldn't watch it since it was so far from what they want to see. Though, I'm skeptical they could actually come up with something new and interesting.

There are actors who basically get paid loads of money to repeatedly make what is essentially the exact same lousy movie -- change a few details, but essentially unleash the same zaniness as the last several movies, stick with what worked, and wait for the rubes to line up for tickets.

The sad thing is, these are the movies people go to see. Otherwise, they'd have stopped it by now.

Re:sacrilege !

[Half-pint HAL]

From TFA:

the rights would not allow them to release a direct remake of the original film

This leaves an interesting question: why?

Possible answers:

The original Blade Runner still sells well, particularly given the Final Cut in HD. No-one wants to cannibalise their own sales of a recent product. Relatively slow uptake of Bluray might even be artificially slowing sales of The Final Cut. (I won't buy it until I have a laptop with Bluray -- why get the DVD now?)

The rights to Electric Sheep may not be transferrable. So this [s|pr]equal would be based on the Blade Runner IP and further away from the original Electric Sheep IP

Or maybe the remake rights were on offer but just very, very expensive, and they decided to save a few quid on a cheaper option.

HAL.

Re:sacrilege !

[CFTM]

You realize that writers arn't auteur's correct? That this a collaborative industry, with many cooks in the kitchen. The directory gets a say, the actor gets a say, the studios get a say and even the public gets a say. As such the work we see is rarely indicative of the original screen player. Many things can kill the quality of a project, and the two chief suspects are focus groups and Studio execs. Movies get significant thematic changes, that have an adverse affect on continuity and character development, because the focus groups are unsettled by aspects of a movie. Ultimately, this is a business of money....

Making a blanket statement like "Hollywood writers are creatively bankrupt" is like saying that obviously all programmers at Microsoft are incompetent because of Microsoft's track record of poor performance on security.

Are there some? Sure.
Is it indicative of writers in Hollywood? Nope, and plenty of good stuff is still written these days. More often than not, it's on television because there are more episodes and more opportunity for real character development.

Re:sacrilege !

[Johnny Mnemonic]

Are Hollywood writers so creatively bankrupt

Hollywood thinks so little of writers that they don't even credit them. They'll credit the Key Grip, for xchrist sakes. And the caterer. But not the writers. The story is a ancillary concern to the 'splosions. And here we are.

Re:sacrilege !

[dwywit]

Four words - "The Blade Runner Partnership". Yorkin's the reason.

Re:sacrilege !

[protektor]

Yes Yorkin has been a major problem with Blade Runner. There have many attempts to do something with the Blade Runner IP but Yorkin has been a dick and shot them all down. It was a very hard struggle with Yorkin to get all the updated versions of Blade Runner released. He seems like a complete dick to me based on his handling of the IP rights for Blade Runner. The fighting with Vangelis over the music certainly didn't help with the film getting better treatment for a long while. Personally I think he was being a big whiny baby, and one of those prima donna artists about the music for the movie. If you are hired to do a movie score then you are doing a work for hire and the movie producers should pretty much own the music that you created. He can be free to take his name off the work if he didn't like it, but the movie owners should have had the rights to the music and he shouldn't have been such a baby about the whole thing.

Personally I think Blade Runner would have been much more of a cult hit and gotten a lot better treatment over the years, after it was released, if Bud Yorkin hadn't owned the rights to Blade Runner. Personally I think Yorkin ended up screwing a lot people because of the financing deal he forced on them. I think Philip K. Dick's estate or even Ridley Scott would have handled the Blade Runner property much better than Bud Yorkin did and has. There is a special place in hell for Hollywood people like him.

Don't even get me started on the crappy Hollywood accounting that movie studios do and how this was done to Blade Runner as well. That certainly didn't help matters at all either when it was released or even over the years. Blade Runner is suppose to have cost about $28 Million. I suspect if you did actual real-world accounting rather that Hollywood/Enron accounting on it that the real costs would have closer to $15-18 Million to make Blade Runner. But you know Hollywood they love to do their messed up accounting and claim that almost no movie has ever made a profit. Hollywood tried to do this with Lord of the Rings and screw Peter Jackson out of his share of the money. Hollywood knows they are screwing everyone over with their Hollywood accounting because they write contracts that only certain accounting firms can audit the books, because supposedly only these firms understand how movie pictures are made. The reality is every time a movie studio has been dragged in to court over their accounting practices the judges have absolutely blasted the movie studio because of their accounting practices and every single time the movie studios have settled. The studios know if they get one legal precedent against their accounting practices that everyone would come out of the wood-work and demand their fair share and the movie studios would end up screwed because of how they have screwed so many people for so long. Also the studios definitely don't want the gravy train to end on how much money they actually suck out of a movie production that makes them rich. Just look at the salaries of the top studio execs. and then look at the profit levels for studios that are under publicly traded corporations. There are some movie studios who have mismanaged themselves right out of business, but the majority of the movie studios are raking it in hand over fist. That the is secret lie that Hollywood doesn't want to talk about. They want people to believe that most movies don't make any money and are huge risks. Movies are a bit risky as to if the public will like them and actually buy them, but then studios do so many focus groups on a movie before it hits your local theater that it usually isn't that much of a problem. Focus groups and greedy studio execs who want the easiest way to make a large profit by ripping off people with the Hollywood system is why we get so many reboots, sequels, etc. You fight the Hollywood system and actually demand your fair share and you won't last long in Hollywood.

Bud Yorkin is just one example of this whole messed up system, and the Blade Runner rights have been caught in the middle of this whole nasty system.

Re:sacrilege !

