30 Mar 2004 |
"Splash", starring
Daryl Hannah doesn't seem long ago to me, but apparently it's
been 20 years. The film was directed by Ron Howard (whatever
happened to him...?) DVD
talk ... talks about the film. |
30 Mar 2004 |
Well now, according to Variety,
Keanu Reeves is signed up to star in "A Scannner Darkly"
(based on a PKD story). Well, if he is tightly directed, could
be good. KeaNeo has filmed at least three movies I know of since
the last Matrix thingy, so is much in demand still. And in the
right film can look good. PKD stories have had mixed results
in filming - from the sublime Blade Runner to the rather disappointing
Paycheck. So we live in eternal hopefulness that the next one
will prove to be good. |
29 Mar 2004 |
I don't care about professional
wrestling. Indeed, I could bore you with my views on it. But
when Tyrell is directly quoted in an article, I need to let
you know. So, according to
the (Malaysia) Star, some bloke called Lesnar has "burned
so very, very brightly in the last two years". Umm...
well there you go. |
26 Mar 2004 |
What is a Prius? Well, it's
a car by Toyota and according to ic
Coventry, "The futuristic Prius
could have easily driven in from the set of Minority Report
or Blade Runner". It is a hybrid electric/petrol
car. so wworth checking out. |
24 Mar 2004 |
This is rather an odd editorial,
which asks, "What happens when the
lines between artificial and real life blur? A time when not
just intelligence is artificial, but everything real and natural
is barely distinguishable from what can be made in a factory?
What do you do with human rights when you can't tell who is
human and who is not?" And refers to PKD and Blade
Runner. So here
you go. |
24 Mar 2004 |
I was already looking forward
to the next Batman movie being potentially quite good - it just
got better. Rutger Hauer has been cast as "Earle, a corrupt
Wayne Industries executive who minds Bruce Wayne's company while
he's off training to become The Dark Knight." In case you
haven't seen the film news recently, this is the story of Batman's
beginnings and stars Christian Bale as Batman (great!) and Michael
Caine as his butler (great!) and already has such as Katie Holmes,
Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson signed up (great!).
And has Christopher Nolan directing (great! - he did Memento
and Insomnia). Script mostly by David Goyer who contributed
to Dark City and wrote all three Blade movies (and directed
the third). And now they've got Rutger Hauer on the cast as
well - all great! (Check out Rutger's
own description of the filming and ironic pigeon interruption...) |
22 Mar 2004 |
Killer Ants from Space? Myrmidons?
Replicants? Fiction of past and present has looked at the "perfect
soldier" and what that entails. lewrockwell.com
compares and considers these fictions from Greek mythology through
modern film. It ends by warning us of the dangers of losing
our humanity. |
20 Mar 2004 |
If you are going to be in Washington
during the next week, then check out the 12th annual Environmental
Film Festival there (much of it is free). The Washington
Times mentions one particular entry - "Los Angeles
Plays Itself" - a documentary feature on Los Angeles not
just as used in film, but as subject and myth as well. Blade
Runner is an obvious inclusion, with its use of the Bradbury
Building, Ennis Brown House and Union Station.
See also the film
festival's official site. |
18 Mar 2004 |
It has often been said (very
often by BR fans, but often enough by others too) that Blade
Runner has influenced many, many SF and even non-SF films made
since 1982. In look, city vision, elements of plot, etc. Occasionally
a positive thing, but ever stopped to wonder about the negative
side of that impact? Vince Yim at Screenwriter's
Voice has drawn up a "Top 11 Screenplays that Destroyed
Hollywood". And puts Blade Runner at number 3. Great film
- shame it has been copied so much. |
17 Mar 2004 |
The
Japan Times includes another reason why Paycheck doesn't
match up to Blade Runner, (beyond the obvious weaknesses of
the film itself). More exactly, it suggests why it never could
- because that PKD dystopian future of traded memory and artificial
identity isn't the future any more ... it is the now.
