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Ridley Scott To Direct New Blade Runner Movie

In his first accepted submission, fwarren writes "Alcon Entertainment, best known for the movie The Blind Side, purchased the rights to Blade Runner earlier this year. The next order of business? Hire Ridley Scott. Scott has signed on to make a new Blade Runner movie. At this point it is not known whether it will be a sequel or a prequel. With no script or writer at this point, I think it is safe to say it will be a roller coaster ride for the next few years."

30 of 288 comments (clear)

  1. Re:RIDLEY IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE !! by Beelzebud · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't know, but Phillip K. Dick is probably rolling in his.

  2. If it was anyone other than Ridley Scott by jd2112 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would advocate pummeling the director to within an inch of their life. For Ridley Scott I would ask politely to reconsider before pummeling.

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
    1. Re:If it was anyone other than Ridley Scott by arth1 · · Score: 2

      Of course any sequel can be worse. Imagine Total Recall redone by the Wachowski brothers, starring Ashton Kutcher. And Sharon Stone again.

      A Blade Runner remake could have the plot revised by George Lucas (plenty of "who shot first" opportunities, not to mention Jar-Jar Gaff), be directed by Uwe Boll, and have a Rachel/Deckard love scene written by Lars von Trier.

      Oh, and Vangelis replaced with Kanye West.

      To be a bit more serious, the biggest risks I see with a Blade Runner remake are

      1. To make it too close to the original "Do androids dream of electric sheep", simply because it was written for a completely different time, and the plot just doesn't work today. The robots in the book are little more than Furbies and Aibos. Deckard's electromechanical sheep on the roof belongs in a quite different story than what Blade Runner became.
      2. To turn J.F. Sebastian into comical relief. He's a tragic character in a film noir, and I hope Ridley Scott won't budge on that.
    2. Re:If it was anyone other than Ridley Scott by Canazza · · Score: 3, Funny

      Cast Bieber as Priss

      --
      It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
    3. Re:If it was anyone other than Ridley Scott by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      I think that annoy kid spoils any film he is in.

  3. when are they gonna re-make star wars? by decora · · Score: 4, Funny

    man that was a good movie. with the little guy talking about 'meesa no jibber jabber', so great - a classic film. but think about how much they could improve it with modern special effects like computer graphics and realistic animation.

  4. The news that Michael Bay was making it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    nearly sent me into screaming fits. You know, with Shea and Will Smith and other luminaries in staring roles.

  5. No Respect by AvderTheTerrible · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It seems like Hollywood just can't be content to let a good work stand on its own. Sooner or later everything good has to get either a sequel, prequel, or remake. It's just disrespectful, in my opinion, to works that are actually good and stand the test of time on their own. Not everything has to be turned into a cash cow.

  6. Total Recall 2070 by ChrisKnight · · Score: 5, Informative

    It was short lived, but Total Recall 2070 was set in a hybrid Phillip K Dick universe that combined Blade Runner and Total Recall. It took place 20 years after the events of Blade Runner, kept a fair chunk of the aesthetic, and was pretty damn cool. It was a shame it only survived one season.

    https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Total_Recall_2070

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  7. David Lynch by MrEricSir · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd watch it if David Lynch remade Star Wars. It would just be a bunch of creepy synth music, incomprehensible dialog, and scenes with people and aliens standing around not saying anything.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  8. It depens on Harrison Ford by sinan · · Score: 2

    If he is getting older, it should be a sequel, if on the other hand he is getting younger, then it should be a prequel.

    1. Re:It depens on Harrison Ford by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If he is getting older, then the Deckard is not a replicant. That solves that debate.

    2. Re:It depens on Harrison Ford by delinear · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The way I see it, the only way this is going to turn out good is if it's in the same universe but not about the same characters (I'll allow a couple of cameos). The world Scott built was amazing, surely there's room for more stories there than Deckard (who should be dead at any meaningful point in the future anyway).

  9. If we have a Blade Runner sequel by sphere · · Score: 2

    I suggest that Scott lay the groundwork for "VALIS: Electric Boogaloo."

    --
    Deep in the ocean are treasures beyond compare; but if you seek safety, it is on the shore.
  10. Of course.... by owlnation · · Score: 4, Funny

    Deckard shoots first in this one.

  11. Bittorrent is competiton. by grumling · · Score: 3, Funny

    Kind of ironic that they crack down on illegal copies then continue to copy themselves.

    --
    "Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
  12. "Should stand as separately as possible" by perpenso · · Score: 2

    Following the various links I found:

    "Over the course of one meeting, they hashed out how a new film would look, how it could avoid seeming too similar to the many movies that have since paid homage to the original, and how different the new film should be from the original itself. They eventually decided it should stand as separately as possible."

  13. Has the day really arrived ... by perpenso · · Score: 2

    man that was a good movie. with the little guy talking about 'meesa no jibber jabber', so great - a classic film

    Has the day really arrived that when someone says "Star Wars" people think of episode 1 first?

  14. writers by spongman · · Score: 2

    why does everything sci-fi have to be a remake, re-imagining, sequel or prequel?

    seriously, aren't there any writers in Hollywood with imaginations any more, or even the chops to do a decent book adaptation?