[protektor]

Blade Runner is an amazing film and could stand alone as it's own IP completely separate from the book, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". The movie and books exist in the same universe and have many of the same ideas and concepts behind them, but Blade Runner in my opinion is definitely not a movie version of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". It would be better to say Blade Runner was inspired by the book rather than a movie version of the book. Even Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott have made this point. This is the reason why Bud Yorkin aka The Blade Runner Partnership have had so much control over the Blade Runner IP. It's also the reason why Philip K. Dick's estate has had so little control over anything to do with Blade Runner.

I am not sure how K. W. Jeter was able to secure the rights to the Blade Runner IP in order to write 3 novels based on the Blade Runner IP/universe. I suspect that the story behind that is a very interesting one. I suspect it was easier for him to get the rights for the books given he was a friend of Philip K. Dick.

Meh, doesn't exist

[morikahnx]

I don't care what name they give it. Doesn't exist. Never happened.

Harrison Ford?

[Brad1138]

Do you think they will try to use any of the original actors? I agree with most posts, seems like a bad idea.

Re:Harrison Ford?

[MillionthMonkey]

A great BR sequel could really be made at this point with Charlie Sheen as he undergoes his bipolar-1 induced psychotic break. [A non-drug-related tragedy for which he goes untreated while serving as a source of entertainment for us all.] Assuming Rx = lithium for a moment, there can be lithium-free and fully lithiated performances from Charlie as he loses and gains sanity from acquiring some thing or reaching some place or something. His scenes before gaining sanity in the screenplay could be left as blank pages because Charlie is perfectly capable of improvising several pages of "psychotic" monologue on the spot. e.g. "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... All these moments will be lost in time... like tears in the rain... time to take my lithium [gulp]."

Seriously, as for the original actors from an almost three-decades-old movie, no.

Awesome universe

[binarylarry]

I hope they'll make some movies exploring other areas of the Blade Runner universe. Recasting Deckard, the replicants, etc would be terrible.

But the universe is awesome, I'd welcome more stories from there.

Re:Awesome universe

[idontgno]

I hope they'll make some movies exploring other areas of the Blade Runner universe

Besides this one?

"Soldier" was not a great film, but it was interesting, and peripherally related to Blade Runner.

How about something new?

[Anonymous Coward]

Instead of tarnishing another brand, how about invent a new one so that in 30 years, Hollywood has a whole new generation of material to rip off?

In other news....

[Unka Willbur]

The classic Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is getting a sequel, a prequel and a reboot... "We feel there's a lot of left to explore in the world of 'Mona Lisa,'" said a greedy scum-sucking banker-type who wouldn't know art if it slapped him upside his swollen ego with a jugged fish,.

Re:In other news....

[SirGarlon]

Actually it is very common for painters even today to paint their own variations and re-interpretations of Mona Lisa. It's called a "study." Of course, it's different. The challenge in a study is to bring something new and create new art based on the same subject.

NNNNooooooooo!

[tekrat]

I *trust* Hollywood.... to fuck it up. Hollywood has not made a good film since "Fight Club". Leave Blade Runner alone. It's perfect as it is. What's next, a sequel to "Casablanca"? How about a prequel, where Rick is *in* Paris? God, when will it all end? Can someone please NUKE Hollywood to save us from them? It would be a public service to humanity. I didn't even bother going to the sequel to TRON (still haven't seen it, that's right), out of respect for the original. Hollywood, can you hear me? STOP RIGHT NOW. I will find you and burn down the set if you start shooting Blade Runner sequels.
For the love of god, STOP!

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[JustNiz]

yeah you were right to not see the sequel to Tron. The script was pretty much 100% crap, clearly just there to provide a vehicle for the CGI.

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[metalgamer84]

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[bertoelcon]

The script was pretty much 100% crap, clearly just there to provide a vehicle for the CGI.

Not that the original movie was any better script wise.

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[c0d3g33k]

Leave Blade Runner alone. It's perfect as it is.

Sequels and prequels will leave the original untouched to bask in its perfection. It still exists for you to enjoy in its pristine beauty. Wait - which original did you mean? There are so many versions ...

How about a prequel [to Casablanca], where Rick is *in* Paris?

That's an awesome idea, actually. If it's good, I'll appreciate it for what it is. If it sucks, I'll ignore it (since it was obviously not in continuity, lol).

Get over yourself. I don't care where people take inspiration from - if they do a good job that's all that matters. This nonsense about avoiding "sacred" stories or 'franchises' is just silly. If someone can tell a story better, or if they can tell a better story in the context of an existing 'fictional framework', I want them to be able to do so.

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[Issarlk]

I'd like them to film the sequel to The Passion of the Christ. Now that would be interesting.

I can see the poster already. "Jesus II." "No man, no law, no war can stop him".

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[Degro]

Come on...the original Tron was a vehicle for special effects too. Oh ha ha, you're a Bit, aren't you? Literary masterpiece! It was a good movie because of the effects, combined with a passable script.

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[JustNiz]

>> It was a good movie because of the effects, combined with a passable script.

Agreed. The script of the original was passable. Barely. The new one isn't even close.

Re:NNNNooooooooo!

[Alimony Pakhdan]

It's perfect as it is

Which version?

Moderately obscure question:

[Even on Slashdot FOE]

Can they get the rights to have the fictional band Priss and the Replicants in at least one of these? It would be hilarious for those of us that get the joke.

Re:Moderately obscure question:

[tekrat]

Don't forget to add some Boomers that look like "The Terminator". Really. Bubble Gum Crisis? That was like absolute proof that anime is just dreck that makes something "original" by copying from 9 different sources.

Of course, the flipside to that was that "the Matrix" was a ripoff of 'Ghost in the Shell.'

Re:Moderately obscure question:

[AHuxley]

They could always use music from Basic Pleasure Model, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psykosonik

Re:Moderately obscure question:

[AHuxley]

for Martix/GitS try http://www.mig81.com/matrixgits/ pages of info.

Re:Moderately obscure question:

[frank_adrian314159]

Dude, Pris was hot. As was Zhora - in a more Newhart way, that is...