Also in The
Japan Times is a review of Mamoru Oshii's sequel to Ghost
in the Shell - Innocence - which
clearly shows the BR influence and looks like it will definitely
be worth watching. (Check the trailers.) |
16 Mar 2004 |
If you feel it
would do any good to sign an on-line petition to Jerry Perencho
in support of the BR:SE, you can do so here. |
15 Mar 2004 |
Here is an article you should
definitely read - in the Telegraph's
"Film-makers on film" series, Chris Cunningham talks
about his views on Blade Runner (his favourite film). Some of
his comments will ring true with many a BR fan. I particularly
like his comment, "I can't think
of another film that has such a strong atmosphere. So melancholy,
and the strangest feeling of nostalgia for a place and time
that never was." And his closing comment echoes
that of many of us who grew to love the OV version of the film
back in the 80s and now watch the DC version, "It's
funny, because I saw the film so many times that I still hear
the voiceover in my head when I watch it." |
15 Mar 2004 |
Another story of a vision of
the near future expressed as "not" Blade Runner. Set
in Los Angeles in 2030, "Century City" is a TV drama
based in a law firm. However, Cynthia Littleton, writing for
Reuters,
after describing it as not BR then goes on with a description
that sounds like it fits pefectly in a BR future...
Tim Goodman, in his review at SFGate,
also can't resist the Blade Runner "not" reference,
describing a genetically "re-engineered" character
as being "not" a replicant ... (More human than human
perhaps ...?)
Even Hector
Elizondo, one of the stars of the show has to say "This
is not a 'Blade Runner.' I would not have been interested in
that kind of pessimism."
Melanie McFarland says in the Seattle
PI, "Watching CBS's new drama might even help you relax,
knowing tomorrow's a lot shinier than the one served up by "Blade
Runner." - after she called the new show beautiful, serene
and boring...
Others also comment on the "not" BR of it, so okay,
Century City is evidently not very dystopian, and not too Blade
Runneresque, but perhaps, just maybe, it would be just a little
more interesting if it were? |
14 Mar 2004 |
If you are familiar with Akira
Kurosawa's most excellent film Shichinin no Samurai, ("Seven
Samurai" to you gaikokujin), you might wonder how it could
be made into the modern video game "Seven Samurai 20XX".
One might imagine the meeting between Hisao Kurosawa (son) and
Hajime Satomi (Sammy Corporation) talking of a PS2 game based
on the film - One guesses the first thing suggested would be
to set it in the future, and then obviously you would have a
Blade Runneresque background.... Read about it in the NY
Times. |
11 Mar 2004 |
The
Mercury News gives us a slight insight into the writing
partnership of David and Janet Peoples, (although DP was on
his own when asked to make a few enhancements to the BR script
from Hampton Fancher). |
09 Mar 2004 |
It is interesting that the
pervasive influence of Blade Runner is so strong that even when
someone takes a different view of robots in the city of the
future, it has to be mentioned that it is not the Blade Runner
vision... Although Ivan Brandon (who worked on T3), one of the
talents contributing to NYC Mech, says (to CBR
News) "There's always a little 'Blade Runner' in my
head" even when that isn't the look they're going for. |
08 Mar 2004 |
The Home
Theater Forum held a live chat with Warner Home Video today
and it wasn't long before "the question" was asked:
"What is the status of the definitive, multi-disc Blade
Runner special edition?" The answer was not a total negative,
but was hardly inspiring either, "You all know BLADE RUNNER
has legal issues. We are currently investigating what options
we have to revisit the title." |
08 Mar 2004 |
The 2008 Olympics will be in
Beijing and as is usual in preparations for the World's largest
sporting event, lots of new buildings are being thrown up. Of
course, some of them on the innovative side of design. And of
course, the BR comparison comes out. Except this time, the BBC
reports it has been suggested by some to be a "vision of
some post-Blade Runner city".
Must be progress then... |
08 Mar 2004 |
The superb theme music from
Blade Runner, by Vangelis, has inspired many, from being the
most sampled film soundtrack ever to providing backing for dance.
