With Ridley Scott, New 'Blade Runner' Gets A Credibility Stamp
18 August 2011



When the Hollywood production company Alcon Entertainment acquired rights to the "Blade Runner" property back in March, its partners told 24 Frames that they'd love to have original director Ridley Scott pick up where he left off. The idea of the original director helming either a prequel or a sequel, Alcon principal Andrew Kosove said, "is something we think would be wonderful."

Now Alcon appears to have landed its man.

Reports surfaced this morning on the trade website Deadline, later confirmed by Alcon, that Scott will indeed develop the project as a director. A finished film is still a long way from coming to the multiplex; no screenwriters have even been hired. But the Scott news means that the movie will have a continuity and a credibility it wouldn't have had with pretty much anyone else.

The move does runs counter to a Hollywood mini-trend in which a young director who grew up with a 1980s movie puts his own spin on it — witness Joseph Kosinski and "Tron: Legacy" last year. But Scott, for his part, has been rummaging through his own august canon, recently directing the "Alien"-related follow-up, "Prometheus," which comes to theaters in June.

As part of its March deal for “Blade Runner,” Alcon can make either a prequel or a sequel — it definitively won't be a remake — to the 1982 cult classic, also acquiring the right to build off scenes in the original film as well as passages from Philip K. Dick's source novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

In the original film, "replicants" (robots that are virtually indistinguishable from humans) return illegally to a dystopian Los Angeles, with Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard chasing down said replicants.

Alcon principals believe that the three intervening decades have only made the property more ripe for a revisit.

"The 'Blade Runner' lore is kind of irresistible," Kosove told 24 Frames in March. "And the extraordinary pace of technological advancement since the movie came out means that there are a lot of opportunities to do something fresh."

More shortly.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/ ... alien.html

This will be interesting. It's obvious that doing 'Prometheus' has really relit Sc-Fi master Ridley's passion for Sci-Fi. And with the 'Blade Runner' prequel/sequel having been in the plans for a while now it's natural that Ridley takes control of the project.

And I thought the best news regarding movies was Ridley Scott making an Alien Prequel like... 3 years ago.

I shed a tear for this one because it's my dream coming true.

Even hugged the first person that was nearby because of this.

There is so much more to explore in the universe of Blade Runner...
for a movie being so influential and breath taking... it's amazing how
much status the movie has after nearly 30 years.

I'm a Ridley Scott fanboy because of Alien and Blade Runner , so fuck ,
bring it on man , bring it on.

The guy is so old for all those years it was nearly unthinkable that he would ever return to these franchises.

Simply amazing.

oh god, please no. blade runner is awesome, let it be and dont ruin t.

Considering that Alcon Entertainment would have made the new Blade Runner movie with or without Ridley Scott it's a damn good thing that Ridley decided to take charge of the project. He's producing, directing and developing the story just like he did with the first one.

dude must really like what is happening with the new world of alien.but it's still a long way to go.who knows if he is going to make it afterall.i rather see him start working on,, the forever war''.i'm sick of all this remakes and sequels to be honest.there are so many sci-fi novels out there that people are trying to bring to the cinema for a long time.i want fresh,new things

Yeah, 'Prometheus' has obviously gotten Ridley all psyched about Sci-fi again. And like StasZ said there's so much more to explore in the Blade Runner universe.

The big studios are very reluctant to invest money into other than movies based on very well known franchises (movies, comics or hit books) or events (Titanic) or phenomenons (Facebook) these days. It's all about the business for the big studios and they want to play it as safe as possible. That's why majority of the major movies coming from Hollywood currently are either remakes or new versions of stuff that's already been done. Effect heavy large scale Sci-fi movies are very expensive to make. Something like 'Prometheus' for instance will cost the studio well over 200 million dollars to make together with the worlwide marketing costs.

The difference between Alien and Blade Runner is that the first movie named was a hit and the second wasn't.

That's why Fox decided to green lit the sequel James Cameron always wanted to make, that started out the Alien franchise.

Blade Runner , respectively , is no franchise.

It's a super intelligent , detailed film that tells a story where every character
with dialogue delivers a true contribution.

I'm glad Blade Runner never became a hit.

Why?

It might be the 'best' flop ever, for having achieved such cult status and the
absence of sequels.