Re:Moderately obscure question:

[Alimony Pakhdan]

Are you hot for Bob Newhart too?

Movie sequel books

[greg1104]

K. W. Jeter published two attempts at writing a sequel to Blade Runner, inspired by the movie rather than PKD's original novel. The Edge of Human and Replicant Night waver along the edge between mediocre and horrifying throughout. I have little hope for a movie to do better.

Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[naz404]

I found the official sequel, Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human by K.W. Jeter (one of Philip K. Dick's good friends and the guy who coined the term "steampunk") to be a pretty decent read. Why don't they option that?

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[Quiet_Desperation]

Because this is Hollywood. "Good" (or even "decent") is irrelevant.

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[0123456789]

The reason Blade Runner was a great film was precisely because they made a film using concepts from the book, but didn't slavishly follow the text (Watchmen, I'm looking at you here). Don't think the plot followed the original book closely enough for the sequel to the book to make sense as the sequel to the film.

I haven't read the book Bladerunner 2, by the way - I retract the above if it was a follow up to the film, rather than "Do Androids Dream..."

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[sourcerror]

I read that book, and it felt like a very different universe. Fans of the original are likely to be pissed off. (Although I liked it, but it felt a bit mediocre.)

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[al0ha]

Yep you got that right. Not only are they irrelevant, nobody in Hollywood has the slightest idea what makes a good film, they just throw money at a project that someone with a name gets behind in the hopes it makes money. Hollywood is pretty much Vegas, although the top brass would like everyone to think they are some kind of geniuses.

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[cayenne8]

You know...and I'll admit maybe I should rent and take another look, perhaps one of the special editions of Blade Runner...but honestly, I've never been that enamoured with the movie.

I was a bit young-ish when I saw it when originally released in the movie theater. I was then, expecting more star war-ish.

I've seen it as an adult...and again, so far, never been that impressed with it. I have never been overwhelmed with the special effects, even back then. It seems to move slow and boring to me.

I'm a fan of other PKD stuff...starting to go back and read his stuff, and I like some of the other movies made from his stories, but I dunno. Am I the only techie/geeky type person that just did not thing Blade Runner was anything special?

What am I missing? I think I should love this movie, based on other things I enjoy...but just never have "gotten it".

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[Chris Burke]

I was a bit young-ish when I saw it when originally released in the movie theater. I was then, expecting more star war-ish.

I've seen it as an adult...and again, so far, never been that impressed with it. I have never been overwhelmed with the special effects, even back then. It seems to move slow and boring to me.

The movie is slow moving, and doesn't even try to overwhelm you with special effects. It is not anything like Star Wars or Aliens or any other action sci-fi you may have seen. If that's what you wanted, and even as an adult it sounds like that's the case, then it's absolutely no surprise that you found it boring.

What are you missing? The thing that makes sci-fi (as opposed to space opera) interesting -- the human questions. What is it to be human? How do we know we are? What are memories but pictures that we cling to? How long a life must we lead for it to be worthwhile? And so on. Sci-fi, especially as practiced by PKD, uses future technology as a mirror to look at ourselves.

It's okay to think it's boring, though, if you don't like that kind of slow moving thoughtful movie. A lot of people think 2001: A Space Odyssey is boring, and while I love the movie, I can't really tell them they're wrong.

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[cayenne8]

What are you missing? The thing that makes sci-fi (as opposed to space opera) interesting -- the human questions. What is it to be human? How do we know we are? What are memories but pictures that we cling to? How long a life must we lead for it to be worthwhile? And so on. Sci-fi, especially as practiced by PKD, uses future technology as a mirror to look at ourselves.

It's okay to think it's boring, though, if you don't like that kind of slow moving thoughtful movie. A lot of people think 2001: A Space Odyssey is boring, and while I love the movie, I can't really tell them they're wrong.

Thanks for the reply. Don't get me wrong...while I enjoy a good explosion filled movie (I am a guy after all), I like a good story, I've enjoyed reading good SF over the years. I STILL like 2001...hell, I was REALLY a kid when I saw that in the original showing in the theater..and I liked it as a kid back then. Like I said..I should like Blade Runner.

But honestly, if you and others hadn't posted what you were supposed to get out of BR..I'd not have gleaned it...I've seen it a few times, and could never really figure out the movie...and for some reason I never saw the 'message' in it.

Again..has been at least a decade or so since I've viewed it, and I've heard there are directors cuts and all..so, maybe worth another look, especially after knowing what to look for...but until then..I've just never gotten it.

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[steve_bryan]

OK, I am going to commit heresy. Watch the version with the voice over narration by Harrison Ford. It wasn't part of the plan by Ridley Scott and Harrison claims he tried to make his delivery especially dumb because he thought it was a bad idea. But without it the movie can seem awfully quiet and cnfusing at times. Of course it isn't so important after the story is familiar but I'm not sure the producers were so wrong to have it in the original release.

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[naz404]

It's a sequel to both the film Blade Runnner and the book Do Androids Dream by PKD. Jeter fused the two and tried reconcile inconsistencies (but did create more). All in all, it was an entertaining romp with a plot and ending that could easily be translated to Hollywood. Will need younger actors though as pretty much most the major players in BR are in it.

Re:Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human

[geekoid]

I prefer the voice over myself. Classic case of the viewers getting the story because of narrating but then convincing themselves it wasn't necessary.

Prequel name votes...

[SeNtM]

Blade Walker

Re:Prequel name votes...

[gregthebunny]

And the sequel would be, Blade Sprinter?

Re:Prequel name votes...

[Quiet_Desperation]

Blade Walker, Mars Ranger

Blade, the direct descendant of Cordell Walker, Texas Ranger, enforces the law and hunts renegade replicants in the wild frontier of an offworld colony on Mars.