Ben Munisteri has choreographed some of his work to this as
showcased at Alverno College. The review by On
Wisconsin reinforces how inspiring the music can be. |
08 Mar 2004 |
So, are some cars starting
to look like those out of Blade Runner... (the street cars,
not the spinners obviously). Well, how about the new Rover small
hatchback? Check
it out for yourself. (I wouldn't buy one, but there is no
accounting for taste...). |
05 Mar 2004 |
Deus Ex got much attention
as a pretty good game, so there was obviously going to be high
interest in the sequel. How did the developers go one better
for this game set in 2072? Well, they looked to X-Files for
conspiracy ideas and Blade Runner for the look and feel. Once
more, the future looks like Blade Runner, because, quite simply,
that is how the future looks. Read a review at the BBC. |
04 Mar 2004 |
"Daryl Hannah
on the loneliness that haunts her" - the Daily
Mirror gets down to basics with Daryl. |
01
Mar 2004 |
So how is Blade:
Trinity like Blade Runner?
According to David Goyer (writer/director), his approach to
filming the new Blade film has been to use "much
more old school compositing and using CG to blend shots. We
shot all the elements practically and with real stunt men. Some
are very sophisticated composites that involve ten, even twenty
elements, but the approach is much more 'Blade Runner' in that
regard where all the elements that we shot are real, but we
use CG to meld them together." Reported by CBR
News. |
01
Mar 2004 |
Syd Mead (Visual Futurist on
BR) is still very much in demand for his concept artwork. He
has provided a futuristic, aerial-style painting of the Dubai
Sports City project, (a "50 million square feet development
being created as one of the star attractions of the mega AED
18 billion Dubailand project"). His painting will be displayed
in an exhibition on the project. [AME
Info story] |
27
Feb 2004 |
Of course the New York set
is not the only place used for filming BR - there was also the
Bradbury Building. Although there is loads of information on
these places in our Locations
section, you can read a little more at the Scotsman. |
27
Feb 2004 |
You thought you knew all about
the New York set used to portray Los Angeles in Blade Runner?
... or maybe not. Check out the Alameda-Times
Star for a little bit more. |
26
Feb 2004 |
So how exactly do neo-noir
and sci-fi-noir compare to classic noir? Where does BR fit in
(well that's obvious really) and what does Tim Robinson of The
Silhouette have to say about it all? |
26
Feb 2004 |
The New York set was well used
in Blade Runner (ironically being used to represent Los Angeles),
but what else? The NY
Times examines. |
25
Feb 2004 |
So what do you know about ectogenesis?
It means "to be created outside the womb" - the naural
human womb that is. So what of the artificial womb? And is it
just a dystopian SF idea or should it be part of our reality?
Find some clues at SignOnSanDiego.
And once you've aborbed that, how do you think this technology
might apply in Blade Runner? |
25
Feb 2004 |
Channel 4 Masterclass
on Ridley Scott. |
21
Feb 2004 |
I wonder - is anyone who looks
a little punkish going to be compared to "somebody out
of Blade Runner" forever more? showbizireland
comments, "Pink mixed it up with her dancers dressed in
costumes that looked like a cross between The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly meets Blade Runner." |
21
Feb 2004 |
São Paulo is 450. And
it is "Full of Energy". And of course it must be compared
to Blade Runner - by the New
York Times. |
21
Feb 2004 |
"Digging
through the digital shoebox" - the future of consumer
electronices and inevitably, eventually, Blade Runner is used
in the demonstration. |
19
Feb 2004 |
It is inevitable that Blade
Runner at some point be referenced with respect to sex. The
line "I should be enough for him" for example. Read
about women and porn and sexual liberation at eye
weekly ... if you want to (contains explicit language). |
18
Feb 2004 |
Scott Bukatman is the author
of one of the well-known analysis books on Blade Runner. His
BR work was adopted as the official British Film Institute book
on Blade Runner. Now he has written "Matters of Gravity:
Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century". Read
the review in the Stanford
Report. |
13
Feb 2004 |
Robot Stories is not a huge
budget film - so what does it take to portray the future without
recourse to mucho money? Innovation, improvisation and retro.
