Do we really need a sequel or prequel to Blade Runner?
The rights to one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, was recently acquired by Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment. Alcon Executives Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson have been behind so-so studio pics such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, P.S. I Love You, One Missed Call, The Blind Side and The Book of Eli. This is about as reassuring an oeuvre for an impending Blade Runner franchise as Paul W.S. Anderson's was when he was signed to direct Aliens V.S. Predator.
At the end of the day, I suppose it's about who talks the talk at the table, and more importantly, who has the fattest wallet. We all remember (barely) Halcyon's promising purchase of the Terminator franchise rights and even the decidedly awesome trailer that quelled doubts about McG's involvement. But then we saw the film. Us, and not enough other people apparently, because in less than a year after bungling one of the most successful franchises in film history, Halcyon were broke. But those trust fund baby's hadn't only purchased the Terminator rights, they'd managed to get their hands on a whole heap of Phillip K. Dick material... So what happened to the planned adaptation of "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said"? Well, it's probably at the bottom of a deposition document in some Hollywood Entertainment Attorney's office.
So what does this new team of hotshots have in store for Blade Runner? Kosove stated this past week that:
"The Blade Runner lore is kind of irresistible. And the extraordinary pace of technological advancement since the movie came out means that there are a lot of opportunities to do something fresh."
By 'Fresh', you mean to exploit an old idea instead of coming up with a new one? Fair enough. Kosove goes on to further say:
"The risk is not just getting a movie made but coming up with a story that really justifies coming back one to one of the great science-fiction stories. A lot of filmmakers have borrowed from Blade Runner in the intervening years, and we want to make sure we don't look like we're borrowing from the movies that borrowed from it. Coming up with something original on our part is a real threshold issue. We know there are tremendous challenges here."
So I would suggest hiring someone with a talent for writing original material. NOT Kurtzman and Orci. Or Elliot and Rossi. Or Ehren Kruger. Or Stuart Beattie. Or anyone from that group of obvious tentpole scribes. Get someone who can bring something to this. Someone like Jonathan Nolan.
And really there are only three or four guys who could really direct this. The first would be Fincher. And there's no way he'd touch it. He's been cursed once already with a sequel to a Ridley Scott movie.
The second is Ridley Scott himself, who by now has learnt to paint by numbers and doesn't possess the same hunger he had back in 1981. But Kosove has stated that he would like Ridley involved in some respect:
"We haven't met Ridley Scott, but the thought of re-engaging with his artistic vision is very exciting, and [him directing] is something we think would be wonderful."
"...- we won't say if we've reached out to Ridley Scott or not, but what we will say is that Ridley Scott's blessing to what we're doing is very important to Alcon. It's important to Bud Yorkin, and certainly we have the greatest degree of respect to him as a filmmaker. He's one of the greatest living directors and one of the greatest directors of all time. So of course he's very important."
The third would be Christopher Nolan, because pretty much everything this guy does pushes the boundaries. It seems this powerhouse producing duo agree:
"Our friend Christopher Nolan who we did Insomnia [with] would be the pie in the sky for us. To be clear I think what Christopher Nolan did - and to be clear, we cannot remake Blade Runner. As a legal matter, we have not bought the remake rights we have no interest in remaking it we can only do prequels or sequels. But I think the methodology that Christopher Nolan brought to Batman is precisely what we aspire to whomever the filmmaker is, whether Ridley Scott comes back and joins us or it's someone else. It's precisely what we aspire to with Blade Runner, that's the template for us."
I would say Aronofsky would be a great choice, but that was before I was subjected to the highly overrated Black Swan. And theres no doubt that he'll be busy with the horrifically-titled 'The Wolverine'. Other hot younger directors who may get a look-in are Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), Carl Erik Rinsch (47 ronin), Neill Blomkamp (District 9), Joseph Kosinski (Tron), Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Jonathan Liebesman (Battle:LA) but something tells me that each of them lack the maturity required to do justice to Blade Runner.
Duncan Jones
Carl Rinsch
Neill Blomkamp
Joseph Kosinski
Matt Reeves
Jonathan Liebesman
The dream would be for Fincher to do it. Simply because he has the right design sensibility, technical skill and intellectual curiosity to make it some unique. For that to happen, you'd need an amazing screenplay. Not the obligatory Hollywood tent-pole, connect-the-dots piece of crap.