Re:Prequel name votes...

[Half-pint HAL]

Also a candidate name for a sequel starring Harrison Ford....

Re:Prequel name votes...

[M. Baranczak]

Blade Walker, Texas Ranger.

Re:Prequel name votes...

[Naatach]

Blade Walker

Prequel: Blade Crawler
Sequel: Blade Wheel-Chairer (or Blade Walker)

Re:Prequel name votes...

[SeNtM]

For sequel names, I am kind of fond of Blade Jumper...or...Blade Runner 2: Tastes Like Soylent Green.

What ????

[gstoddart]

Sequels and Prequels of Blade Runner, and Ridley Scott may or may not be involved???

So, they're going to make generic sci-fi movies that loosely relate to Blade Runner, and that none of the fans of the original will care about seeing ... and people who didn't like/didn't see the original won't care about seeing.

Who do they expect to be watching this? They better have damned good screen plays for this, or they're throwing money down a hole trying to capitalize on the legacy of a good movie only to find out they don't have an audience.

This has all the potential to become a complete flop. I'll stick with my director's cut of the original unless I hear some really compelling reasons that this isn't going to be crap.

Re:What ????

[kevinmenzel]

I think they expect the people who didn't watch the original, but have heard of it to go see their generic, Sci-Fi action piece, with a whole bunch of explosions and shit. And there's a huge audience for mindless crap in the theatres, especially mindless crap with some sort of name recognition.

Re:What ????

[Drakkenmensch]

We're headed into Highlander Sequel territory full steam ahead, here...

Re:What ????

[gstoddart]

I think they expect the people who didn't watch the original, but have heard of it to go see their generic, Sci-Fi action piece, with a whole bunch of explosions and shit. And there's a huge audience for mindless crap in the theatres, especially mindless crap with some sort of name recognition.

Yeah, but that can backfire on them ... if they manage to annoy the fans, and confuse the rest of the people, they end up with a movie that neither group will watch.

I predict this to be the more likely outcome.

Re:What ????

[gstoddart]

We're headed into Highlander Sequel territory full steam ahead, here...

Ah, an entire series of movies I can say quite happily that I have never seen.

After the original, nothing could have possibly compared. There can be only one.

Re:What ????

[Drakkenmensch]

We're headed into Highlander Sequel territory full steam ahead, here...

Ah, an entire series of movies I can say quite happily that I have never seen.

After the original, nothing could have possibly compared. There can be only one.

Highlander 2 tried explaining the whole immortal thing with... aliens. Thanks for bringing midichlorians into a classic movie and ruining the whole franchise! Is it any wonder even the following directors don't consider it canon?

Re:What ????

[chriseyre2000]

But there was only one Highlander film?

Re:What ????

[gstoddart]

Sequels and Prequels of Blade Runner, and Ridley Scott may or may not be involved???

Actually, I'm not sure Ridley Scott would be much of a help ... apparently, he's busy making prequels to Alien, in 3D no less.

I'd like them to not suck, but I fear they might. :(

Re:What ????

[gstoddart]

What are you talking about? Have you ever actually been to a movie?

No, I live in a cave without electricity or the internet and I am not aware of what happens in pop-culture. In fact, I'm not writing this now, this is purely a manifestation of your own angst.

Ninety percent of all movies are complete and total crap. Yet, they still sell billions of dollars worth of tickets every year.

Yes, I blame actors like Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, and Steve Carell for that. And the people who watch the movies, of course.

They'll have a pointless and derivitive screen play that has a big special effects budgets and fighting robots and glittery vampire replicants that do slow-motion karate agaist the werewolf cyborgs, and the CGI landscapes will be dull and artless.

Oh, man, now I'm gonna have to watch it. Is there a plucky side-kick and a moment of Great Personal Change (TM) for either the protagonist or an anti-hero? How about a love interest and a tragic backstory? Throw in a purely CGI character for comic relief, some henchmen, and I'm there, man.

Wow, ending every paragraph with "Yet, they still sell billions of dollars worth of tickets every year." makes you sound awfully clever. You're so awesome!

I say someone just grabs Chow Yun-Fat, gives him a bunch of guns, ten or twenty thousand rounds of ammo, and just shoot the longest running gun-battle in film history. If you're going to be shameless, do it large, and with an actor who can pull it off without blinking or flinching when he shoots the gun. Oh, and show me Mila Jovovich's tits.

Re:What ????

[zach_the_lizard]

Or that there were 6 Star Wars movies

Re:What ????

[Genrou]

There can be only one.

There should have been only one.

Re:What ????

[mob)barley]

The formula for making a 'successful' Hollywood movie is pretty generic. It doesn't matter if Sci fi fans don't like it. It only has to appeal to the masses to be a financial success. Pure sci-fi represents less of a market. Stick to reading novels.

Re:What ????

[gstoddart]

The formula for making a 'successful' Hollywood movie is pretty generic. It doesn't matter if Sci fi fans don't like it. It only has to appeal to the masses to be a financial success. Pure sci-fi represents less of a market. Stick to reading novels.

Oh, I get that part, and Hollywood is in the business of making money after all, so they're gonna stick with what works. Or at least, what their focus group says works or worked for someone else.

But, if it's not geeky enough for the people who knew what it was, and if it's too geeky for everybody else, you can fall into that middle range where nobody wants to see it.

I know there was a movie within the last few years which did exactly that,and failed miserably. But, I've been wracking my brain and I can't remember which movie it is that I'm thinking of. Basically, the fans hated it, and the rest of the people didn't get it/like it -- so, they alienated everybody.

Re:What ????

[MrNemesis]

Even with great scripts, I doubt the production design would be up to much. Never before and never since had a I seen a sci-fi universe brought to life with such confidence, style and scope - and that in itself was a crucial part of the Blade Runner story. Awesome vision from Scott plus Trumbull and team at the absolute peak of their powers, and one of the last epic films to make extensive use of models before the CGI revolution kicked in.