Retro like Blade Runner used retro - the future is old. Read
about it at indieWIRE. |
12 Feb 2004 |
What city do you think has
been described as 'it looks like Blade Runner on happy pills'?
Could it be Tokyo, Seoul, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris, Sydney?
No. It is Kabul. Ah, not the usual comparison to the skyscrapers
and neon then - more about the street level. Read about the
state of Kabul today in ProgressiveTrail.com
|
12 Feb 2004 |
Scientists in South Korea have
cloned 30 human embryos. Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University
and Hwang Yoon-Young of Hanyang University and their colleagues
made the breakthrough which is published this week in prestigious
and peer-reviewed Science journal.
This is not directly related to Blade Runner news really as
this is definitely not the first step towards creating Replicants.
It is nothing like the mad scientist trying to create a new
human. This is serious stem cell research that is hoped will
lead to genetic treatment of such disorders as Alzheimer's disease,
but extends to many other genetic diseases and also then to
fix damage done from strokes and many other afflictions that
can be fixed by regrowing damaged tissue. This particular breakthrough
is highly significant in the way it was done, the results and
the rigorous scientific procedure under which it was conducted.
Many other reputable laboratories around the world are attempting
the same thing and so this marks a big step forwards for all.
Read the reports on BBC,
Sky
or CNN. |
12 Feb 2004 |
Following on from the boob news earlier this
week, it seems it is still in the news - US Congressmen making
big statements about television and its effect on American
society. In the UK, there was a big political row between
the government and the BBC leading on from a single inaccurate
accusation in a report on the false justifications for the
Iraq war. Regardless of the outcome of that, it is evidently
a serious issue. In the USA, CBS heads are eating humble pie
as Congress berates them because the Superbowl half-time entertainment
was "too raunchy". Of course people are within their
rights to complain that the entertainment was inappropriate
for the occasion, even though most of it is common fare on
MTV, but they have got really carried away. They want fines
for 'indecency' on TV to go up to max $3million (even though,
beyond nudity and seven 'rude' words, they can't actually
define "indecency"). There are calls for more control
by the government over what is broadcast on TV and more censorship.
In light of this, I have finally figured out
why Blade Runner got an 18 certificate in the USA when it
only got a 14 or 15 certificate in most other countries. It
alway puzzled me why US censors were more concerned about
the violence than other countries - a reversal of the norm.
Except it isn't that is it? No - the numerous fights where
people get beaten up, strangled, eyes gouged out or just plain
shot - that is not the reason. The reason must be because
Zhora's breasts are briefly visible in one scene.
|
11 Feb 2004 |
After the nonsense of this
week, it is good to report on something serious. 'Donna
Shirley, the veteran NASA engineer who oversaw development of
the first Mars rover has been named director of Paul Allen's
Experience Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.'
Seattle
P-I interviews Shirley about her life, her new role and
her thoughts on SF concepts and the Real Science / Science Fiction
interaction. 'The museum's "Cities
of Tomorrow" exhibit will start with "The Jetsons,"
then morph into "Blade Runner" and "The Matrix."
"One of our tasks is to attract kids and make them realize
that the things that are so interesting to them are indeed science
fiction and that there's some pretty cool science behind them,"
she said.' Now that is one smart lady! And just check
out that article to see the big SF names associated with this! |
10 Feb 2004 |
If you are a young, single
lady on the prowl, looking for a man for Valentine's Day...
Blade Runner can help you... Oh yes! The
Scotsman, (or rather, Juliet), gives her advice, "You
have to trap one. Like Harrison Ford in Blade Runner."