Those sequels would have happened otherwise, and more important , probably
not by Ridley Scott.

And Ridley Scott always has been my condition of returning to dystopian Los Angeles.


Ridley Scott.

To say he hasn't made a good movie since Gladiator is utter bullshit in my opinion.

The man has an amazing vision on life which he reflects through the lens, a true professional in film making, and I am truly happy to see him working on Prometheus.

And now this !

You people can't actually think Prometheus , and the new Blade Runner movie , will suck a bum's cock , do you really?

Ridley Scott Says He’ll Direct ‘Blade Runner’ Sequel
6 November 2011

Film director Ridley Scott plans to make a follow-up to his groundbreaking 1982 classic, “Blade Runner.”

In an interview with Speakeasy, Scott said he is on board to direct a “Blade Runner” follow-up and has been interviewing writers who can help him with the screenplay. Scott says the new project is “liable to be a sequel.”

Scott recently finished shooting the sci-fi movie “Prometheus” and is an executive producer of a new TV series on Discovery Communications Inc.’s Science Channel, “Prophets of Science Fiction.”

Earlier this year, production company Alcon Entertainment said it was planning a new “Blade Runner” project with Scott at the helm, but it didn’t reveal whether it would be a prequel or sequel to the original film.

“Blade Runner” devotees may not have to wait long for the new movie. “I think I’m close to finding a writer that might be able to help me deliver,” Scott says, “we’re quite a long way in, actually.”

The original film was inspired by sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick’s novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and told the grim story of Rick Deckard, a “blade runner” who hunts down “replicants” — androids who long to live free lives. Scott says Dick, who he says was “stressed” when he met him, found a romanticism in his pessimism. And similarly, “Blade Runner” didn’t offer a romantic view of the future.

“That’s why I think I was so unpopular” when the film was released, Scott says, because at the core of the film is a story about mortality. “Even though people think it’s a cool Philip Marlowe film with Deckard played by Harrison Ford,” he says, “the film is very much about humanity.”

Scott says the new “Blade Runner” project is moving ahead “not with the past cast, of course.” No Deckard? “No, not really,” he says.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/11/04/ridley-scott-says-he’ll-direct-‘blade-runner’-sequel/

Out-of-Print Blade Runner Sketchbook Surfaces Online
29 December 2011



It pretty much goes without saying — but we’ll say it anyway — that Blade Runner is one of the most visually stunning sci-fi films ever made. There’s a reason for that: Every detail, from Rick Deckard’s gun to the parking meters, was painstakingly planned and executed.

In 1982, the production designs that were used to create the film’s future-noir look were collected in the Blade Runner Sketchbook, edited by David Scroggy. Now out of print, the book is still treasured by fans, and now a full copy is available to read online.

The book, which brings in hundreds of dollars for used copies, collects some of the best production designs from “visual futurist” Syd Mead and director Ridley Scott, amongst others. Included in the black-and-white sketches are designs for the police and corporate Spinners (above), Deckard’s apartment, replicant outfits, the Voight-Kampff machine and even things as unassuming as fire hydrants.

Perusing the book’s pages makes it easy to see why Scott’s 2019 Los Angeles still looks as grittily futuristic today as it did when the film was released almost 30 years ago.

http://issuu.com/futurenoir/docs/bladerunner_sketchbook

It should be noted that Damon Lindelof, writer on Prometheus has stated that he dropped easter eggs and references to Blade Runner in the new film from the Alien Franchise in an attempt to make it all one big continuity...

Wonder if the new Blade Runner flick will have references to the Alien movies? (Maybe hints of Weyland Yutani company.. and synthetics... etc...)

Anyway, 4 science fiction films by Ridley Scott.. all set in the same fictional universe... that would be cool.

no no no.ti doesn't take place in the same universe.you interpreted wrong

Yeah, eactly. Like Blacklabel said, that would be cool.

Ridley always left the viewer's interpretation open in Blade Runner / Alien.

There's nothing that proves Alien and Blade Runner being connected,
but nothing that proves it doesn't either.

They should keep it that way.

timeline.blade runner is set in 2018 or 19 if i remember right, alien is almost 100 years later,and ash was the first generation synthetic/android. people woul want the two to be in the same universe but if that would happen it would only be Kitsch