Heck, when was the last time you saw a film that was even as well *lit* as Blade Runner?

Making a film as artistically distinct as Blade Runner appears to be a dead art. Or rather a type of art that no-one is willing to finance. Not that I'm saying Blade Runner was all about the effects, it wasn't, but damn if they didn't almost singlehandedly define the visuals of the genre for a generation to come.

Chances of requels/prequels/sequels/bleaquels having the same effect? Nil.

Re:What ????

[gstoddart]

Even with great scripts, I doubt the production design would be up to much. Never before and never since had a I seen a sci-fi universe brought to life with such confidence, style and scope

I couldn't agree with you more on this ... the visuals and overall grittiness of the world absolutely rocked and I'm hard-pressed to think of something which is even close.

I may need to re-watch my copy of this, it's been a while, and I've forgotten just how awesome it was.

Re:What ????

[Have Brain Will Rent]

The replicants Deckard pursued were military right? The Hollywood prequel writes itself... Replicants vs Aliens vs Predators

Re:What ????

[dwywit]

I say someone just grabs Chow Yun-Fat, gives him a bunch of guns, ten or twenty thousand rounds of ammo, and just shoot the longest running gun-battle in film history. If you're going to be shameless, do it large, and with an actor who can pull it off without blinking or flinching when he shoots the gun. Oh, and show me Mila Jovovich's tits.

Funny you should mention him - he was "approached" about playing Louis Wu in a Ringworld movie. I believe Quincy Jones' production company have/had the movie option on the story.

Sequel? So US Theatrical ver is definative then?

[jzarling]

If we take Ridley Scott's word for it, Deckard is a replicant, and by deleting the narration the concept of Rachel not having a expiration date is lost.

Re:To quote another movie that shouldn't've been m

[naz404]

<vader>

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

</vader>

fixed that for you.

Well, we asked for it...

[jnelson4765]

If people didn't go to the movies, they wouldn't make money. They know (Hollywood, that is) that they'll get a $12 ticket from enough aging geeks for a lame turd of an eye-poking 3D pile of mawkish sentimental rehash sludge to make their money back. Plus, the movie tie-ins are worth a lot of money - how much does McDonald's pay for the rights for those Happy Meal Toys? Mattel? The video game rights?

I guarantee this will make its money back. No matter how bad it is - they'll make it in some kind of tax shelter state or country which has a huge tax rebate on movie production, count the full cost of production against the bottom line, and claim it lost money to all the people involved with the actual production. All while the money people make a healthy profit.

So, would you go see it? Of course you would. Even if it's mediocre. They just have to buy enough good reviews to get you into the theater. They don't have to actually work.

Now, on a more serious note, let's see who the creative team is that is working on it before saying it'll suck. There are some very good writers, directors, and cinematographers out there who won't give it the "G.I. Joe: Rise of My Gorge" treatment.

Re:Well, we asked for it...

[Jawnn]

I guarantee this will make its money back.

Just not any of mine. And that I can guarantee.

Obvious, but someone has to say this...

[itsdapead]

Blade Runner is actually one of his lesser books. Philip has produced tons of great science-based fiction (and some fantasy):

Er, Blade Runner wasn't one of his books at all. Perhaps you're thinking of:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)

...on which Blade Runner is loosely based (the electric sheep got cut).

A Scanner Darkly (1977)

Which got made into one of those rare and delicate creatures: a good film with Keanau Reeves in it.

Re:Obvious, but someone has to say this...

[C_amiga_fan]

Thanks (to all three of ye). I enjoy being told "Blade Runner is actually called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by three separate persons. I already knew that, and really didn't need to be told in triplicate, but I appreciate the effort. "E"

Oh and by the way, the book DOES have 'Blade Runner' in the title, which was added later to make it more marketable: http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Runner-Movie-Tie--Philip-Dick/dp/0345350472

Re:Obvious, but someone has to say this...

[Kentari]

So you say 'Blade Runner' is a 'so-so' book, put 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' in the list of great works of Philip K. Dick on Slashdot. And you act surprised you get corrected 3 times and then continue the smugness? If you did something like this in a bar you'd be happy to walk out with your pants on.

And it doesn't have 'Blade Runner' in the title. If Philip K. Dick wanted it named Blade Runner he would have done so. Some idiots did so after his death and should be forced to eat all copies...

Re:Obvious, but someone has to say this...

[Kentari]

You must be new here.

Re:Obvious, but someone has to say this...

[91degrees]

Well, it was a little confusing (illustrated by the fact that at least 3 people were confused) that you mention Blade Runner being a so-so book, then mentioned that he has written tons of great science fiction, then listing a list of book, which presumably you consider to be part of that "tons".

Hey, people aren't getting at you. Just remember that other people may interpret things differently from how you intended.

Someone already made a cop with android TV show

[dicobalt]

It was called Total Recall 2070, it came out in 1999. You can watch it on Hulu.

Blade Runners!!!

[itsdapead]

Deckard leads a crack team of Blade Runners (most of whom get killed in the second reel) to a colony world where they have to fight a whole nest of replicants!

Be careful what you wish for...

Re:Blade Runners!!!

[metalgamer84]

Aliens, is that you?

Re:Blade Runners!!!

[ShavedOrangutan]

Deckard leads a crack team of Blade Runners...

... with two droids and one bumbling Gungan from the planet Naboo.

To state the obvious ...

[Anonymous Coward]

That's because crap sells.

It costs so much to make a movie these days, the suits want a sure thing.

Comic books and sequel/prequels are almost sure things.

Indie movies and scripts aren't.