Hey, I don't write the articles, I just tell you about them... |
09 Feb 2004 |
Sometimes Blade Runner is referenced
in articles on cutting edge science, sometimes related to city
architecture, often as cultural reference point and frequently
in numerous comparisons to practically anything. But sometimes
it is merely the fact that BR gets mentioned at all that makes
a story stand out in the kipple. For instance, is a report in
The
Salt Lake Tribune on the first anniversary of the new Salt
Lake City Library commenting on how the new glass building is
like something out of Blade Runner? No. It simply mentions that
the Blade Runner DVD was the first item to be checked out on
the library's first birthday. I wonder - do you think that every
hour of every day of the year, there is someone somewhere in
the world watching Blade Runner? Probably. |
08 Feb 2004 |
Howard Dean - if you're not American, there
is a good chance you don't know who he is - is one of those
chaps in the race to become the official candidate to oppose
Bush in the next US election later this year. (Although the
way things are going, he probably won't be.) Anyway, Roger
Simon of the New
Hampshire Sunday News thinks he is a Replicant. Some of
us think that the US and UK (and several other) governments
are already full of Replicants, but that's another story.
It was when asked about Janet Jackson's boob that Roger reckons
Dean gave himself away by coming out with the sort of comment
only a Replicant programmed to appear human might say - i.e.
trying to portray human emotions, but not quite managing.
JJ's
boob? Ah yes, now that I have the BR link, I can't resist.
So a singer exposed a bit of flesh during a big sports entertainment
show. In the UK, it has been shown (unpixellated) on the news.
Repeatedly. Including close-up. And I for one was rolling
on the floor laughing at the fuss being made in the US about
it. In the UK, many people were focused on model Jordan in
the silly TV programme that has C-List Celebrities stuck in
the jungle, just waiting to cheer her getting her inflated
mammaries out. But in the USA, news of RICIN in Washington,
missing WMD's and continued devastation in places like Iraq
and Afghanistan were ignored because Janet Jackson flashed
a breast on live TV for 3 seconds. And, (as you can see by
the picture), her nipple was even covered. And suddenly Middle
America is in uproar. There are calls for law suits, the youth
are being terribly corrupted, live TV is immediately subjected
to a 5 minute censorship delay. And when did this "mishap"
happen? At half time in the Superbowl - that pinnacle of a
sport that is basically two sets of huge men in a violent
battle of gladiatorial combat. It is okay for the kiddies
to see big men brutally smacking into each other, but a partially
exposed female breast is damaging? - weird!
And the other side of US culture ... replicas
of JJ's nipple star were apparently available on eBay the
next day...
But of course it is not all Americans who are
so upset. Unlike the rest of the world, in the USA, the offending
boob could only be shown in the news covered or pixellated
and consequently, Janet Jackson's breast suddenly became the
most searched for term on US Search Engines. Well, just for
a laugh, here is a second photo of Janet and Justin and that
breast-revealing moment.
|
07 Feb 2004 |
If you've visited our Analysis
Section, you'll know that Blade Runner forms part of many educational
courses around the world. Latest to come to our attention is
mentioned by The
Arizona Republic - Phoenix College includes 'A serious study
of sci-fi' in the Literature of Science Fiction course. Studying
the consequences of issues raised not just in SF novels, but
in SF film as well, (including BR of course). |
07 Feb 2004 |
I said I would bring you more
on the Empire Magazine biennial "100 Greatest Movies Ever
made" poll - This issue is still in the shops, so I can't
just publish the list, but I can review it! Lord
of the Rings got positions 1, 3, 8 (LotR3 barely qualified,
being released when the poll had already started) and Star
Wars original trilogy got 2, 4, 23 - both trilogies in
order. If these are considered as single stories instead of
each being three completely separate films, Blade
Runner's 12th place can be seen to be even stronger -
Top Ten for sure! Other movies topping BR this time were The
Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather,
Pulp Fiction, Fight
Club, Jaws and Jurassic
Park. 2001: A Space Odyssey
got 25th, Aliens 32nd but Alien
surprisingly only 75th. The Matrix
(first film) only managed 56th place.
Just a bit of fun, of course, but nice to see BR holding its
own in the 21st Century!