    1. Re:writers by KikassAssassin · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's not the writers. There are lots of writers in Hollywood who would love to write original stories, and original film ideas get pitched all the time. The suits at the studios often just don't want to take the risk with something new and original because sequels and remakes come with built-in name recognition and are a safer way to ensure a film will make money. Writers have to make a living, so they take whatever jobs they can get, and often that means writing tired, unoriginal sequels and remakes because those are the only jobs available.

  15. Re:If it's a sequel... by Doctor_Jest · · Score: 2

    Remember the 8 second call to Rachel when he was at Taffy Lewis' place cost $1.25.. so Ridley was ahead of his time predicting cell phone charges in the future. :)

    --
    It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
  16. more to come by bigdavex · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't wait for Blade Runner vs. Alien.

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    -Dave
  17. Again? by fireteller2 · · Score: 2

    I remember after finishing on 5th element I interviewed with The Mill in london. They PROMISED me that if I would just sign up I'd be working on "Millennium" the working title for Blade Runner II. I thought that would be cool so I said sure, but when they offered me less then a living wage to live in London, I had to pass.

    Nice to see that ploy still works.

  18. Hauer wants to call it, "Replicant with a shotgun" by gary_7vn · · Score: 2

    Now that would be a blast!

  19. I for one, welcome our replicant overlords... by optimism · · Score: 2

    Seriously though, this is GOOD news.

    Ridley Scott is a master. Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, American Gangster, Matchstick Men...all come to mind as great films over his long career.

    I recall Scott's comments on the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, basically saying that there was no need for a "director's cut" of Alien because he was perfectly happy with the original.

    So I really don't think he would screw up a new Blade Runner film.

    It is impossible for a new film to compare to the first...Blade Runner was at least a decade ahead of its time...but it will still be GOOD.

    On the film-noir-scifi front, I'm also interested to see when Richard Morgan's work (Altered Carbon) makes it to the screen.

    On the broader scifi front, I'd love to see Iain M Banks' or Vernor Vinge's or Alastair Reynold's works translated to film. Tough job though.

  20. As long as... by Coppit · · Score: 2

    As long as Harrison Ford doesn't run around like he's 25 in the movie. In fact, he should step aside for some new young talented actor. Like.... Um.... Shia LaBeouf? Crap. Now I know why he was in crystal skull.

    1. Re:As long as... by itsdapead · · Score: 2

      Well, if they cast Nathan Fillion as Deckard and Summer Glau as Rachael they'll have all the Browncoats turn up to see it.

      --
      In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
  21. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... by js_sebastian · · Score: 2

    I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Script drafts on fire in Sunset Bouleverd production meetings. I watched C-movies glitter in the dark in a 3D multiplex. And all those remakes will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.

  22. Not the point of the book (slight book spoilers... by itsdapead · · Score: 2

    Nooo! That's the whole point of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

    Actually, unless we read different books, the point of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was "so what? are you sure there's a difference?"

    The book is (mainly) about Deckard discovering that many things around him were fake. It is also glaringly obvious in the book that the VK test for replicants was actually a test of belief in the dominant (fake) religion (which was heavy on empathy and being kind to animals - c.f. the questions in the VK test). His wife wakes up in the morning and dials up her mood for the day - and if she doesn't feel like dialing, there;s an app for that! By the end of the book, Deckard has pretty much ceased to care what is what.

    --
    In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
  23. It *will* suck by tekrat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have studied Blade Runner. You'd need a mighty fine, mind-blowing script to even come near to the original. Mind you, half of what Made Blade Runner so good was, what was NOT said, as what was implied. The dialog in the film is terse, tight, and very carefully worded. It's like a Phillip Glass composition, in that there's only in there what needs to be in there and nothing more. Seriously go back and look at it, and then think about what's the undertone behind each line in the film.

    Like a film noir detective movie, everyone is a suspect, and everyone is hiding some secret. It's not cut and dry, but layered.

    Hollywood doesn't know how to do a film like that anymore. Now it's cartoon characters and explosions, and everything is at face value, spoon-fed to the audience.

    Then there's the look of the film. With the exception of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, *nothing* looked like Blade Runner. The film is so groundbreaking is this respect, I don't even know where to begin. Did you ever even hear the word "Dystopian" before Blade Runner? It literally *invented* cyberpunk -- there's no doubt that Gibson was influenced by the film when he wrote his novels in the way he describes BAMA or Chiba.

    A new film would have to be above-board exceptional. Script, Characters, Cast, Visuals, Music, Director. When Blade Runner was made, everyone involved was at the top of their game. It's rare to get such a talented crew in one place at one time. Think about the names involved in that production, Scott, Mead, Ford, Hauer, Vangellis, Fancher -- I mean, this crew was kind of a magical occurrence of talent that doesn't happen often.

    I have a friend who just doesn't "get" this film. He says it's about a guy who has to kill a bunch of replicants who are going to die anyhow. And yes, if you're watching the surface of the film, it's a pointless exercise, after all, if they are going to die soon, why bother shooting them?

    But that's not what the film is *about*. Just ask Rob Zombie, who's most famous song is about Blade Runner. Blade Runner is a deep, deep film. It's an abyss in a Nietzsche-esque sense.

    It's not likely to be "replicated" or topped, or sequel'ed. All another film based in that universe is going to do is remind us of how brilliant the original was.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.