Unless you're James Cameron - Avatar was sort of out of the blue - BUT it took the current environmentalism movement, mix heavily with the "noble savage" and BINGO! Hit movie.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[Whalou]

Unless you're James Cameron - Avatar was sort of [...]

like Pocahontas in space.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[Thud457]

Avatar was sort of out of the blue

I see what you did there.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[Creepy]

Avatar was sort of...

giant smurfs in a remake of the Ewok battle scene.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[Seumas]

You can't really blame them, either. How much of a risk would you be willing to take when $100,000,000 to $300,000,000 is on the line?

Re:To state the obvious ...

[elrous0]

Yeah, but they were *3D* smurfs!

Re:To state the obvious ...

[nosfucious]

Dances with Wolves.

Except less Kevin Costner (always a good thing), and more FX.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[sznupi]

Stereoscopic, actually.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[mewshi_nya]

Most movies that don't rely almost entirely on effects or name-buzz to be profitable cost far, far less than that.

I am very much of the opinion that the reason why some people have given up on going to the theater is because it's just not worth it anymore -- a lot of movies are dreadful crap passed off by critics as "decent". Maybe if they thought "Hm, we really ought to start taking chances on stuff again," people would start going to the movies again. The only movie that looked good to me recently was The King's Speech.

I really wish we could resurrect someone like Kubrick to direct again.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[Omestes]

I see it as Fern Gully meets Starship Troopers.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[wjousts]

Dances with Smurfs more like.

Re:To state the obvious ...

[DansnBear]

I like to call it "Dances with Navi"

Re:To state the obvious ...

[Kyusaku Natsume]

I really enjoyed "Black swan"; especially, I liked the sparse use of special effects, just the necessary amount to tell the story. On the other hand, when my wife rented "Lovely bones" we looked it to the end just because we already paid for it and had too much popcorn. It had at least 10 unnecessary minutes filled up with special effects that didn't bring anything to the plot.

Greg Egan

[itsdapead]

In Greg Egan's book Terenesia the protagonist is taken to see:

Blade Runner(tm) OnIce(tm) With Songs InTheStyleOf(r) Gilbert and Sullivan(tm)

Why did I just think of that?

Re:Greg Egan

[corbettw]

Good thing movie execs don't hang out here, or else that post would lead to a greenlight.

It's just been too long

[scotts13]

Series of films, if planned that way, are OK. Sequels CAN be alright. Prequels and remakes are almost always terrible. In this case, we have a film long acknowledged to be a classic; the quick immersion and open-to interpretation ending neither require nor invite extension in either direction. Virtually none of the original actors (or anything else) can be re-used. So we'll have the typical Hollywood "grab the name and include a few hooks to the original' disaster. If only there was a way to get people to STOP GOING to these wretched things; perhaps eventually the money people would return to allowing original works. Like a "Forbidden Planet" prequel. (GRIN).

This will not end well.

[0111 1110]

Alcon Entertainment has previously produced 19 other films, including The Blind Side, Insomnia, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pant, P.S. I Love You and the post apocalyptic science fiction film The Book of Eli, which starred Denzel Washington.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcon_Entertainment

Lost & Found
My Dog Skip
The Affair of the Necklace
Insomnia
Love Don't Cost a Thing
Chasing Liberty
Racing Stripes
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
16 Blocks
The Wicker Man
P.S. I Love You
One Missed Call
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Blind Side
The Book of Eli
Lottery Ticket

No. This will not end well. Although, to be fair, Insomnia was not bad. It's just that the Norwegian original was much, much better. The remake was not necessary. We can only pray that these jokers choose a decent writer and director for like the first time in their lives. This should have been tagged with "whatcouldpossiblygowrong".

Re:This will not end well.

[Quiet_Desperation]

They made a sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?!!.//!??221211??

(head explodes)

Re:This will not end well.

[spinninggears]

So Alcon was responsible for the remake of "The Wicker Man", huh? The original is a classic of the genre, the remake is endlessly mocked as one of the worst films ever. This is clearly not a group of people that should be entrusted with Bladerunner.

Re:This will not end well.

[91degrees]

It makes no difference.

The Wicker Man remake isn't endlessly mocked because hardly anyone saw it and most people don't remember it. It was simply unremarkable.

If these films are poor then we'll do the same. It isn't going to have an effect on the original

Re:This will not end well.

[cstanley8899]

Sisterhood of the Traveling Replicants?

Re:This will not end well.

[greg1104]

Why not "Chasing Replicants", "The Affair of the Replicants", or "Replicants Lost & Found". Or maybe we could get one about the son of the eye maker killed in the first movie, as he runs around seeking revenge by removing the eyes his father made. That would of course be "The Blind Replicants".

Re:This will not end well.

[PunditGuy]

We can only pray that these jokers choose a decent writer and director for like the first time in their lives.

You may not have liked his work, but Christopher Nolan would generally be thought of in the "decent" director category.

Re:This will not end well.

[matthew_t_west]

Oh no. Not Bladerunner.

Out of all the movies that Alcon has done, I've only wanted to see and seen one: The Book of Eli. It was lacking in some respects, but in general, was a pretty good post-apocalyptic flick, worth the rental. This is not where Bladerunner should sit in people's memory, though.

I agree. This will not end well at all.

M

To quote another movie...

[pdboddy]

... that shouldn't have had sequels. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

This could be as big as...

[SteveHeadroom]

Tron: Legacy or The Phantom Menace!

Can't wait!

[Black Parrot]

The sooner it comes out, the sooner we can have a thread where we all rag on what a disappointment it was.

C'mon, Hollywood - surprise me. I dare you!

aargh.

[JustNiz]

As they're almost certainly gonna screw it up by making yet another high-budget CGI-fest with no plot whatsoever, I wish they would call it something else entirely rather than try and associate shit with my most favourite film.

Worst. Headline. Ever.