The list won't be on-line for at least a month, but Empire
Magazine's website is always worth a visit. |
06 Feb 2004 |
"I
didn't know before I got involved with the American Heart Association
that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in America,"
says Hannah, 43. "Cardiovascular disease is deadlier than
the next five causes of death combined. More than 500,000 women
will die because of this disease." Read the story
in USA
Today and how Daryl Hannah is helping the campaign to publicize
the issue. |
06 Feb 2004 |
I mentioned this last month,
but it is on for another month, if you happen to be passing
through New York: (From NY
Times) "FUTURE NOIR," Gorney
Bravin & Lee, 534 West 26th Street, (212) 352-8372, through
March 6. An examination of the artistic influence of Ridley
Scott's "Blade Runner," this show's theme is little
more than a mixture of gallery artists, the usual suspects and
guilt by association. The unquestionable standout is Amy Globus's
video "Electric Sheep," which shows two octopuses
drifting and squeezing through different parts of an aquarium
to the suitably swoony (manipulated) sounds of Emmylou Harris's
love ballad "Wrecking Ball". See pictures and
details on the gallery's
site. |
06 Feb 2004 |
Essential Cyberpunk books in
Arizona
lists two obvious ones (Neuromancer and Snow Crash), one
not as well known (Queen of Angels) and also DADoES. Read them
all! You'll probably like them, but even if you don't, they
are necessary for your education! |
06 Feb 2004 |
The
Hollywood Reporter shines a light on the Oscar nominations
for art and design, highlighting their awful historic and continuing
bias towards awarding their doorstops to period films and ignoring
futuristic or fantasy films. That 2001 and Blade Runner did
not win Art Direction Oscars is scandalous. Of course the Oscars
are a waste of time and hugely inflluenced by sentimentality
and big money, so perhaps best to ignore them. |
05 Feb 2004 |
Another face of the artificial
human-looking computer is discussed in The Christian Science
Monitor article Robots
get friendly. It talks of computer faces and physical robots.
It seems the implications of the steps along the path to Replicants
is a debate no longer limited to just BR fans, philosophers
and cyberneticists. |
04 Feb 2004 |
David Webb Peoples is to receive
a Cinequest
Film Festival Maverick Spirit Award for his screenwriting. There
are many parts of Blade Runner that were written by David, including
the main part of Roy Batty's famous dying speech. Cinequest's
Peoples page. Note, in interviews, David is far more modest
about his contribution to BR and would certainly not claim it
as "his feature script". |
03 Feb 2004 |
CNN Technology article titled
Giving
robots a human face talks about the whole concept of making
robots look human. It features Hertz - the latest face creation
of K-bot creator David Hanson. What do you think? Do you want
your robot to look very human or to be clearly a robot? |
02 Feb 2004 |
The Empire biennial "100
Greatest Movies Ever made" poll is now closed and Blade
Runner has been listed in 12th place - 3 higher than 2 years
ago, despite the new films that have come out in the intervening
time! Quoted as being '...the most visually inspired film ever
made' If you voted, then have a gold star. Results are in the
March issue - I'll give you more details imminently. |
01
Feb 2004 |
Still talking about the Apple
ad as the Super Bowl thingy looms large for those who care about
that peculiar American event. The ads are more interesting and
none more so than the 20 year old commercial, talked about by
NPR
today. |
24 Jan 2004 |
The Apple Macintosh computer.
Twenty years old. And it is still here and loved by many. And
what of *that* commercial? Now one of the most famous ads ever
made and a highlight of Scott's career after BR, it is of course
the 'Big Brother' ad. read about these things at the San
Francisco Chronicle. |
21 Jan 2004 |
There is no point talking about
Harrison Ford's movies lately (though I did mention several
months ago he was doing another Indiana Jones, which might at
least be more fun than his recent other stuff). However I also
mentioned many moons ago that he would eventually get married
to Calista Flockhart. As tedious as celebrity gossip might be,
I stand by that prediction with news that he has now officially
divorced Melissa Mathison. The price? Could be worth $118 million
in all. Nasty. But presumably he gets at least that much himself,
so no need to feel sorry for him... |
21 Jan 2004 |
If you take an interest in
the real world of cybernetics, you will certainly know of Kevin
Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading
and probably have seen him on several TV programmes talking
about robots and cyborgs. An article entitled "Can
man fight the machine he built himself?" absolutely
has to refer to Blade Runner. But it is really about a lecture
by Prof. Warwick - 'Will Intelligent Robots inherit the Earth'.