[RevWaldo]

RTFA - there's a big difference between "in final discussions...at a very preliminary stage" and "happening". Until someone on a set says "aaaannnddd ACTION!" I'd treat this as Hollywood FUD.

.

Re:Worst. Headline. Ever.

[danhuby]

I'd treat this as Hollywood FUD.

FUD... are you sure? As in fear, uncertainty and doubt?

Aspects of this are not a bad idea

[goombah99]

Since Blade Runner if one of the best films attempts to leach off of it are pathetic.

However the film itself is not simply an adaptation of "do andorids dream of electric sheep". Instead it is steeped in other Philip K Dick books, like the atmosphere of post WWII pacific states of Asian-america found in the man in the high castle books. Likewise the ideas that healthy and wealthy humans have moved off world leaving behind a lower class society with pockets of wealth is found in other PKD themes. Most of all the rich Noir aspect was not found in any PKD book but transplanted from Noir detective cinema. And Of course there was just the visual design.

All of those are fair game. You can embed lots of plot lines in a world like that. Indeed things like Firefly sort of took the same approach, embedding in to a western. And that was pretty good eh? Ghost in the shell had a semi-noir but more techno background. Again strong.

What will suck is if they try to have the same characters. That would diminish the original I think. But you could imagine something like a CSI series set in the future.

Lemme guess...

[Jedimstr397]

Deckard shoots first this time?

CSI set in future has been done already ...

[perpenso]

But you could imagine something like a CSI series set in the future.

Well there was a Star Trek episode like that. Someone found a body. Someone else walked into the room with a tricorder and announced whose DNA was present. No fancy glass walled lab was necessary.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

[mbone]

In all of this activity, do you think that they could, actually, do a movie of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" ?

It looks, by the way, from the trailer that Radio Free Albemuth is going to be pretty close to the original. Frankly, I am looking forward to that more than to BR prequels.

Blade Runner VS Alien VS Predator

[cstanley8899]

I can see it now...

I think this is a great idea! My wishlist...

[Jellodyne]

I hope they cast Shia LaBeouf as the son of Deckard and Rachael, who has grown up to be a kick ass Blade Runner like his old man.
I hope they forget all that boring what-it-means-to-be-human nonsense and just give us some awesome chase scenes and explosions.
I hope they update the movies for young people by getting Fall Out Boy to do the score instead of crusty old Vangelis.
I hope the new films feature continuous voice-over, explaining what is already being shown onscreen.
I hope Deckard gets to ride an robot unicorn and fight an army of evil Nexus 6 assassins.

predicted "Bill Gates" before he was a mogul

[peter303]

IBM was the big computer power at the time Blade-runner was filmed. But it was a faceless corporation then. In that era only large corporations could assemble resources to build and operate mainframe computers. The hit Apple-II had been out a few years. Apple's record setting IPO, the first of a long Silicon Valley trend, was just before B.R. filming. MicroSoft was still a compiler company and had just made the IBM-PC deal. Bill's rise to richest man int he world was still well off in the future.

Re:predicted "Bill Gates" before he was a mogul

[Mister Transistor]

Huh? There was no mention of Microsoft, IBM, or Apple anywhere in the movie. Interesting history lesson you have there but completely irrelevant. If you are thinking Tyrell was the "Bill Gates" you refer to, I'd have to say the character was more like Howard Hughes - rich reclusive research scientist spends his days in bed and heading one of the more powerful corporations of the day.

In a way, there's already a Blade Runner TV series

[NaiveBayes]

If anyone here want's to watch a Blade Runner TV series that already exists, check out Total Recall 2070 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recall_2070 ). Yes, I know it sounds like it's based off a movie of a completely different Philip K Dick work, but in actuality it does it's own thing, but truth is it doesn't base itself heavily off of any of it's source and comes across as it's own thing that feels a lot like Blade Runner (pessimistic future, regular humans trying to figure it all out, weird stuff happening and strange, almost distant, tone to the whole thing etc.) I've only watched one episode though (years ago) so I can't give the best summary.

Luke Starkiller

[modulo26]

Sounds in line with the original script title, "Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars"

And Hidden Fortress was an acknowledged influence. But it's not the same.

This sounds like market research

[GodfatherofSoul]

Classic game of floating an idea and seeing how the target audience will respond.

Still discussing aquiring rights?

[Sir Realist]

Said it before; I'll say it again: discussions about film rights is not an indication that anyone is even seriously considering making an actual film. Neither is the existence of a screenplay. Without pausing for breath I could rattle off the names of at least a dozen books which have been optioned and even had screenplays written for them for the last decade but have never seen the light of day. Hollywood producers and studios buy film options speculatively, so that they can pull one out if the market suddenly seems appropriate, or even to stop anyone else from producing it at a time that it might compete with one of their other projects. And everything with a pulse within 100 miles of LA has at least one screenplay they've written and are trying to flog to no avail. Writers are so underpaid and (the good ones) so undervalued that the studios will think nothing of commissioning an initial draft for something they have no current intentions of making.

Talk to me when they've hired camera crews and signed contracts with actors. Even then we may never see it, but at least its starting to get probable at that point.

Will she be still wearing the clear raincoat?

[mallyn]

Hope those scene will be back :)

Re:In a way, there's already a Blade Runner TV ser

[0111 1110]

Was it any good though? TPB doesn't have it but Demonoid does (one of those rare occasions). Downloading now.

A hard movie to replicate.

[nuckfuts]

It's hard to imagine how they could match the magic of the original cast. Sean Young sitting at Decker's piano and letting her hair down was breathtakingly beautiful. Rutger Hauer's (partially improvised) death scene still moves me after countless viewings. I could go on and on.

There is certainly room for expansion on the story, however. The lives of the replicants off-world were only hinted at, but fascinating: "Kick-murder squads". "Pleasure models". "Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion". There is enormous potential - to be either great or disappointing. Hollywood has produced great sequels on occasion. (The Godfather: Part 2 is a classic example). I'm going to be cautiously optimistic. I want to see more of this world.