Expounding many views that are already familiar to those of
us who read such things, it is about the concept that yes, if
robots continued on their current development curve, they would
take over the world, but that this probably won't happen because
we will integrate the technology into ourselves. Or as I have
said many times before, the robots won't take over, because
we are going to become the robots. |
18 Jan 2004 |
Ben Munisteri is a choreographer
inspired by Blade Runner. Using some of the wonderful music
of Vangelis and some of the dialogue of the film, he has set
a dance called "Turbine Mines" to it. The
NY Times reviews the piece shown at the Altogether Different
festival at the Joyce Theater. |
18 Jan 2004 |
The specific reference to BR
is slight (though amusing) in this Guardian
article about the state of London today, but the overall view
is of a London that is all too like what one would expect from
a dystopian post-apocalyptic description of a major city. But
this isn't the future, this is today. |
18 Jan 2004 |
Looks like Sir Ridley is going
to be facing a lot of criticism on currently filming movie "Crusade"
if this Telegraph
article is anything to go by. Claims and counter claims about
historical accuracy and intent are flying around. In the current
world climate, all I can say is that he is a brave man to make
a major movie about such a sensitive period when war and murder
were so rife for so little reason by all sides involved. On
the other hand, that actually probably describes the current
world climate as well... |
18 Jan 2004 |
Blade Runner isn't just an
influence on straight Science Fiction films. Take Underworld
for example, reviewed in The
Age referring to where the vampire warrior falls in love
with the human turned vampire-lycan hybrid - "Writer and
former stuntman Danny McBride cites Blade Runner (in which a
human falls in love with a replicant) as a key influence on
his plotting here. The inspiration is evident in the way the
forbidden desires driving Underworld catch something of the
earlier film's Romeo and Juliet aspect, while Selene's increasing
sense of alienation from her mission also mirrors that of Harrison
Ford's hired killer in Blade Runner." |
16 Jan 2004 |
If you happen to be in New
York in the next couple of months, you really, really want to
pop into Gorney,
Bravin & Lee to see the Future Noir exhibition. It includes
BR concept art by Syd Mead plus other artwork influenced by
it. |
16 Jan 2004 |
In the world of Blade Runner
mentions, I can't resist including an MTV
interview of Lars Frederiksen of punk band Rancid. They're
soon off to Japan and he says "Japan is one of those places
where you can find anything from 20 years in the past to 20
years in the future. If you've seen the movie 'Blade Runner,'
you know what Japan looks like. So we're excited to go.".
I just love the sheer diversity of our BR world that it gets
talked about by space explorers, architects, philosophers, punk
rockers, restaurant reviewers, articles on depression and of
course talking about every SF film made since 1982. |
15 Jan 2004 |
I know it isn't everybody's
cup of tea, but I can't let the filming of the finale of TV
series Friends pass without comment. Whether you're a fan or
not, you can't have missed its impact over the last decade.
So how do I justify mentioning it with BR news? Well, Friends
is filmed on Stage 24 at Warner Bros. - also used for Blade
Runner (interiors of JF Sebastian's and Deckard's apartments)!
Add that to your list of "Things you didn't even know you
didn't want to know." |
15 Jan 2004 |
Do you think that the film
"I, Robot" (based on Asimov's books and currently
in post-production) will be compared to Blade Runner? I guarantee
it will. BUT, will it be compared favourably? This Filmjerk
review of an interim script suggests that the potential is certainly
there. With Alex Proyas directing and Will Smith taking his
role seriously, I predict that it will probably be much more
interesting than the rather disappointing Paycheck that is currently
in cinemas. |
12 Jan 2004 |
There are many articles on
PKD but I have in the past only linked to the odd one that rose
above the usual basic bio and list of films inspired by his
work, etc. However, I can heartily recommend an article by Richard
Corliss written for Time
Magazine. Includes his own review of BR in 1982 plus some
fascinating PKD quotes, such as, "It [the script for ‘Blade
Runner’] was terrific. It bore no relation to the book....
What my story will become is one titanic lurid collision of
androids being blown up, androids killing humans, general confusion
and murder, all very exciting to watch.... They’re not
called movies for nothing. I have no complaints.” —
PKD, 1981 ... and ... "The human brain craves stimulation.
And this movie will stimulate the brain, the brain will not
be lulled.... The book and the movie do not fight each other.
They reinforce each other.” |
11 Jan 2004 |
I suspect many reading this
page are fascinated by current exploration of Mars - what we
might hope is now the official first baby steps towards colonization
of other planets. As with so many aspects of life, it wouldn't
be hugely surprising to find Blade Runner being referenced somehow.
But the inventiveness of these comparisons gets ever wilder
... or is it just that the world really is obsessed with BR
and not just a large group of fans? Desert
Dispatch shows what happens when viewing the world through
"Blade Runner spectacles" - Stuart Kellogg says, 'Was
I the only one to mistake the rover's landing gear and solar
panels for buildings, architecture straight out of "Blade
Runner"?' |
11 Jan 2004 |
The Penfield Mood Organ was
an element of DADoES that didn't make it to the film, no doubt
because it wouldn't have fitted into the morose Deckard as recreated
in BR. A device for literally changing one's mood and state
of mind, it is something scientists have been gradually bringing
to reality in different ways over some time. While its use in
DADoES is not something we might hope to achieve, Newsweek
presents the reality of dealing with depression and the research
going into it. With estimates of one in five suffering from
some sort of mental issues each year, there obviously needs
to be more to resolving this than simple mind drugs. We need
the alternatives to HAL's advice, "Take a stress pill and
think things over." |
10 Jan 2004 |
The Guardian do enter deeply
into the philosophical when they try, as with this
review of Michael Wood's book The Road to Delphi. Rather
worrying is the potential truth of the comment, 'The Matrix
has displaced Blade Runner as "the academic's smart cultural
reference of choice"'. Not perhaps to be taken too seriously,
but a hint nonetheless that the intellectually oriented amongst
us should not relax in our efforts to keep Blade Runner at the
forefront of philosophical questioning. Check our Analysis
section if that interests you. New submissions always welcome. |
08 Jan 2004 |
I thought Donnie Darko was
great - a film that gradually builds up to a stunning climax.
Part of the emotion of the climax came from the use of the song
Mad World and the way it was arranged and sung (and I was delighted
to see it become Xmas No. 1 in the UK ahead of all the usual
Xmas nonsense). I just wanted to say that. Okay, I even have
a link to Blade Runner - "Donnie Darko’s director
Richard Kelly, who stipulated that Andrews refrain from using
guitars when composing the music, describes the entire score
as "retro-futuristic" and cites Vangelis’s synthesiser
soundtrack for Blade Runner as a touchstone..." Read the
full review in The
Scotsman. |
08 Jan 2004 |
Read
a lyrical tribute to Middlesbrough and the skyline of Teesside
that provided inspiration for the Hades cityscape that opens
Blade Runner. |
03 Jan 2004 |
Daryl Hannah is working with
Ford. Charris Ford, the biodiesel activist that is. Daryl has
been getting some excellent film roles recently, e.g. in Kill
Bill (mainly part 2), but has been spending spare time assisting
with the biodiesel movement. According to TheUnion.com
she is now scheduled to appear at Nevada City's second annual
Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. |
02 Jan 2004 |
Remember the big Atari sign
in BR? Of course you do. And so now it is quite fitting that
the rejuvenated Atari has hired Ridley Scott Associates to create
a 3 minute advertising film for their upcoming DRIV3R game.
RSA are responsible for the BMW 'Driver' mini-film ads, so you
can see why. And what of the possibility of the game turning
into a movie? I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.
Read articles at GamePro
and Ferrago. |
02 Jan 2004 |
What do you get if you combine
a slightly BR ambience with an upmarket version of the sushi
Deckard eats and the diverse clientele of Taffey's bar? If you're
in Washington, why not pop into Saki
and find out. A number of reviews including this
one give the impression that is what you'll get. |