I can see it, sure

[argStyopa]

Theyâ(TM)ll rename Blade Runner to be âoeBlade Runner IV: A New Hopeâ

Blade Runner V â" Roy Batty Strikes Back!
Blade Runner VI â" The Return of Roy Batty!
Blade Runner I â" The Replicant Menace
Blade Runner II â" Attack of the Replicants
Blade Runner III â" The Revenge of the Replicants

No One Wins Against Kipple

[tunapez]

More kipple from the chickenheads in Hollywood, it just keeps coming and coming and coming...

Natural City

[Ngarrang]

Check out "Natural City". This movie is not a sequel of "Blade Runner", but the look of the city is there, the tech and the weird plot. If approached carefully, prequels and sequels could be very cool. And ripe for being turned into an on-line RPG.

Re:In a way, there's already a Blade Runner TV ser

[NaiveBayes]

I never said it was good.

Generating electricity

[rleibman]

It's all a plot to generate electricity by attaching a turbine to Phillip K. Dick's grave.

Fail whale setting sail

[NitroWolf]

Good god... A giant fail whale has been spotted in Hollywood, setting sail for Fail Island. I don't see how hit can possibly work out in any way that's even marginally good.

Tarnish the original?

[dstyle5]

How will two most likely mediocre-to-terrible movies based on a good movie tarnish the good one? The second and third Matrix movies didn't tarnish the original for me, if anything they made me appreciate it all the more. Spiderman 3 was terrible compared to the previous movies but I still enjoy them.

total recall

[alices ice]

wasn't the "total recall" tv series a blatant attempt to do a blade runner tv show (despite having the name of a completely different franchise?)

Re:THIS WILL BE AWESOME!

[geminidomino]

They can have 13 spirits escape from Hell

Didn't Scooby Doo do that 25 years ago, too?

Script meeting

[Snufu]

Screenwriter: ...to make an alteration in the evolvement of an organic work of art is futile. An intelligent and moving narrative sequence cannot be revised once it's been established in the memories of its audience.
Alcon Entertainment Producer: Why not?
Screenwriter: Because the work of art lives infinite interpretations in the incubation of human imagination. If the work subsequently undergoes reversion mutation, anyone with common sense and a measure of taste will avoid the project, like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Alcon Entertainment Producer: What about superhero and recording artist tie-in recombination?
Screenwriter: We've already tried it - Batty was recast as Aquaman and Rachael was played by Madonna; it created a version so lethal the editor was blind for three weeks after he left the editing room.
Alcon Entertainment Producer: Then a CGI repressor sequence that would block critical reviews?
Screenwriter: Wouldn't obstruct replication of snarky blogger commentary; but it does give rise to epiletic seizures and you've got blindness again... but this, all of this is academic. The original was made as well as can be made. It is timeless.
Alcon Entertainment Producer: But not to last. That's why we need four sequels, three prequels, a spinoff sitcom, a fast food tie-in, an iPhone app...
Screenwriter: (Leaving the room) The light that burns twice as dim will ascend to the head of the studio.

Loving on the Dick

[neurosine]

Don't get me wrong. I love Dick. I just can't help but to wonder why film makers consider his work so accessible. There's such a vast array of beautiful and profound concepts to draw upon. I know why I love Dick...but it would be nice to see producers branch out more. :) Dick.

Oh noo0o0o0o!

[Lenardius VII]

What a way to butcher an awesome movie. Whats next...prequels and sequels of Waterworld?

Re:THIS WILL BE AWESOME!

[ElKry]

13 667 dangerous alien crimonals?

No-o(repeat many times)!

[ignavus]

No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!

Oops, sorry, wrong sci-fi movie.

But the comment still applies. After the Star Wars prequels with Jar-Jar, the idea of adding new prequels and sequels to other classics leaves the public with a certain amount of anxiety.

But then, if it's Ridley Scott, not some bozo ... hey, it's a new Ridley Scott movie! What can go wrong with that?

Original to Sequel transfer lines

[Kittenman]

Original:

"Too bad she won't live ... but then, who does".

Sequel:

" Oh - she did".

What about the music???

[BatJeep]

Let me guess. They'll re-write Vangelis' music, and for the TV series, the theme song will be sung by Justin Bieber or something!!! (Shudder!!)

I can just hear the refrain now:

Replicate my heart.
Remember how you broke it last time.
You took me apart.
You weren't programmed to be mine.
While it's true I hunt down your kind
It's nothing personal.
So please,
Replicate my heart
Before it's time to die.

This CANNOT end well...

*S*i*g*h*...

sidequel/spiritual successor already exists

[keith_nt4]

I don't know why I remember this but there was some blurb or comment on a show or something that indicated the Kurt Russel movie "Soldier" was some how in the Blade Runner universe. As confirmed by wikipeida:

Soldier was written by David Peoples, who co-wrote the script for Blade Runner. By his own admission, he considers Soldier to be a "sidequel"/spiritual successor to Blade Runner.[1] It also obliquely references various elements of stories written by Philip K. Dick (who wrote the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, on which Blade Runner is based), or film adaptations thereof. A "Spinner" vehicle from Blade Runner can be seen in the wreckage on a junk planet that features in the film.[2]

"great adult science fiction films of all time"?

[RichiH]

I remember seeing Blade Runner when aged ~10-12. I don't claim I got everything, but I liked it lots.

haha

[geekoid]

buying rights is nowhere in the same ballpark as a movie is being made.

Wait until the trailers are out, then discuss.

Actually, director Ridley Scott confirmed it

[unassimilatible]

"According to several interviews with director Ridley Scott, Deckard is indeed a replicant."

Put me down as not happy they are doing these pre/sequels.